our whitepaper on Going Global
Contents
1. CRM system Will you send your offers in different languages What about your company newsletter English or all languages How would you prefer your clients to communicate with you Email only Perhaps having a translated frequently asked questions FAQ section on your website will reduce the amount of general customer queries STAR TS Translation Services ISO 9001 2008 Certified Confidence in a Translated World Docklands Innovation Park 128 130 East Wall Road Dublin 3 Ireland Phone 353 0 1 8365614 Fax 353 0 1 8364644 Web www star ts com Email sales star ts com VAT No IE 6378439J Company Reg No 358439 STAR TS Translation Services Confidence in a Translated World 1 Is the Website Internationally Enabled Before you begin translation of your website you need to ensure that the website is internationally ready There are two elements to this Internationally Enabled and Internationally Aware Internationally Enabled If you translate your website will it still function correctly Has it been coded to handle foreign characters The web code design may contain code that will not accept foreign language input You need to check with your web developers that they can deliver a fully Unicode compliant website We recommend UTF 8 Your e commerce engine needs to be able to handle foreign languages foreign currency payments and any local e commerce tax laws Internationally Aware Translation is more than just w2. STAR has over 30 years of experience helping both new exporters and international companies gain entry to new foreign markets and build strong long lasting language support Where is my target market Know your market Most EU countries will have areas or sectors of expertise such as banking or automotive so it makes sense to identify these local sectors and angle your activities at the right people in the right country We recommend that you pick one or a small group of countries to target first The easiest markets are often France and Germany Market Factors to consider What is your export potential Is the market open to your product and do you have any direct competitors Have some research done regarding your product market trends existing competitor products or services and the current market share What do you need to become export ready Depending on your business there are a number of elements to put in place If you are a manufacturer you should gather and obtain all the necessary quality standards and CE export import licences What business model fits your business Your choice of business model for export will have several factors which need to be considered such as tax type of product product life span etc At they end of the day you will have to decide whether to implement an office agent distributor or partner or simply go it alone What are the cultural and common business practices Decisions process and cultur
3. Translation Services ISO 9001 2008 Certified Confidence in a Translated World Docklands Innovation Park 128 130 East Wall Road Dublin 3 Ireland Phone 353 0 1 8365614 Fax 353 0 1 8364644 Web www star ts com Email sales star ts com VAT No IE 6378439J Company Reg No 358439
4. for text expansion will make the web translation easier we suggest at least 20 30 expansion room on all screens Whitespace is actually good design as it shows a cleanliness to a site An uncluttered site is easier to read and more effective STAR TS Translation Services ISO 9001 2008 Certified Confidence in a Translated World Docklands Innovation Park 128 130 East Wall Road Dublin 3 Ireland Phone 353 0 1 8365614 Fax 353 0 1 8364644 Web www star ts com Email sales star ts com VAT No IE 6378439J Company Reg No 358439 STAR TS Translation Services Confidence in a Translated World 3 How will the website be translated You need to ask your web design company how the will translate the text This is important as the method used can create extra work and costs We can work either directly with source files HTML XML and CSV or with text supplied in Word or Excel We recommend translating XML or HTML directly as this can be dropped directly back into most CMS systems and will avoid the need to copy and paste the translated text If you are unsure how to work always have your design team talk directly to our technical translation team They can define the best process for everyone involved The translation should include all your text content and your website meta tags to improve your visibility on foreign language search engines There are two key parts to always consider in translation e Getting the text out
5. AR TS Translation Services Confidence in a Translated World For websites 1 Is your website encoded for translation and will it display accented characters 2 Don t put text on buttons and graphics as this is expensive and slow to translate 3 Remember to translate all metatag information to ensure your site is visible to foreign language search engines 4 How are you going to update the website in the future Will the translations have to be in sync 5 For images watch out for any image that might be unsuitable for certain audiences Some images might be politically incorrect in some countries Get advice during the design phase 1 You should ask your translation vendor for advice during your design phase They should be able to advise you on the best document structure to make translation easy 2 Remember to have your translation vendor have a look at your images to ensure they are internationally acceptable You might be surprised what might cause offence This way you only have to design your product material once 3 Remember if you have a design flaw in your original documents it will be in all translations If your document is translated in 10 languages it has to be fixed 10 times The steps listed here are only the tip of the international iceberg At STAR we have over 30 years experience of design and international information experience A 20 minute conversation with one of our international experts will really help you
6. Your products Everywhere Go Global with STAR Document Website and Software Translation in any language Going Global With STAR Translation Breaking into international markets is a challenging task for many companies Boosting sales is top of your company agenda and picking the right approach is important for the best ROI Where do you start Developing a new product and bringing it to market can cost in excess of 100 000 An easier way to expand sales is to translate your current product and start selling to a new country Taking a product global can be done for less than 10 000 Within a few weeks you can translate launch and start developing global sales Whilst cost effective it s important to get it right first time Translation and Localisation is more than just about translating the words Asking the right questions at the start of the process ensures you deliver a successful and profitable launch first time STAR s Going Global program is designed to help companies bring their products globally faster cheaper and easier Our international health check gives you the focus and advice you need to execute a winning international plan from day one Whether you have a single document to translate or a complex web application we can get you on the road to international markets quickly and easily STAR TS Translation Services Confidence in a Translated World Finding your way into international trade can be tough
7. al differences can create negative reaction when an exporter does not realise business is handled very differently outside of their country To avoid this you should seek local knowledge and advice from international trade advisors The best resources in the UK Ireland for this are Enterprise Ireland http Awww enterprise ireland com Irish Exporters Association http www irishexporters ie UK Trade and Investment https Awww uktradeinvest gov uk STAR TS Translation Services ISO 9001 2008 Certified Confidence in a Translated World Docklands Innovation Park 128 130 East Wall Road Dublin 3 Ireland Phone 353 0 1 8365614 Fax 353 0 1 8364644 Web www star ts com Email sales star ts com VAT No IE 6378439J Company Reg No 358439 STAR TS Translation Services Confidence in a Translated World Auta Per v s Document Website Software Technical Translation Translation Localization Documents Professionally translated Boost international sales by Enable your product for any Specialist services for documents in 44 languages translating your website for language Software industrial documentation by native speakers new export markets translation and localization ISO 9001 2008 Certified services There are a number of elements you can translate for your business each with its own particular demands and best practices Here are some of the key areas to keep in mind Everything starts with a clean source
8. alysis of your global readiness Included A search engine health check on your English website An SEO health check on your localised site if you have one or analysis and advice for potential translation Review of your current documents designs and software layouts for translation Recommendations for Document Authoring Design Recommendations for Website Design Some of the file formats we can analyse gO Adobe InDesign QuarkXPress XML HTML PDF A Microsoft Word Powerpoint Excel STAR helps companies deliver products and documentation in electronic format for e commerce operations as well Together with STAR you can accelerate your global sales and sell more online Developing your global markets is key to every company s success The internet is growing at amazing speed and the world is nowa smarter smaller place STAR has the expertise to translate your e commerce store in virtually every language We translate sites into European Asian and Middle Eastern languages including right to left languages such as Arabic STAR TS Translation Services ISO 9001 2008 Certified Confidence in a Translated World Docklands Innovation Park 128 130 East Wall Road Dublin 3 Ireland Phone 353 0 1 8365614 Fax 353 0 1 8364644 Web www star ts com Email sales star ts com VAT No IE 6378439J Company Reg No 358439 STAR TS Translation Services Confidence in a Translated World STAR Technolo
9. ated World Key Steps to launching an International Website When you launch and start selling online there are a number of steps to follow You need to ensure your web site plan manages both your international communications and international sales The simple steps to a good international website are Building your website 1 Design The first step is to design an internationally aware and enabled website that translatable and will work will for international SEO in all languages We can work directly with your designers to help them ensure everything is in place or we can recommend one or our design partners 2 E commerce Your sales engine needs to consider foreign languages foreign currency payments and any local e commerce tax laws Any 3 party software you use should be able to support your translation Translate and SEO the site The next step is to have your web content translated and SEO d Remember the site should consider SEO during this phase This should include all your text content and your website metatags to improve your visibility on foreign language search engines SEO should include foreign search engine submission Google is the largest engine in the English speaking world but baidu com is the largest in China Have you planned for submissions to the best search engines Customer Communications Can customers send you an email in their language How will you process orders in other languages Be
10. document Whether it is a user manual a HTML file or a XML file structure it is important to consider translation from day one It is easy to design a document that is difficult and expensive to translate so a little thought at the start will save a lot of money Text Expansion For most languages the translated text is actually longer that English German for example is 30 longer than English This means the layout may change after translation Text may move columns and pictures may be in different places and the file will require some rework after translation For manuals and documents 1 Using tables is great as they can automatically adjust to resize 2 Never just TAB to align text as they all have to be redone after translation Use a table or columns instead 3 For figures and diagrams remove text from the diagram and replace with numbers This way a simple numbered table can be placed at the bottom of the diagram making translation easy 4 For complex design tools like Adobe InDesign Framemaker and QuarkXPress think about fonts layers and page structure during the design phase We can give you lots of advice in this area STAR TS Translation Services ISO 9001 2008 Certified Confidence in a Translated World Docklands Innovation Park 128 130 East Wall Road Dublin 3 Ireland Phone 353 0 1 8365614 Fax 353 0 1 8364644 Web www star ts com Email sales star ts com VAT No IE 6378439J Company Reg No 358439 ST
11. gy Solutions STAR TS provides translation services from our Dublin office into over 44 global languages Established in 2002 we are part of the STAR Group Europe s largest privately held translation company Headquartered in Switzerland the STAR Group is recognized as one of the world s largest translation services companies Our unique combination of translation services technology and process delivers industrial strength translation and information quality to our clients STAR AG Headquarters of the STAR Group in Ramsen Switzerland STAR is over 25 years old now and with some 44 global offices employs over 800 staff This impressive in house team is backed by an even larger workforce of freelance specialists Our office network is built on the philosophy that native in country translators deliver the best quality for our clients We provide technical translation services website translation and document translation services About the Author This document was written by Damian Scattergood Managing Director of STAR Translation Services Damian has over 30 years experience in the localisation and translation business He has worked both on the producer side and vendor side of the business STAR Ireland is part of the STAR Group Europe s largest privately held translation company Damian can be contacted directly at 353 1 8365614 or by email at Damian scattergood star ts com or visit http www star ts com STAR TS
12. ices Confidence in a Translated World Watch out for Callouts Remember that the outsourcing of graphics creation is expensive Instead remove all translatable callout text from graphics and include it in the documentation s text so that it can easily be translated Replace the callout text with numbered not lettered callouts arranged clockwise on graphics and cross reference the numbers to the text into the main document This allows the same graphics to be automatically re used in all translated versions l Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet 2 Consectetaur adipisicing elit sed do emsmod tempor incididunt ut nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat Duis aute inure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat mulla pariatur STAR can help you address these and other painfully costly graphics localisation issues so that your picture really can paint a thousand words in any language STAR TS Translation Services ISO 9001 2008 Certified Confidence in a Translated World Docklands Innovation Park 128 130 East Wall Road Dublin 3 Ireland Phone 353 0 1 8365614 Fax 353 0 1 8364644 Web www star ts com Email sales star ts com VAT No IE 6378439J Company Reg No 358439 STAR TS Translation Services Confidence in a Translated World Going Global Health Check Take the first steps to international success with a STAR Going Global Health Check For just Euro 250 00 we deliver a detailed an
13. of our website to translation e Putting the text back into the website after translation Both go hand in hand Cutting and pasting is error prone and costly Getting this process right up front will make translation and integration easy and fast 4 Are there any graphics There are 2 key areas to consider for web graphics Firstly are they internationally appropriate Some graphics are not acceptable in certain countries An example might be a lady showing her shoulders in a clothing ad This would not be acceptable in some Middle Eastern countries Certain symbols can have different meanings in other languages Have your translation company review all your graphics Is there any text on your graphics Graphic translation can be very expensive as the graphics have to be re created Where possible it s best to avoid putting any text on graphics and to use text on the pages instead If you really have to use text and graphics together the best option is to have the graphic text translated in Word or Excel and have your web design team recreate the graphics This is the most cost effective method for graphics translation STAR TS Translation Services ISO 9001 2008 Certified Confidence in a Translated World Docklands Innovation Park 128 130 East Wall Road Dublin 3 Ireland Phone 353 0 1 8365614 Fax 353 0 1 8364644 Web www star ts com Email sales star ts com VAT No IE 6378439J Company Reg No 358439 STAR TS Translation Serv
14. ords Around the world there are many locale differences Some countries use a comma as a thousand separator others use a full stop Does your product cost 1 029 or 1 029 There are many such elements to test your product for Date and Time Format Currency Formats List Separators Telephone Numbers Address Formats Proper Names and Titles Measurement Systems Page Formats Conventions for Capitalisation Uppercasing and Lowercasing When it comes to the international testing of your product all of the above locale issues need to be covered You should also check sample filenames and content for locale issues There is a tendency to use flags on websites to signify country information This can be politically sensitive in some countries and is recommended While it is fine to use an American Flag to represent your American website we do not recommend using an American flag to represent your English language site Flags represent political boundaries not language We recommend using a drop down menu with a list of the languages that the site is translated into preferably in the language itself e g Francais Espanol etc This is also more SEO friendly 2 Design Issues e Database issues Is the website database designed to handle multiple languages simultaneously How will the website actually switch between languages Does your CMS system handle this e Layout expansion Many languages are longer than English Leaving room
15. put the right elements in place before you start translation and exporting Advice for your translation company A few points for your translation company to make their life easier 1 Explain acronyms If your company use acronyms or abbreviations its useful to tell your translation company about them and have them translated first Sometimes they can stay in English sometimes they need to be translated We advise companies to build their own mini dictionary of common terms before they start to export 2 Choose typefaces carefully Some typefaces do not include all the accented characters for different languages Also you may have to use special fonts for different languages which will change the look and feel of your documents Chinese tends to use SimSun for example by default 3 Write for your international audience Use simple clear sentences and avoid colloquial sayings Sometimes what you think is clear in English may not translate In the English world the term PC Doctor is used very often to describe a person who fixes computers but the concept does not carry into other countries STAR TS Translation Services ISO 9001 2008 Certified Confidence in a Translated World Docklands Innovation Park 128 130 East Wall Road Dublin 3 Ireland Phone 353 0 1 8365614 Fax 353 0 1 8364644 Web www star ts com Email sales star ts com VAT No IE 6378439J Company Reg No 358439 STAR TS Translation Services Confidence in a Transl
16. st practice is to have stock answers for the most common questions These documents should then be professionally translated for you This gives you a professional image every time Free translation services only deliver very bad translation quality but are useful for basic communication You can use them to understand your clients questions and then reply with a professional translated response STAR TS Translation Services ISO 9001 2008 Certified Confidence in a Translated World Docklands Innovation Park 128 130 East Wall Road Dublin 3 Ireland Phone 353 0 1 8365614 Fax 353 0 1 8364644 Web www star ts com Email sales star ts com VAT No IE 6378439J Company Reg No 358439 STAR TS Translation Services Confidence in a Translated World Marketing your website You should also consider the following items for your ongoing sales and marketing program Advertising Online Selling Online How do you plan to advertise your site What other sales channels will you use online What target countries will you go after Affiliate marketing Will you use Multilanguage SEO E coupons Will you use Google Adwords Third party catalogues partnerships Will they be translated Google has text restrictions of 25 characters per line so you have to choose your translated words carefully Building customer loyalty and sales offers How will you grow your customer loyalty Will you use a Customer Relationship Management
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