During this historic period, everyone increasingly goes to the Internet to buy products or services. A search engine presents us with all the websites with content matching our keywords, ranked based on its positioning algorithms.<\/p>\n
When a search engine gives us a choice between one site in English and another in Italian, we all tend to choose the site in\u00a0our native language<\/strong>, which is where we end up\u00a0making the purchase<\/strong>. It is a spontaneous, perhaps unconscious choice influenced by various factors.<\/p>\n Perhaps we are not very familiar with the other language, so we prefer buying at a site where we\u2019re sure we understand everything we read.<\/p>\n Or maybe, although we know the other language, we\u2019re afraid of missing linguistic nuances, or we are unsure of our cultural awareness and are afraid of misinterpreting terms and idioms.<\/p>\n When we surf the web as customers, our personal tastes and perceptions guide our choices and behaviors. This is a well-known widespread practice and companies opening online stores should be well acquainted with it.<\/p>\n Everyone is now very aware that e-commerce has been growing fast, and it is\u00a0increasingly common for customers<\/strong>\u00a0to\u00a0visit your website<\/strong>\u00a0instead of physically going to a store. They decide within a few minutes, if not seconds, whether to buy from you or to click out of your site and turn to a competitor.<\/p>\n Clearly, you need to be prepared. To ensure that your website is effective and attracts customers, it must be a\u00a0flawless<\/strong>\u00a0virtual showcase that can welcome and accompany every visitor and potential customer.<\/p>\n The secret is to make customers feel at ease, ready to enjoy a unique experience that conveys value and captivates them in a breathtaking, impactful way.<\/p>\n How can this be done?<\/strong>\u00a0It is fundamental that you first adapt your website so that the language, design and cultural references are carefully tailored to the specific audience you are targeting (the \u201cbuyer persona\u201d). That is, you need to\u00a0localize your website<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The Globalization and Localization Association (GALA) defines localization as the process of\u00a0adapting a product or service to a specific locale<\/strong>.<\/p>\n It takes more than just a good translation to ensure that your website effectively reaches its target audience. You need to make an extra effort and work on the text, taking into account the\u00a0customs and traditions<\/strong>\u00a0of the people you are targeting.<\/p>\n In other words, a translation that is limited to\u00a0linguistic\u00a0<\/em>transposition of the text from one language to another is not enough \u2014 the content\u2019s\u00a0cultural\u00a0<\/em>implications must also be addressed.<\/p>\n To fully understand this distinction, just consider a common saying. In English, for example, a literal translation of the expression \u201cIt\u2019s raining cats and dogs\u201d into another language would not convey the original meaning. For instance, a different mental image is used to express the concept in Italian (\u201cpiove a catinelle\u201d, literally, \u201cIt\u2019s raining basins\u201d).<\/p>\n It is therefore essential to understand\u00a0the culture of the target audience<\/strong>\u00a0in order to produce a translation that successfully captures and adapts every single cultural nuance. The process of localizing a text is complex and multifaceted and aims to modify the content while preserving the meaning, style and linguistic register of the original version.<\/p>\n Successful localization is not just about textual content, but also includes a number of related aspects such as design, the format of dates, times, addresses, etc., and finally graphic elements. A graphic that looks like a mailbox to an American may look like a loaf of cheese to someone in another part of the world.<\/p>\n In other words,\u00a0localization<\/strong>\u00a0is synonymous with enhancing the impact of a translation, which is key to\u00a0determining the success<\/strong>\u00a0of your business in new markets.<\/p>\n An online presence allows any company to address an\u00a0audience of customers<\/strong>\u00a0that is\u00a0much larger<\/strong>\u00a0than its physical audience, which is limited by physical constraints.<\/p>\n Expanding your business to international markets is a healthy\u00a0growth<\/strong>\u00a0strategy that requires an impeccable virtual showcase. This is why it is crucial to translate and localize your website.<\/p>\n Localization ensures that the product or service offered is seen as adapted to what the customer wants. For excellent results, you need to understand your audience\u2019s tastes, habits and ways of communicating. This ensures an excellent user experience.<\/p>\n Communicating in the customer\u2019s language and using a language register that reflects how they express themselves and their cognitive expectations will help you grab their attention and make them feel safe, just as if they were at home.<\/p>\n Indeed, localization is not only a means of communicating, but also of\u00a0evoking positive feelings and emotions<\/strong>\u00a0that help build a\u00a0trusting relationship with customers<\/strong>. When users fully understand what they are reading, it makes them feel more confident, reinforces their purchase intent, and increases their motivation and the probability that they will stay at your website or e-commerce portal.<\/p>\n Localizing your website is a worthwhile investment if you want to overcome the logistical barriers of your target market.<\/p>\n Our mission is to\u00a0improve communication across borders<\/strong>, which is why the services we offer include localization of websites, e-commerce portals and online marketplaces in all languages, a service that is now essential for every company.<\/p>\n Want to know more about our localization services?\u00a0Read more here<\/p>\n Need to localize your website?\u00a0Contact us<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" During this historic period, everyone increasingly goes to the Internet to buy products or services. A search engine presents us with all the websites with content [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1385,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[132,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1804","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-linguistic-services","category-news-from-way2global"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat does localization mean?<\/h2>\n
Why localize a website?<\/h2>\n