Software Localization: Benefits and Challenges

If you've ever tried setting up a device with a different language, you know the value of software localization services. Without them, a program may be at best annoying and at worst impossible to use.
It doesn't get any simpler even if you translate the program into your native tongue. Even when you comprehend every word in the text in front of you, it might still be challenging to operate the program properly due to unclear instructions or a contradictory design.
These are the challenges that software localization seeks to address. Software localization is essential for every company that wishes to modify its products to cater for new consumers and markets. Billions of consumers worldwide seek to interact with products and services in their native language, making software localization services essential. They won't accept a hasty translation or, worse, a disproportionate dependence on their English language skills.
In this article, we'll explore the fundamentals of software localization, its benefits, and potential challenges you may face along the way.

What does localization mean in software development?

Software localization is the process of adjusting a web or mobile application to the language and culture of users in a particular or a target market. It goes beyond simple translation by culturally adapting user interfaces. By concentrating on design components and the visual format of the layout itself, localizing software improves the user experience. Adjusting your user interface and documentation are all part of the software localization process. Examined closely and modified to suit the requirements of the new audience include images, formatting, and more. 

You may do this to increase your global market reach and provide your overseas clients with superior service. If you're thinking about growing your company into new areas, localized software should be a component of your entire plan. 

Why should you consider localizing your software?

Communication across borders is made possible by technology. That is one of its greatest features, from both the user's and the developer's viewpoint. For customers who are not familiar with English, or another widely used language for software development, localization can help you make your program more user-friendly.

English is the most widely used language online, however only 25.9% of all internet users use it. Additionally, even though some individuals can speak English, users still choose to utilize software in their local tongue. To improve customer satisfaction, a rising number of projects are aiming to have their software localized for different communities throughout the world and translated into multiple languages. Globalization offers a theoretically limitless market to software developers for each new program or application.

Software localization is crucial for ensuring that your product has a global impact, as consumers outside your country may not be as engaged without localized software. Your worldwide sales and brand loyalty might even be harmed by a poorly localized product. Software localization enables you to stay clear of some of these hazards and make sure that your work is always of the highest caliber. As you enter a new global market, localized software can provide you with a crucial advantage. When a product is simple to use, it's simpler to suggest it, which increases the likelihood that it will help your business become a major success.

Benefits of software localization

For your company, localization offers several benefits, such as the following:

Obtain a higher ranking in search engine results

Delivering the right message to your target audience is important, but localization has a much bigger impact on the success of your mobile application or website. Additionally, it will do international search engine optimization (SEO) for your website.  

As you localize your website to incorporate culturally relevant graphics, locally relevant keywords, foreign site speeds, and other factors, you can improve your search engine ranking and visibility.

Use their own language while interacting with customers

You can have access to international markets with a website.  Regardless of what you sell—video games, software, apps, or anything else—you have a decent chance of succeeding in foreign markets.

However, neglecting the unique requirements of your foreign clients and only offering your products in English would not enable you to gain market share.

If the material on your website is reliable and simple to read, you will develop a reputation as a reliable source in foreign marketplaces.

Makes you more credible in the market

To attract and maintain localize software, one must project a trustworthy image. But getting potential customers to interact with one another in a way that they would with their friends and family is the most efficient way to build credibility.

You show potential customers that you are seriously interested in boosting your business by adapting the localization software on your website. Customers will instead observe a software company that sincerely cares about allaying their worries and will make great attempts to do so.

Minimizes churn

By using localization software solutions to give localized instructions and simple user interface, you may raise the likelihood that a customer will stay with you. And if you run a small business, the more consumers you keep, the quicker your company will grow. In order to foster greater consumer loyalty, brands should provide localized assistance.  

Create a presence for your brand overseas

Consumer base and greater income are the main advantages of localization. Using a translation platform effectively may lead to client acquisition and greater income. A website may achieve worldwide brand recognition by being localized. When potential customers can connect with you in their native tongue, they will believe that your business can solve their problems.

You'll need the assistance of experts in technology, technologists, native speakers who are aware of cultural differences, and a few other fields to fully profit from localization.

Challenges to watch out for while localizing your software

Software localization may be a challenging process with numerous factors to consider, including linguistic costs, cultural variations, and technological limitations. These obstacles may be effectively overcome, though, with careful preparation and execution.

There are a few things you should bear in mind if you're thinking about localizing your software products to make sure it goes well. Let's tackle some of those challenges.

Accuracy and Context

You probably know that a successful software localization effort depends on precise translation. Even the finest translators, however, are prone to errors, particularly if they lack certain data. Lack of context is a problem that frequently arises in software localization initiatives.

To comprehend the contents of the material they are intended to translate, translators significantly rely on context. However, spreadsheets containing software strings are frequently provided to translators working on software localization projects. Although they have the text to interpret, they lack the context that would clarify its significance.

Difficulties with Display and Design

Getting translated text to appear correctly is one of the most difficult aspects of software localization. Some languages employ longer or more numerous words to convey the same ideas than English does. The use of fewer or shorter words is more common in certain languages, though.

Because of this, text may occasionally change significantly in size during translation. To account for the modifications, your carefully planned user interface components might need to expand in both height and width.

Format problems

Just translating the text won't be enough to make your product usable for users in many locales. Dates, timings, numbers, locations, and money all have different formatting requirements and standards that must be taken into consideration. Because different languages and nations use various date and time formats, having hard-coded date, time, or currency formats will be problematic when localizing the application.

Efficiency & Teamwork

When there are pressing deadlines to meet, localization is a naturally cross-departmental process that needs prompt teamwork. As the organization expands, efficiency will substantially decline if the content that has to be localized is scattered across without a central location to handle it.

You can simplify the process by making it easier for users to discover the right files and by making it easier for them to interact with material. difficulties will inevitably arise, but the key to effective localization is ensuring that many parties can work together without much difficulty to resolve them and even reduce the number of difficulties.

Keeping up with multiple localization software versions

Usually, numerous versions of the same program must be created to adequately adjust it to a local market. It will be necessary to maintain each version, which might be quite expensive.
Best practices must always be followed because localization efforts have the potential to delay development cycles and make mistakes easily cause service interruptions. A person or team should ideally oversee each market when software businesses adapt their solutions for regional markets. Localization may thus be effectively controlled.

Time and resources

If your product has a lot of content or complicated functionality, localization efforts can frequently take a long time and a lot of resources to finish. To ensure the project is finished on schedule and within the allotted budget, your team will need to commit the required resources.

Furthermore, you should think about how long it will take to maintain localized versions of your product over time. This process entails ongoing updates, testing, bug patches, training materials, customer service channels for each language variety, etc.

How to guarantee that your software localization effort is successful? 

Fortunately, there are several actions you can take to make sure that software translation development is effective. Here are some pointers for ensuring the success of your localization effort.

1. To ensure that everyone on your team (as well as any external partners) understands exactly how they should approach each job within the project timeframe, you should first and foremost write clear specifications for your project before starting any work.
2. The sooner localization planning begins, the better. This gives you more time to design the project's budget and ensure that all relevant parties are on board with the strategy. Additionally, it allows your team more time to investigate target markets and cultures, as well as examine best practices and competition strategies, to create a successful localization plan.
3. A successful localization project depends on choosing the correct software localization translator. An experienced and qualified translator can effectively traverse the translation issues and offer insightful information about target markets and cultures. They need to be able to assist you in creating a successful plan that considers your individual requirements and objectives.
4. Once your localized software is finished, it's crucial to extensively test it to make sure it satisfies the requirements of customers in various regions. Functional testing (to look for defects) and linguistic testing (to look for correctness) should both be done throughout testing. Additionally, it's crucial to document any modifications made during the testing process so they can be followed throughout time.

Conclusion

The process of converting software goods and applications into another language is known as software localization. Localization may be a time taking and slightly expensive process. Even so, it might have a variety of advantages for your software company, such as broadening your market and increasing client retention.

Our goal at Lingual Consultancy is to make the process faster and easier for everyone involved, including the developers and translators. We exclusively use native language speakers, subject matter expert linguists, and highly effective translation and localization resources to offer high-quality software localization services in over 100 languages.