It's always good news when you expand into other markets online. But like text changes on your website, it does mean a lot of manual, mind-numbing and error-prone work. For example, cutting and pasting translated content for local product pages adds up and takes hours or even days. What would it be like if a robot did this work for you 24/7, error-free, in the blink of an eye and without grumbling?
If you are looking not only for a translation partner, but also a technology partner to automate workflows on your multilingual website, you have come to the right place. Get in touch or request a non-binding quote.
Some people still think you have to copy the text from your website code into Excel or Word and then manually paste the translation back in. This is manageable for a few pieces of text or a webshop with a handful of articles, but the more products you offer, the more work this is. And let's face it: this kind of work is very unsatisfying and a waste of your precious time. In a market that is constantly changing and where technological innovation is sometimes hard to keep up with, you can't afford to spend days on this kind of tinkering. And it's a tedious job when all goes well, but with a bit of bad luck you miss a bracket or parameter somewhere and also lose hours of extra troubleshooting before you find the error. Fortunately, this activity is actually outdated and better solutions are usually available.
In many cases, it is possible to export a file that a translation agency can work with directly. First, it is important to note that many translation solutions offer support for the file formats of both a variety of software (including InDesign, FrameMaker, FileMaker, AutoCAD, etc.), as well as a variety of programming code (such as Java, HTML, XML and even markdown files). Also, most CMS systems, such as WordPress, Drupal, Magento, Adobe Experience Manager, BigCommerce and WooCommerce offer options to export content for translation to set up a multilingual website. So it is quite possible that you can easily have entire files translated, after which all you have to do is import them and check that everything has come across correctly.
Moreover, this applies not only to individual files or web pages: entire databases with product data can often also be exported for translation. The vast majority of webshops use a Product Information Management (PIM) system, such as Pimcore, Perfion or Akeneo. These all offer possibilities to mark products for translation and then generate a file with content to be translated. Depending on the PIM system, this then produces, for example, a YAML, XLIFF or CSV file, which is fully compatible with a translation agency's tools and once translated can be loaded back into the PIM system. It may take some time to set up, but these processes are usually excellently documented and you will recover this time investment very quickly.
You can go one step further in some systems and automate the translation process with special APIs. In this case, a CMS or PIM system can be linked to both a machine translation system and an online translation platform such as CrowdIn or Transifex. This can save even more time by also taking the task of sending files around out of your hands. Moreover, this way it automatically keeps track of what is changed in the source language so that these changes can also be reflected in all translated versions. As a result you can be sure that all language versions of your webshop will use the same content!
These types of solutions also have an additional advantage: you can sometimes achieve substantial cost savings. Because such translation tools work with translation memories (TMs), everything that has already been translated is used as a basis for further work. A translator therefore needs to spend less time, which is directly reflected in the cost. And because repeated text is simply reused, your website will also be more consistent! This can be particularly interesting for webshops that have many similar products. On a product database with several thousand products, effective TM use can already save hundreds of euros. And that financial benefit of course stacks up with the savings in time described above!
We understand that this may look complicated, especially if you're entering a new market for the first time. Fortunately, you are not alone: we are always there for you. Scriptware Translations is part translation agency, part technology partner and fully focused on this type of modern e-commerce solutions. So we're happy to think along with you about setting up the best tooling and workflows. Even if this is your first translation project, we can advise you on how best to go about it, with tips tailored to your business and budget. And if you already have extensive experience, we are happy to help you find ways to make your process even more efficient. Make an appointment to find out how we can help you get the most out of your investments or read our whitepaper on effective multilingual e-commerce for more tips and tricks.
