What Is Software Localization And Why It’s Essential
Software Localization involves adapting software to a country’s language, cultural, and regulatory situation. Visible sections of the software such as the user interface (UI), user experience (UX), and images will be the areas that usually require localization efforts.
According to CSA Research, 76% of global consumers prefer purchasing products with Information in their own language. Localization enables authentic interactions for consumers with software products, no matter where they are in the world.
- 72% of people spend time on websites that are in their native language.
- 90% of online shoppers use their native language if available.
What Customer Value Does Software Localization Provide
Thanks to Search Engine Optimization (SEO) localization, websites in native-language content helps with their SEO rankings. By having websites in different languages, a company can improve the rankings of each of their pages, thereby increasing their click-thru rates.
For iOS and Android apps, localizing the app name, description, keywords, and screenshots, helps improve their discoverability, the biggest driver of downloads and usage. According to Apple, 70% of App Store visitors use search to find their desired apps, and 66% of all app installs come directly from this search.
Best Practices for Software Localization
These four-steps are recommended for best practices to follow in software localization:
Thoroughly Understand Your Target Markets
By understanding your target market thoroughly, including by studying their culture, and market dynamics, your software localization strategy will be based on the target consumers you want.
Here are some must do’s to follow:
Who are you targeting?
1) Identify your ideal customer segments by analyzing demographic data and local digital adoption rates. Surveys and social media analysis can be an important way to gather such market-based insights.
What are the societal cultural norms?
1) Gain understanding of local customs and communication styles.
Who are local experts I can lean into?
1) Partner with local cultural experts who can provide insights into local customs, values and communication styles
2) Create localized personas of your ideal customers in each market that you are available.
The more you understand your target audience, the better you can tailor your localization efforts.
Create A Style Guide
Style guides provide clear and concise instructions on language usage, tone, voice, and formatting, streamlining the localization process and reducing ambiguity for translators and content creators. In other words, they help maintain consistency.
This is especially true with User Experience (UX) when it comes to Software Localization. Tone and voice are significant drivers of the overall user experience, influencing how visitors perceive and interact with the software product or service. When users visit a website or engage with an app, they are looking for information and an experience that engages them. The tone and voice helps set the mood, and guiding users through their journey.
Adapt To Local Aesthetics
Aesthetic values are those that relate to the appearance of an object and the emotions that the object elicits. For example, it is natural for consumers to expect the latest-generation iPhones will have greater aesthetic value than a cell phone manufactured 10 years earlier., as it caters to the current considerations related to beauty, evoking excitement and engagement.
Localization efforts related to aesthetic value should encompass the visual aspects of a software product or service. This includes adapting graphical elements, colors, and imagery to resonate with local norms. For example, a website visual design that might be considered eye-catching in one culture could be perceived as offensive or culturally insensitive in another.
Check Images For Cultural Relevance
Before finalizing any software for the local markets you serve, make sure that not only the translated content but also images are relevant for the specific geography. For example, if you enter a market in South America, the culture in this region will be vastly different from Spain. An image of an average family in Mexico is most probably not going to be relevant to Spain.
Summary
A best-in-class software localization strategy necessitates a team of linguistic experts, software developers, and cultural consultants. Depending on which of the four steps described above you are in, different members of this team should be called on for their expertise to enable the best outcome.
Contact Us to learn how Language Scientific can be an ideal software localization team-member.
