The web has truly become global, meaning your customers can now sell their products to millions of people around the world. Technology has made it relatively easy to expand into new markets, some of which are growing at an astonishing pace. It’s an opportunity that shouldn’t be missed. It’s no surprise that we’ve identified localization as a key trend in our e-commerce growth strategy.
The Importance of Localization and Adaptation in the Design Process
As Robyn Larsen, a specialist in international user experience marketing at Shopify, points out, the goal is to build an experience that supports all users around the world, and when this experience doesn’t fit a particular culture, it needs to be tailored.
Planning for Text Expansion
Luke Murphy-Weymouth, Design Director at the language learning platform Memrise, recommends planning for text expansion when dealing with different languages. He notes that text length can vary significantly between different languages, and thus the design should be adaptable to these differences.
Content Translation and Cultural Relevance Assurance
Femke van Schoonhoven, a product designer at Uber, highlights the importance of translating content and ensuring cultural relevance during the design process. She shares her story about how overlooking translation affected the user experience.
Planning for Language Control
Eli Shoutzi Ramirez, a web engineer at Monzo, recommends allowing your client’s users to specify their preferred language. He points out that IP addresses can be used to guess a user’s location, but this may not always be accurate. Therefore, he suggests enabling users to choose their preferred language themselves.
Selecting the Right Localization Library
When translations are ready for your client, Robyn Dekimen, a UI engineer at Tollya, recommends using the right localization library to pull the correct text based on the user’s language. There are many excellent localization frameworks and libraries to choose from.
Date, Time, and Number Formatting
Robyn Dekimen emphasizes the importance of date, time, and number formatting when localizing, even if the application you are building will only use English. He recommends leveraging localization libraries that come with date and number formatting capabilities.
Ensuring Inclusivity in Electronic Forms
Eli Shoutzi Ramirez points out the importance of ensuring that the electronic forms you create for your clients’ projects are inclusive. He recommends allowing users to enter their names with more than just the letters from A to Z to create a user experience that is inclusive for everyone.
Considering Cultural Differences
It is also essential for the product to adapt to the cultural differences of the users, which goes beyond translating your client’s website or app into a different language. Design and development must take these differences into account from the very beginning.
Designing for Diversity
To reach more users without alienating them, you should learn localization and adaptation techniques like those mentioned in this article, even if your clients predominantly speak English. Don’t rely on assumptions, and remember that different cultures can be vastly different from your own. Design and develop with these differences in mind from the start, and you will enhance the user experience of your client’s site, which will increase conversion rates.
Source: https://www.shopify.com/partners/blog/internationalization
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