An Overview of Website and Software Localization (or Internationalization):

You work very hard to put a website together: deciding what goes into the pages, hiring programmers and developers, paying for writers to write the content, designers to design the layout to include everything you need… all of this makes for a lovely website/software program, but imagine being able to double, triple, or even quadruple the profits you can make from the same foundation! If you could reach an international market, that many more people would have access to the services and products on your site or be able to use your software program. And if it is done well, they will feel confident and, most importantly, comfortable dealing with you although you may be halfway across the globe instead of halfway around the block from them.
It’s a fact, people are most comfortable in their native language, so having a website/program in that language will make them feel comfortable, and more like dealing with you over someone else who offers similar services. If the translation is not done properly, you risk losing your new leads to local companies – who may not offer as good service, but can communicate fluently with the potential customer.
It is possible to hire translators who specialize in what is called localization or internationalization. There are many software localization companies out there – more so as web popularity skyrockets. This service is designed to help companies adapt and modify software, websites, and technology-based products for an international audience. The translators who deal with localization and internationalization are usually programmers or developers themselves and so have a solid knowledge of what goes into creating the physical website or software package. They can then translate the elements from one language to another while keeping the site’s coherence in terms of the programming and a visitor’s understanding of the site content.
It is always a good idea to have your website available in different languages – you can link them to each other either from a general home page which allows users to select a language or, they can be more subtly linked – appearing as isolated target sites. Proper site localization can open up your products and services to a global market – increasing your leads and sales significantly.

There are several things to keep in mind before seeing a localization company about translating your website or software program:

It is always a good idea to remove any cultural references that might be lost on an audience of a different culture.

Whenever possible, find a translator whose native language is the language you are translating into. This way, you can be sure that the subtleties of dialect, syntax, and cultural mindset are taken into account. This ensures no one is accidentally offended or confused by your site.

It is always best, but not always possible, to keep translation in mind when designing the site. If the site has been designed so that it can be easily translated and the content easily altered and uploaded, the process will go that much more smoothly.

Keep in mind what programming language your site has been built in (XHTML, HTML, CSS, Javascript etc.), and find a translator who is familiar with the language.