A business can translate its website into another language and still get the market wrong.
The words may be correct, but the currency may be unfamiliar. Dates may follow the wrong format. Product descriptions may use terms local customers do not search for. A slogan may make sense in English but sound awkward when translated directly.
That is the difference between translation and localisation.
Translation changes the language. Localisation adapts the content for the people who will use it.
Research commissioned by Phrase found that 54% of business leaders said their organisations struggle to communicate effectively with international audiences. The same research points to language, cultural differences and local preferences as important considerations when businesses expand.
For a business entering a new country, localisation helps answer a practical question:
Will this content make sense to customers in that market?
Translation focuses on meaning between languages.
Localisation looks at how that translated content will work in a particular market.
Take a UK online retailer preparing to sell in the UAE.
Translating product descriptions into Arabic is one part of the job. The business may also need to review:
Without these changes, the website may be readable but still feel designed for another market.
The same issue applies in reverse. A Pakistani company entering the UK may need to adjust terminology, measurements, pricing information and marketing language even when some of its original content is already written in English.
The market matters as much as the language.
The changes depend on the type of content and where it will be used.
| Content Element | What May Change |
| Language | Vocabulary, tone and terminology |
| Currency | Local currency and price presentation |
| Dates and time | Regional formats |
| Measurements | Weight, distance, dimensions or temperature |
| Images | People, settings, symbols or seasonal visuals that may not suit the new market |
| Product information | Names, sizes and descriptions |
| Website interface | Buttons, menus and forms |
| Search content | Keywords and metadata |
Not every localisation project requires all of these changes.
A technical manual may mainly need accurate terminology and regional measurements. A consumer website may require changes to language, imagery, search terms and user-interface content
The first step is to identify what needs to change for the target market.
Localisation is most relevant where customers interact directly with a business, product or service.
A website may need localisation across product pages, navigation, forms, checkout content, delivery information and confirmation messages.
A common mistake is to translate the main pages while leaving important parts of the buying journey in the original language.
A customer may understand the product description but encounter unfamiliar wording when completing a form or making a payment.
For an e-commerce business, the complete journey needs to work for the target market.
Software localisation may include:
Layout can also require attention.
Languages such as Urdu and Arabic are read from right to left. Translated text may also become longer or shorter than the original, which can affect buttons, menus and screen layouts.
Software should therefore be checked in the actual interface rather than reviewed only as a text document.
Businesses entering new markets may need to adapt:
Customers should be able to understand what they are buying without converting unfamiliar measurements or interpreting unclear terminology.
Localisation should not stop once the customer makes a purchase.
Help centres, FAQs, automated emails and troubleshooting guides may also need adaptation.
A company may market a product in the customer’s language, but that advantage is reduced if its help centre, automated emails or support material are not available in the same language.
Website localisation begins with the target market.
A business should first identify who will use the website and which parts of the customer journey need to be adapted.
This may include:
Consider a Pakistani clothing business preparing its website for UK customers.
The English may already be understandable, but the business may still need to review clothing terminology, measurements, delivery wording, prices and search terms.
Even when a website is already in English, it may need changes to work naturally for customers in another English-speaking market.
The same principle applies when a UK business prepares its website for Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, France or another country.
Localisation should be based on the market, not only the language.
Marketing language is written to attract attention and encourage a response.
Headlines, slogans and advertisements may use humour, emotion, wordplay or cultural references. These elements often lose their effect when translated literally.
A slogan may remain grammatically correct but still sound unnatural or unconvincing to the new audience. A seasonal campaign may also refer to an event or custom that has little relevance in another country.
Marketing localisation may involve adapting:
The original message should remain recognisable, but the wording may need to change so it sounds natural to the local audience.
This requires more judgement than replacing each sentence with its closest linguistic equivalent.
Customers in different countries may search for the same product or service using different words.
This creates a problem when businesses simply translate their existing SEO keywords.
The translated term may be correct but rarely searched in the target market.
Multilingual SEO may involve:
For example, a company selling the same service in the UK and Pakistan should not assume customers in both markets use identical search phrases.
Keyword choices should reflect how people in the target market actually search.
A localised page therefore needs to work for both the reader and the search behaviour of that market.
Localisation should adapt content without making the brand unrecognisable.
A company may operate in several languages, but important product names, service terms and brand messages should remain consistent.
Businesses can use glossaries, style guides and approved terminology to manage this.
A glossary can define approved versions of:
A style guide can set rules for:
These resources become more useful when several translators, departments or markets are involved.
Without agreed terminology, the same product or service may be described differently on a website, inside an app and in customer-support material.
Consistency helps the business adapt its content without losing the language people associate with the brand.
Deliveroo provides a useful example of how localisation requirements increase as a business expands.
As Deliveroo entered more international markets, it had to manage a growing volume of translated content while keeping the customer experience consistent.
According to a Phrase case study, centralising the localisation process helped Deliveroo reduce project timelines by three to four days and resulted in reported 40% time savings for localisation managers, developers and designers.
Deliveroo’s experience shows how localisation becomes harder to manage as a business adds more markets, languages and content. Centralised terminology and workflows can help reduce inconsistencies and shorten the time needed to prepare content for different markets.
Localisation is easier to manage when it is treated as part of market expansion rather than as a last-minute translation task.
Source: Phrase / Deliveroo
Before localised content goes live, businesses should review several practical areas.
Is the correct regional version of the language being used?
British and American English differ in terminology and spelling. Arabic, Spanish, French and many other languages also vary between regions.
Check:
Review date formats, telephone numbers, addresses and opening hours.
Check jokes, idioms, images, examples and seasonal references that may not make sense in the target market.
Make sure keywords reflect how people in the target market search rather than relying on direct translations of existing terms.
Confirm which product names, service names and brand terms should remain unchanged and which should be adapted.
Review the final website, application or document after localisation.
Translated text may use more or less space than the source, which can affect menus, buttons, graphics and page design.
Different types of content require different approaches.
A business document may need accurate professional translation.
A website may need localisation across its pages, navigation and customer-facing content.
Software may require both linguistic and interface adaptation.
Marketing content may need greater cultural adjustment so that the message sounds natural to the intended audience.
Translation Empire can support businesses with language services for websites, software, documents and multilingual content intended for international markets.
Before starting a localisation project, it is important to identify:
This helps determine whether the project needs translation, localisation or a combination of language services.
Entering a new market does not mean changing the identity of a business. It means adapting the parts of its content that may not work for the new audience.
Localisation helps businesses adjust language, digital content and customer-facing information while keeping important brand terminology consistent.
Translation Empire PK supports businesses preparing websites, software, documents and multilingual content for international markets.
Expanding into a new market? Translation Empire PK can help adapt your website, software and business content for the people who will use it.
