What if you were to set off on a trip around the world tomorrow? Naturally, you would do so well prepared. The same goes for content. Before you send it out into the world, there are some very important things to bear in mind.

For translations too: good preparation is everything

Whether it is technical documentation or marketing material, you put a lot of effort into creating and optimising your content. If you always translate it into the language of your target audience, this is obviously a double win. Only: are you sure you are translating or ‘localising’ (adapting to the local context) that content absolutely correctly?

From our experience, we at Lexitech select five focal points. These will put you a long way down the road!

1. Graphics: do your images, examples, colours … appeal to users in other countries? Are they more likely to be disruptive or create annoyance? Consider the colour white in Japan: a colour of mourning …
2. Measures, weights, coins, time … in other regions people present them differently than here: check with your translation agency that this is not a hindrance.
3. Terminology: are the terms you use clear and coherent? This can be checked:
   1. for the product as such (e.g. the terms ‘prosthesis’, ‘orthosis’, etc.)
   2. for its properties (e.g. the terms ‘compatible’, ‘self-cleaning’ …)
   3. but also for users’ actions (e.g. the terms ‘download’, ‘upload’ …)
4. Is your language clear, in other words: are you not falling into technical jargon that your target audience is not familiar with?
5. Are your sentences not too complex, is the style not too heavy-handed? Translation does not generally make things easier. Especially if you (rightly) demand that the translation is as close as possible to the source text.

We are happy to look with you at how you can save time and a big bucks by getting your content ready to go around the world.

Contact us
for a no-obligation audit of your content.