The Making Of A Multilingual Website

By Author: Jill elliott
Total Articles: 74
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Websites are a very important aspect of any business today. Earlier only big business houses and industries were expected to have a web presence, but today, regardless of the size or scope of the business, customers have a natural expectation of finding it online.
This phenomenon has led to the globalization of business in many different levels. Today, even a small sized business owner can sell his products halfway across the globe without any difficulty, simply because the customers and the sellers don’t have to be with each other physically in order for the transaction to take place.
The Role of Language
Since we are talking about globalization, it is critical that we understand that language plays a crucial role here. When a person intends to buy or sell something to a foreign country, it is natural that the website should be legible by the people from different places.
This is where multilingual website development comes into picture. A website which can be read in multiple languages is a multilingual website. For us to be able to carry out commercial or even non commercial transactions at a global ...
... level, having a multilingual site is of utmost importance.
The Design and Layout
When one designs a site keeping in mind only customers of a particular region or locality, then it is much easier to design a site with their preferences only. However, Multilingual Website Designing is slightly different and more difficult because it caters to a very huge user group.
Ensure that you have a professional designer who can understand and appreciate the demands of your particular target audience, thereby ascertaining that your site can appeal to people speaking any language or belonging to any geographical location.
For example, if you are a locksmith in America, your website can be only in English, with the US flag somewhere and definite stress towards the American spirit in the content. However, if you wish to offer services to people sitting in Asia or even Europe, you must ensure that your site is not biased towards any specific country.
Research and Progress
The most important thing before undertaking any multilingual website development is to carry out a thorough research. It is best to make a list of all rival companies or competitive industries in the market and go through their websites to identify their strengths and weaknesses (with respect to website content).
You can accept and reject different ideologies and strategies chosen by them to maximize your profitability. Please understand that multilingual website designing is much different than regular website designing and so you must pay keep attention to it.
Color
Using colors wisely is very important. Apart from the written word, colors too, denote many things that you must fully understand before using them. A color could symbolize something in one country and something completely different in another.
For example, green is the color of prosperity in the west, but in China, a Green hat denotes a cheating wife. Red is the color of danger in many countries but in India, it denotes chastity and sanctity and in China it is the color of celebration. Black denotes death and mourning in the west, but in the east, white is used for the same. Purple denotes royalty in the west, but in Thailand it is the color of mourning.
So before you use any color, make sure you fully understand what it denotes!