App Localization
Apps are everywhere! If you need food, banking, or repairs, you are certain to find an app to satisfy your need. Users are thirsty for programs in their native language, and that’s where you can break in. If there is any need users cannot satisfy with the help of their smartphone, you are surely the one who can ultimately allow them to do that!
Expect to reach out to an immensely larger number of people with your app? Localization is the answer. It is done in several stages and is based on a strategic plan and technology.
Localizing Apps: Fundamentals
App localization practically means that you adapt its functions and GUI to the users in various corners of the globe. This adaptation goes far deeper than ordinary translation: rendering the text content in another language is not enough. You have to localize every feature of your app and customize them to suit the preferences or expectations of a particular group of users.
Why Localize?
It seems that everybody speaks English nowadays. And still, we are far from having a one-dialect-fits-all situation: polls demonstrate that users like content in their native language much more. And it means that entrepreneurs should give this opportunity to them as the client’s wish is the key asset of any business.
Searching for ways to increase outreach? Millions of potential users are out there to get your app as soon as you localize it.
Below are a few obvious advantages of app localization:
➤Expansion to more markets
Every app begins in somebody’s head, then it is shared with other people who create it, and then with users – usually in the author’s native country. And then it takes a considerable leap to become a global asset – a thing impossible to do without localization.
➤More engagement
People find it appealing when they see that the app was developed in line with their preferences! You are surely capable of giving this user experience to them – in exchange for a loyal attitude and engagement.
➤More downloads
Today’s readers scan rather than take to serious reading, so an app description in their mother tongue instantly attracts users’ roaming attention, and they decide to get it – sometimes in a matter of seconds. The decision is made intuitively, and you should have arguments to feed the intuition. And native language is a powerful argument that you shouldn’t skip.
➤Higher sales figures
Localization is an investment. You invest thousands and even millions in advertising campaigns to persuade your clients to buy your solution. But localization is one of the most obvious and affordable investments that persuades tacitly. It’s a “just-do-it” solution that you always have up your sleeve when thinking of your marketing efforts.
Kinds of App Localization
There always exist two ways to do something:
- Stick to basics to satisfy the major preferences – and there is nothing wrong with that if you achieve your goals.
- Go deep into the matter, catering to every detail that has to be tackled to finally obtain the impeccable outcome – cheers to all perfectionists! This approach does have its niche, too.
Basic Localization
When you enter the market, you usually grope your way into it. And that’s where basic efforts may be enough for a kick-off: you localize the main aspects and the essential content (like the description in the app store and its metadata). This is an ideal solution for the first steps when you have to enter the market quickly without investing enormous resources.
If you see that your efforts bring fruit, you can later offer a new version to your customers – knowing you have some loyal audience you’ve won over at the previous round.
Thorough Localization
If you know your app brought success in several countries and was downloaded by a substantial number of iOS and Android device owners, you may think of thorough product localization to capture all major markets.
In this case, you will get a perfect interface, and clients will feel absolute comfort while using your app. Of course, it helps increase your outreach and ensure customer loyalty.
App Localization: Strategic Plan
There is a multitude of questions you should ask yourself before you go on with any app localization, and we want to suggest some of them to simplify the process for you:
- Which markets do you intend to target?
- How important are the cultural differences for you?
- Do you intend to create a more globalized one-form-fits-all app or do you prefer going local and merging with the surrounding?
- What amount of money can you allocate?
- What are the essential aspects of your app requiring to be localized first of all?
- On what date are you scheduling to release your localized app?
- Who will be your partners and in what way will they cooperate?
- Who will handle the testing the final localized version?
- How will you understand it’s a success?
The list is by no means complete, but modifying it to suit your vision of app localization might be of use throughout the way. Begin planning localization early – when the app is being developed! HumanTranslation can become your trusted linguistic partner on this way.
Useful Tips for App Localization
Localization is ingrained in development to some extent. Sounds surprising? But it is not: if you know right from the outset that your app is intended for localization, you are able to make some considerations to prevent localization problems later on.
Internationalization
You can set the goal of rendering the app adaptable at the initial rounds of its development, and it can save considerable costs as you will not have to play with the code or customize the UI after the app has been released.
Below are several considerations:
- Locate UI strings in separate files. This way, they can be dealt with later on, and you won’t need any code modifications.
- Beware of formats (like dates) that are tied to one country only. Store them in variables to allow for the dynamic building of strings.
- The rules of making plurals vary from country to country, but they may be an important detail which yields that natural feel to the customer experience. Make sure notifications are easily adaptable to suit varying pluralization standards.
- Employ Unicode UTF-8, a golden standard for all developers striving to localize their products. It works perfectly with the majority of languages, so you will have no problems whatsoever.
UI Layout Tips
Allow for as much UI flexibility in the course of development as possible! Below are some tips that might be of use to developers:
- Ensure the design is flexible! It should smoothly take different sizes to be easily adaptable.
- Supporting both language directions is an important feature: test what will happen to the layout should you try to use a language read from right to left.
- Integrate the app with a suitable localization platform to prevent the bugs that may cost an arm and a leg.
App Translation
You can do a great favor to translators and copywriters handling your texts by making just a few simple steps (and this is not just about simplifying their efforts, but about ensuring high quality):
- Take a glance at the UI with the eyes of a person that does not know much about your app. If the functioning of the app is not clear and obvious at first sight, please add some screenshots to put the specialists into the right context and inform them about the app’s behavior.
- The easiest way to achieve the consistency you need is to compile a glossary and a style guide for translating specialists. A good translation memory will ensure top-notch quality of translation, but its content requires to be agreed with you in most cases.
We at HumanTranslation can compile and agree on glossaries and translation bases if you have no specialists to complete this task.
Images
When you use pictures, you aspire to be different from your competitors and not seem offensive or disrespectful. Below are some tips to resort to at the pre-localization stage:
- Text and images should be separated from each other! It would be confusing to see the image with letters in another language on it.
- Your images must be adequate to the goal and respect the religion and culture of the relevant audience.
App Quality Control
You’ve translated all context and checked your pictures, and all things seem to be OK. Don’t be tempted to think it is over, though: any newly-localized app must undergo a thorough quality assurance process to be confident that problems do not appear at later stages.
If you wish to reduce this risk to a minimum:
- Test the language issues. Untranslated strings, GUI fragment that does not look appropriate in the context, and so on – all this should be eliminated before your app is out for the wide public.
- Test the language issues. Untranslated strings, GUI fragment that does not look appropriate in the context, and so on – all this should be eliminated before your app is out for the wide public.
Searching app localization services? Contact us today to take one leap ahead to the world market!
What makes a good translation? First of all, a high-quality source text. If this is a marketing piece of translation, for instance, and the original seems to convey some vague message that is hard to understand for the translator, it will be just as vague for the reader. Therefore, the customer should be prepared to work on the text to get a really good translation, and the translator should be ready to ask the customer to do so. This will make cooperation really beneficial – contrary to the “I-need-the-translation-quickly” approach that may not bear the fruit you want.
Ask the client about the country for which the translation is intended. The Arabic dialect required for Saudi Arabia will differ from the one appropriate for Egypt or Lebanon.
Most Arabic translations will require transcreation due to major cultural differences between English and Arab countries.
The target audience will determine the level of formality required in Arabic texts, so be sure to find out all the required information from the client.
The more important the translation, the higher quality should be agreed upon with the customer. High quality is achieved by editing, sometimes by several editors; it may add up to the cost, but it will finally pay off.
