Today I’m going to take you through 9 design tips for your multilingual website! Website design is important, and there’s some extra considerations to take into account for your multilingual website. So let’s take a look at those and get started!
But before we start, let’s explain why having a multilingual website helps get you visitors to your website. We have several knowledgebase articles that explain about these in greater detail, but here is an overview:
Why websites in multiple languages help you get more international customers
1. Wider Reach: Tourists come from all over the world, speaking various languages. A multilingual website can attract and accommodate a broader audience.
2. Enhanced User Experience: Providing information in a visitor’s native language makes it easier for them to navigate the website, understand the offerings, and feel comfortable making bookings or inquiries.
3. Increased Trust and Credibility: Visitors are more likely to trust and engage with a website that offers content in their preferred language, seeing the business as more professional and customer-focused.
4. SEO Benefits: Multilingual websites can rank higher in search engines for multiple languages, increasing visibility and attracting more organic traffic from different regions.
5. Competitive Advantage: Not all tourism businesses offer multilingual support. Having a multilingual website can set a business apart from competitors and appeal to a more diverse clientele.
6. AI Verbal Searches: Increasingly users are using AI searches and . Customers are getting more and more used to speaking their question, in their own language, into their smartphone or device. So, to rank higher with Multilingual SEO will give your business a huge advantage on your competitors.
7. Better Customer Support: Multilingual websites often include multilingual customer support, ensuring that visitors can get assistance in their native language, leading to higher satisfaction and loyalty.
In the tourism sector, where clear communication, visibility and accessibility are paramount, a multilingual website is indeed a powerful tool.
Now let’s look at nine design tips for a multiple language website:
Sipmly IT's website appears in many languages and is indexed on Google in thos languages. But the website still retains the one brand, because it is a global template.
Tip number 1 – Use global templates
When we talk about global templates, what we mean here is brand consistency.
You don’t want to end up on a website in English and then end up on the Polish version and see two completely different versions. Branding is key!
It’s easier to have one complete version. So no matter what language version you land on, it looks like the exact same site, even though it may in fact be a separate website. Secondly, it helps when you come to add and update languages in the future; you won’t have to make any additional changes if you now want to add French to your site. So it’s always good to have one global template.
Let’s take a look at that in real life. When you look at our Simply IT website homepage from a country like Australia and then switch from English to French, the design and branding are consistent even though it is a completely different website. The only thing that changes is the language, and this creates a seamless user experience.
Our clients Blue Spices are based in Germany show their online shop in German, but allow non-German speakers speakers to view the website in English
Tip number 2 – Make your language switcher easy to find:
Now this one might seem a little bit obvious but for your website visitors landing on your site for the first time, they want to know that you have language options. So if you put it in a prominent place, your website visitors can immediately switch to their preferred language. And be consistent about the positioning; make sure it’s at the same place on every page.
That way the user can easily switch when they want to and another important point is to refer to language options in their native language. What do we mean by this? For example, instead of saying Spanish, say Español or place the flag of Spain next to this option. Either way, your visitors will feel acknowledged and welcomed to your website.
AirBnB lets there customers choose their preferred language on the website header and on the footer
Tip number 3 – Let visitors choose their preferred language.
So what we mean by that is, take me for example. I’m in Germany. I’m visiting a website, and it shows me the German language version of that website. This is often because your browser detects your geolocation in Germany.
This is fine, but I speak English; it’s my native language even though I may be visiting Hamburg in Germany. So, I would love to be able to switch to English. So it’s a little bit frustrating to not get that choice. Just because I may speak German, this doesn’t mean that this is going to be my preferred language. So it’s important to have this option.
For example AirBnB does a great job of respecting users preferences and it allows them to choose their preferred language regardless of their region from two separate fixed places on theor website – on the menu and on the footoer.
Tip number 4 – account for text expansion:
This is an important one because say one or two characters in Chinese could take up a whole line in English. And then you have languages like Arabic, which require a little bit more vertical space.
So allowing that sort of give and take when it comes to text expansion is super important for your multilingual website. It’s important to have adaptive user interface elements. If that’s not enough, then you can even change the font size of your translated language.
Or how about a less literal translation? These kinds of things give you a little bit more leeway in terms of space.
An example of this is the KINS Independent School in Zanzibar. We developed the KINS website for them. Using SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) we helped them rank top in Zanzibar across about 30 keywords that were being used to search for schools in Zanzibar. Then we translated their website using our SEO multilingual strategy. The three languages they chose were Polish, Italian, and Kiswahili. The Polish and Kiswahili versions of the menu bar took up too much space on the main menu, wrapping to a second line. So we just reduced the letter spacing, menu-element spacing, and the size of one button, and it fixed the issue. See for yourself.
BEFORE: KINS School website before the main menu adjustment causing ‘line-wrap’:
Our client KINS school’s Polish translation caused the main menu to wrap onto a send line.
AFTER: KINS School website with the Main Menu adjustment:
Simply IT development team amended the layout of the main menu to accommodate the longer Polish translation.
So this is an important one because not all fonts support your characters in all right-to-left languages. They primarily support Latin fonts, but it’s always best to check that your font is supported so you don’t end up having to change multiple fonts across your multilingual website. A really good place to check this out is at fonts.google.com where you can see all the fonts and test it out before you go live on your website.
Here is our client Simply Safaris & Tours website with English text reading from left to right.
Simply Safaris & Tours allows the Arabic website to flow from right to left and the design was uncluttered to permit this.
Tip number 6 – design for right-to-left languages:
This is because they look different in left-to-right languages; for example, here’s what Simply Safaris & Tours left-to-right design looks like, and here’s what Simply Safaris & Tours right-to-left design looks like in Arabic. Mirroring your design is something you’ll need to consider if you’re planning to design for right-to-left and left-to-right languages Luckily, Simply IT has a translation solution that takes care of and supports this for you! So you’ll have no issues if you’re considering translating your website into a right-to-left language.
Claris keep the same look and feel to their multilibgual websites but they have different images based on language. In South Korea it shows Asian models
Tip number 7 – use images and icons that are culturally appropriate:
Now we’re big advocates of localization here at Simply IT, and translating your images is one of those things that we find really important if you’re targeting different markets. That’s because different images are perceived in different ways in different cultures.
So it’s an important one to be aware of. For instance, the French version of Clarin’s homepage features a Caucasian woman, whereas if we check out the Korean homepage, there’s an image of a Korean woman. So there’s a real possibility of offending cultures with a seemingly innocent picture. You should also consider details like icons because they might signify different things for people from different locations.
For instance, an icon of a globe for Australian visitors would look very different for visitors from Africa. So choosing a globe icon that can be easily recognized by anybody, no matter where you live, is probably more recommended.
Tip number 8 – use culturally appropriate colors:
This kind of follows on from what we just talked about images: that different colors can be represented very differently in different cultures. For instance, red symbolizes good luck, prosperity, celebration, and a long life in Asian cultures but on the contrary, it’s associated with death and aggression in some African cultures. So before choosing a colour for your design, first research what it symbolizes for your target audience. Or try using a more neutral color.
Blue is generally recognized as a pretty safe color and is quite ideal for a multilingual website design.
Tip number 9 – Change dates and other formats:
This is important because not all countries follow the same format. For example, in England the date is often written as ‘month and the year’ whereas in the US it’s the complete opposite; it’s ‘month then the day’, and the year.
Therefore it’s important to change these depending on your target audience. You may also need to change units of measure depending on your target audience. For example 90% of the world uses the metric system but there’s still 10% that use imperial so bear this in mind when you’re doing units of measurement on your website. Translating these measurements will improve the user’s overall experience. So guys those were our nine tips for designing a multilingual website.
Sometimes making sure that the correct spelling is important for a region also. For example, in most locations in Africa where English is taught, the spelling of words like ‘colour’ and ‘favourite’ are the British spellings. The ‘u’ is dropped in the USA and other locations. So knowing localisation etiquette is important.
There might be a little bit of extra work, but it would definitely pay off.
Simply IT has an Amharic version for all their Ethiopian clients
Conclusion
To sum up, Multilingual SEO done well, good design ideas and Localisation is the best way to get customers to your website. Just make sure you plan in advance, and you’ll have the most perfect multilingual website!
Simply IT offers a suite of SEO tools that can help you build a strong SEO presence with your multilingual website.
From analysis of your competitors, keyword research to on-page optimization, multilingual SEO and backlink building, Simply IT can help you through the steps involved in building a successful multilingual site that features prominently in all the language search engines. Contact Us Today.
Multiple language websites with Multilingual SEO are complicated. However, Simply IT can develop one for you, well within your budget, and the Return on Investment will be great!
Simply IT can handle the translation of your website in a few days
The benefits of having multiple languages on your website for your customers and your business. But it is not just adding a translation plugin. Adding languages is not an easy task, and it requires careful planning and execution. You need to consider factors such as the functionality, design, consistency, and relevance of your content, the structure of your website, the availability and cost of language services and technology, and the legal and cultural implications of your choices.
That’s where Simply IT, as experts in multilingual website developers, can help you with every aspect of your website translation project, from selecting the best target languages, to creating and managing your localised content. We testing and launching your translated website within 36 hours. We have the experience, skillset, and all the tools to make your multiple language website a roaring success.
Try searching for ‘Digital marketing experts Tanzania’ in a variety of languages and see if we are in the top 5. Now imagine that is your business!
Interested in finding out about our website translation services, please contact us today. We would love to hear from you and discuss how we can help you reach more customers and grow your business with multiple languages.
Simply IT does not just talk about successful Digital Marketing we actually do it. Don’t take our word for it, try searching for “SEO expertsin Tanzania”, or “Multilingual website developers and Digital Marketing experts in East Africa” using different languages like French, Arabic, Amharic, Dutch, German Italian, or Polish and see how we rank. Or you could ask our 60+ very happy clients in Zanzibar, Tanzania, East Africa, Asia and Europe.
Pops has been an IT professional for over four decades, with a global work experience that spans multiple countries. Beginning as a Programmer and Analyst at a renowned corporation in the UK, he climbed the ladder to eventually become the Director of Global Information & Communications Technology. Along the way, he also led a Digital Marketing Consultancy in Europe for ten years. Presently residing in Zanzibar, Tanzania, Pops pursues his hobbies of watching rugby and football and Stand Up Paddle Boarding.
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