If you’re about to embark on your localization journey, you might be searching for the best website translation services to help you transcend language barriers.
The success of your website localization project depends on translation quality, so selecting the right service providers is absolutely crucial!
This article shares the best website translation and localization services to help you create a successful multilingual website with high-quality translations, attract potential global customers, and increase your international reach.
Let’s dive in!
What Are the Benefits of Website Translation?
If you want to expand globally and reach foreign audiences, translating your website is essential!
Website translation has many benefits for your business and brand, including:
#1 Improved Brand Reputation
Translating your website in a culturally appropriate way and adapting your content to local preferences show that you respect your target audience’s cultural identity.
Additionally, providing website content in your target audience’s native language creates a sense of familiarity that can increase users’ trust in your brand.
#2 Audience Expansion
Users prefer to browse websites and shop online in their native language.
Therefore, a multilingual website in your target markets’ languages can help you increase website traffic and conversions. For instance, Wishtrip saw a 60% increase in international users after localizing their content.
Moreover, translating your website can help in building a more global brand, thus accelerating your global expansion!
#3 Lower Risk of Cultural Misunderstandings
Before translating your website, you must understand your target audience’s cultural nuances and adjust accordingly.
This way, you can ensure cultural resonance and avoid misunderstandings and offenses that could hurt your brand’s reputation. Using the right translation tools is key to creating culturally and linguistically accurate content that resonates with your audience!
#4 Enhanced User Experience
User experience is one of the most important aspects of localization success and something you should invest in.
Users should be able to navigate your website seamlessly in their preferred language and easily find what they are looking for. Translating your digital content to cater to the needs of diverse audiences can enhance user experience, as more and more people will understand what you offer and how they can get it.
However, simple translation isn’t enough for a personalized user experience -you should also localize all aspects of your website content, including the website layout and visuals.
Pro tip: Creating your source website and its content with localization in mind can significantly enhance the user experience for your global audience. By crafting content that is clear, concise, and culturally adaptable, you lay a strong foundation for seamless translation and a truly personalized user experience across languages.
To learn more about optimizing your source content for localization, check out Create Global-Ready Content for International Audiences.
#5 Increased Search Engine Visibility
What’s the point of having an amazing website if users can’t find it?
Combining website translation with SEO optimization can increase search engine visibility, boosting your ranking in local search engine results. Therefore, investing in SEO-optimized content that targets relevant keywords in different target languages is very important!
What Are the Different Methods of Website Translation?
Human Translation (HT)
In human translation, human translators -professional linguists, native speakers, or professional translators translate texts from one language to another. Human translation is one of the oldest and most reliable methods, as it relies on human intelligence.
The cost of this translation solution depends on many factors, including the amount of text that needs to be translated and the language pairs. Some language pairs are more expensive, like English to Chinese and English to Arabic, while others are less expensive, like English to Spanish.
Machine Translation (MT)
In machine translation (MT), also known as automatic translation, content is translated by computer software without human involvement.
One of the most popular machine translation tools is Google Translate, which is useful for literally translating words or phrases, but not recommended for translating large texts or entire website pages.
Machine translation is faster and cheaper than human translation services but cannot capture context or cultural nuances.
AI-Powered Translation
Unlike legacy machine translation (MT) solutions, which rely on rigid rules and statistical models, AI-powered tools like Transifex AI can go the extra mile, transcreating content to resonate with local markets and producing human-quality output that aligns with the context.
With over $100 billion invested in AI research in 2023 alone (Statista), it’s not surprising that AI-based translation tools are rapidly advancing and, in many cases, are matching or surpassing all other translation technologies in terms of quality.
For businesses, this means more efficient localization processes, reduced costs, and the ability to create personalized content that speaks directly to any audience no matter where they are.
What’s the Website Translation Process?
Website translation can be complex, especially if you don’t use the right tools and practices. In general, the main steps you should take to translate your website are:
#1 Make a Plan
Planning is essential in translation, especially if you want to create a multilingual website.
Some questions that can help you create a successful website translation plan are:
- Should every page on my website be translated?
- How many people are going to work on the website translation project?
- Does my target audience have many bilinguals?
- What are my translation priorities?
- What is my budget?
For more information on how to plan website translation, check the Complete Website Translation Checklist (2024).
#2 Decide What Translation Method(s) You Want to Use
One of the first things you need to do before translating your website is to decide what translation methods you want to use.
You can choose between human translation, machine translation, AI translation, or a combination. However, you must consider your budget before choosing the translation method that meets your needs!
#3 Choose the Right Translation Software
Choosing a translation software that meets your needs isn’t always easy, as there are numerous translation software tools on the market. Some key features you should consider when choosing a website translation service are:
- Collaboration capabilities
- Translation memory (TM)
- Automatic quality check
- Easy-to-use platform
- AI machine translation features
- Application programming interface (API)
- Quality Assurance (QA) tools
- Glossary management
- Workflow automation
- CMS integration
- Real-time translation tools
- Translation management system
- Translation workflow management tools or add-ons
#4 Translate Your Website & Optimize Your Content for SEO
Once you have chosen the best website translation tools, it’s time to start translating your website and optimizing it for SEO.
Don’t forget that literal translation is not the best way to translate your website for a new market. You must localize your content to match your target audience’s cultural nuances and adapt it to your website.
Moreover, you must optimize your translated content for search engines by implementing SEO practices, like using target keywords and adjusting your metadata.
#5 Monitor and Update Your Translated Website
Your website going live doesn’t mark the end of the translation process!
After you have published your translated website, you should monitor it and ensure it is updated. You might need to add new keywords to ensure your website stays relevant and SEO-optimized, there may be changes you need to make or adjustments for better user experience. Don’t neglect them!
What Are the Best Professional Website Translation Services?
Now that you know about the benefits and the process of website translation, you might wonder which website translation services you should use.
Here are some of the best options for accurate translations:
#1 DeepL
DeepL is a German-based company that offers neural machine translation (NMT) services. DeepL uses its own neural network technology that relies on human expertise for refinement. The company employs in-house editors, freelance translators, and native speakers to train and improve the output of its proprietary technology at the core of its translation capabilities.
As of July 2024, DeepL supports 32 languages, mostly focused on European markets, which might be less comprehensive for global reach.
While measuring translation accuracy can be very nuanced, it’s fair to say that DeepL’s effectiveness can vary depending on the specific language pair and context. Additionally, like all machine translation tools, it may struggle with highly creative texts or content dealing with novel concepts. Moreover, DeepL has just started supporting glossaries, but it doesn’t allow them to be stored, meaning they must be constantly uploaded.
It’s important to note that DeepL’s expertise lies in accurately translating individual texts or documents rather than integrated website translation solutions that involve end-to-end localization and centralized content management.
#2 Specialized Language Service Providers (LSPs)
Specialized language service providers (LSPs) are professional translators or translation agencies that provide a wide range of services such as localization, proofreading, machine translation, post-editing, and transcription. They often specialize in specific industries or content types, bringing linguistic expertise and experience to the table.
Finding a provider that meets all your specific needs, whether it’s technical translation, creative transcreation, or multilingual SEO, may require extensive research and vetting. Additionally, LSPs can vary significantly in pricing, turnaround times, and technological capabilities.
While LSPs can provide translations of the highest quality, their services often come with higher costs and longer turnaround times compared to automated solutions. The reliance on manual input might also be a less ideal option for large-scale projects or fast-paced workflows.
It’s important to assess your translation needs and priorities before selecting an LSP. Consider the following factors:
- Expertise: Does the LSP have experience in your industry or content type?
- Services: Do they offer the full range of services you require, such as translation, localization, and cultural consulting?
- Technology: Do they utilize translation technology to enhance efficiency and consistency?
- Pricing: Are their rates transparent and competitive?
- Turnaround Time: Can they meet your project deadlines?
By carefully evaluating these factors, you can choose an LSP that aligns with your specific requirements and budget.
#3 Transifex
Transifex offers an end-to-end localization platform designed to streamline and automate the entire translation process for all your website content. It combines the power of AI with advanced translation features and robust integrations to provide an all-in-one solution for brands looking to expand their global reach effectively.\
Seamless Website Integration and Centralized Content Management
Unlike other tools and services that focus solely on text translation, Transifex seamlessly integrates with your website’s content management system (CMS). This allows you to manage all your multilingual content in one centralized platform and eliminates the need for manual file uploads and downloads.
One of Transifex’s standout features is Transifex Live, a no-code website translation solution that simplifies the localization of all marketing content directly on your website in real-time. With Transifex Live, you can:
- Save content for translation directly from your website without using files
- Translate and review your website in context
- Publish translations on the fly without engineering dependencies
This integration is particularly useful if you need to move quickly into new markets and adapt to changing market needs without being bogged down by technical complexities or delays.
Transifex AI: Human-Quality Translations at Scale
Transifex’s flagship solution is Transifex AI, an AI-powered translation engine that delivers human-quality translations in nearly 100 languages by capturing context, cultural nuances, and your unique brand voice. Transifex AI leverages existing style guides, glossaries, and translation memory or even creates them on the fly, ensuring consistent and accurate translations from day one.
What’s more, to ensure an efficient and speedy translation workflow that maximizes the impact of your localization budget, Transifex has developed the Transifex Quality Index (TQI). This index leverages machine learning algorithms to provide a comprehensive framework for real-time translation quality assessment.
TQI can automatically identify and evaluate which translations may require human input, helping to optimize the balance between AI and human translation efforts.
The result?
Accurate and personalized translated content that helps you increase your global reach effectively at a fraction of the cost!
Are you ready to localize your content and achieve growth on a global scale?
Sign Up for a free trial and engage the world with Transifex AI.
FAQs
How Much Does It Cost to Translate an Entire Website?
That depends on several factors, including the amount of words that need to be translated, the complexity, and the translation method you will use. Human translators charge around $0.20-$0.60 per word, while machine and AI website translation services cost much less.
What Is a Website Translation Service?
Website translation services refer to all the services you can use to translate your website’s content from one language to another. Language service providers (LSPs) and localization companies offer website translation services, but not every service is the same. That’s why you must do your research before selecting the website translation service that meets your needs.
Is Translation Good for SEO?
Translation can positively impact a website’s ranking in local search engine results. Optimizing a multilingual website for search engines can increase online visibility and website traffic, helping you reach a wider audience.
