Website Translation: How to Translate Your Entire Website Online

Localizing your website means adapting your site's online content to conform to your target audience's prevailing cultural and social preferences. This process enables you to enhance your engagement with your readers because you are relating to them on a more personal and intimate level. The first step toward implementing a localization strategy is website translation.This post will demonstrate how you can translate your whole website in a few simple and easy steps. However, let's first examine some basic options for website translation. You have two main choices when it comes to translating your website:

HUMAN TRANSLATION AND MACHINE TRANSLATION

Human Translation

Human translation involves professional human translators translating content from one language into another. Many agencies provide human translation services for which you pay a fee.The major advantage of using human translators is that the translators can take the structure, context, and nuances of a language into account. Another plus is that human translation typically includes procedures such as quality assurance and proofreading.

Machine Translation

Machine translation is an automated process that translates content from one language to another using artificial intelligence (AI).

• Example: Google Translate utilizes a neural machine translation system to convert content from one language into another. The major disadvantage to website translation done in this way is that machine translation cannot take context or the nuances of a language into account. The result is inevitable; you often get inaccurate translations.

Website Translation With Google Translate

Google Translate allows you to translate your entire website into different languages in a few simple steps as follows:

1. Launch Google Chrome and click on the Google Translate site, namely: translate.google.com
2. Type your entire website URL into the text box on the left.
3. Choose the new language you want to translate your website into.
4. Click on the Translate button.

You can now view the translated version of your website.

However, in the above example, you will see that some words and phrases don't get translated. This is because Google Translate cannot cope with any text that appears in an image. This also applies to Chrome's automatic Translate tool.While there is no doubt that Google Translate is an easy and fast way to accomplish website translation, it's far from ideal. The translations it provides aren't accurate, and you don't get any support services. In addition, Google Translate is all about machine translation; it doesn't involve any human translation.However, there are other and better ways to accomplish website translation that avoid the downsides that come with Google Translate. Localize, for example, provides you with both machine and human translations, and you get great support.

Introducing Localize

Localize is a complete multilingual translation management service (TMS) whereby you can automatically translate your entire website into more than 100 languages. Depending on the language pair, this platform uses a combination of Google, Microsoft, DeepL, and Yandex translation services to deliver the most accurate results. How can Localize do this? The Localize translation solution is based on a mix of both machine and human translation. You get the best of both worlds! Your entire website content is translated quickly using machine translation. Then you can manually edit your automated translation with a variety of tools such as an in-context editor or translations list. To sum up, Localize provides:

• Website translation completed in minutes.
• Both automatic and human translation.
• Ability to use professional website translators.
• Ease of use and a simple plugin to integrate.
• Management of all your translations in one location.
• Compatibility with various website technologies.
• Optimization for SEO.

Website Translation Using the Localize Platform

Whichever CMS you are using (or you have built your site without the help of a CMS), know that all of our integrations have been designed to make it easy for you to add multilingual capabilities to your website – you don't need the assistance of a developer. Here's what you do:

Step 1: Install the Localize Plugin

Find the Localize Translate plugin and install and activate it on your WordPress site. If you haven't already done so, create a new Localize account. This includes entering your email address and creating a password. You'll be sent a verifying confirmation email and receive your API key.

Step 2: Configure the Plugin Settings

From the WordPress dashboard sidebar menu, go to the Localize menu and proceed as follows:

1. Enter your API key.
2. From the dropdown menu, select the Original Language your website content is published in (e.g., English).
3. Choose the Destination Language or Languages, i.e., the language(s) you want to translate your site's content into (e.g., French).
4. Using the same screen, you can also choose additional options for widget style, language switcher, and location. Additionally, you can exclude certain pages from being translated and opt to enable auto-detection of your visitors' languages based on the settings of their web browsers.
5. Click the Save button to continue. Preview your site's front end to see the language switcher widget that enables your visitors to translate your entire website into their desired language at the click of a button.

Step 3: Manage Your Translation

Localize automatically gives you an initial translation of your entire website. Once this step is completed, you can edit and manage your website translation via Localize's built-in editing interfaces. The Visual Editor provides you with a preview of your site, enabling you to modify your translation while considering context and design. Click on the …………………….. to open a pop-up window that allows you to edit the translation. The Translations List editor gives you a side-by-side view of your original content along with the machine-generated translation. Any changes you make to the translation are saved automatically. The top search bar enables you to quickly find translated content you want to modify. The Translation options button allows you to set up rules for your translations. As an add-on service, Localize helps you connect with professional translation agencies directly from its platform. You just select the content you wish to have professionally translated.

Website Translation: Conclusion

If you wish to translate and localize your website for different target markets, you need an easy-to-use translation management service such as Localize. We are the experts at website translation so let us help you translate your entire site into as many different languages as you need.

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