Guide to software localization

This means there is almost no restriction on future growth. In order to take full advantage of this opportunity, however, you will probably need to optimize your app for many different regional markets. This is known as software localization l10n. For users, the experience is bewildering at the least and often quite frustrating. You end up clicking random elements in the interface, in the hope of striking lucky. Software localization can prevent such problems. This is the process of adapting and optimizing your app for a given language and location.

Translation is an essential part of this transformation, but you may also need to adapt your content to suit the target audience. This includes everything inside your software, along with your support documents and marketing materials.

Developing software takes a great deal of time and effort, so it makes sense to maximize the global potential of your product. The case for software localization is pretty compelling. But what exactly does it involve?

Background research can help you decide which markets to prioritize, and your technical team should come up with an implementation roadmap.

This should include finding a suitable platform or provider, and considering which content needs to be localized. Using a software translation specialist is likely to make the process smoother, as they will be familiar with the process and any technical requirements.

Most software localization platforms ask you to upload content from strings files. Some can detect strings automatically, while others ask you to highlight the key passages. Either way, you may need to prepare your files. Audio, images, and videos should be adapted, along with dates, times, and currencies. Each localization service has a different workflow for these elements. A good localization specialist will not simply transfer words from one language to another. Instead, they will tweak the content so it sounds natural to a native speaker.

For this process to work well, you will need to provide your translators and localization experts with context. This means explaining the purpose of each string, submitting screenshots, and answering any requests for clarification.

Some services will provide you with the text, which you will need to insert manually using a TMS translation management system. More advanced solutions, such as OneSky, provide an end-to-end workflow.

In this case, you can download a new strings file that contains your translated content or import your strings via an API. Testing is an essential part of any localization process. Just as importantly, you will need to ensure the translations fit neatly into your existing interface. For this reason, you should try to include some on-device testing. A translation project manager can come in very handy here. You should just be able to pull them from the localization platform, then import and deploy.

Be sure to test every localized version to try and catch any bugs or errors, whether in language, layout or any other element of the user experience. This is where you map out your testing plan and process. This step examines your content and UI in detail, with any errors logged. This is where you look at specific use cases for your software. The more closely they can mirror real interactions, the better.

If the functional testing discovers a bug or defect, fix it and then regression test it to check that the bug has been fixed and nothing else has broken in the process. Read more: What Is Localization Testing? As such, I thought it worthwhile to include a couple of advanced software localization tips that you can implement as well.

Local user testing involves taking a significant sample size of the specific locale to test your software. This is a really fast way to pinpoint any particular regional issues. You can also use local user testing to home in on specific demographics and user behaviours, which can provide some valuable insights.

There are various localization tools and other relevant tools on the market that can help you to scale up your operation faster and more efficiently. Some of the best localization tools are the platforms themselves, but there are also computer assisted translation CAT tools, file management and sharing tools, glossaries for specific industries, localization testing and quality assurance testing tools, translation management systems, screenshot tools and more.

The particular combination of tools that you need will depend on your approach to the software localization process. There are various ways that you can tackle the software localization process. Incidentally, the same is true of website localization — you can read more about that by clicking the link below. By far the easiest way to handle your software localization is to hire an experienced professional to manage the process for you. Such individuals combine both technical and project management knowledge in order to deliver software localization services that take the pain out of the process.

They come armed with all the tools and resources you need, from localization platforms to translation teams. If you prefer to take a more hands-on approach to your software localization, then the wealth of tools available means that you should be able to do so without any undue difficulties. I hope this guide has been of use to you. You can always check back against it when you need to brush up on any of the key points:. Post your Comment. Tomedes Translation Services is committed to broadening the horizons of individuals and businesses in the United States and internationally, through the effective use of professional translation services.

Translation Services. Interpretation Services. Content Writing Services. Professional Proofreading. Testing Services. Take a sign-up link, for example. It looks something like this:. Pro tip: Use universal placeholders. Also, use a TMS that allows you to insert placeholders and, where possible, that the linguist can ideally work around. Different languages take up different amounts of space on a page. So, you should always assume that text will grow or shrink.

This means any code you create must take changing text size and length into account. This is best done well before you ever sit down to code. Thinking through how different languages impact the design in the design phase will save you many headaches further down the road. Translating the text first and then optimizing the UI in all languages will help you see how your designs will change based on the target language and make amendments pre-development. As we covered in the section on continuous localization, this allows you to avoid design breaks, lower the risk of localization errors, and launch in multiple markets simultaneously.

Pro tip: Build with flexibility in mind to ensure that your design can accommodate different translations. In the U. But in Mainland China, that symbol means breaking off a friendship — the opposite of what you are intending!

Thinking about language is a great first step, but as you expand into more international markets, locale becomes more important. K, and Australia. What if you want to display different content to customers in Canada and Belgium? You can easily do this if you plan with locale in mind. Likewise, different cultural cues can exist by region within a given market.

In Russia, for example, the culture in Moscow looks completely different to those who live in the Ural Mountains or Caucasia, and they may speak other languages in addition to Russian, like Tatar, Komi, or Chechen. When creating your language files and determining which languages to translate into, be as specific as possible with locale. Take French for example:. All of these locales will have slightly different ways of speaking, different cultural expressions, and different ways of approaching your product.

Reviewing the application framework will determine the ease of localization. It also ensures that the software can support the internationalization. While you may code software in a neat and well-organized fashion, the inclusion of other languages may make it seem complicated. You must externalize the strings that have been prepared for localization.

This also means that they need to be stored in a translation file. These are files that contain data that are specific to a language. Based on the location of the user, the right values of the strings and data will be taken and inserted in the user interface.

Resource bundles , when it comes to coding, could mean a whole host of things. As far as localization is concerned, it refers to several resource files that have the same base name. This makes it possible to identify certain specific locals. This will help make the process much easier. While developers may concatenate two or more strings to save space, this could often lead to errors in translation.

This will help ensure better translation of the strings. This is the second phase and the actual localization of the software. In the early days, developers often used spreadsheets to save strings. They would then send off the spreadsheet to translators. This is still an option today but is highly inefficient.