Website translation and localization

What is the ‘website translation’ and the ‘website localization’? What’s the difference?

Translation is a correct rendering of the text content in another language from the point of view of grammar, stylistics, adequacy of sense presenting.

In the localization of sites it is not the correctness of the text content rendering but the basic retrieval requests that are stressed. Even including the wide-spread mistakes. E.g. while analyzing the retrieval requests for the word ‘translation’ one can find ‘translation bureau’, ‘translation agency’, translation agence’ and even ‘transltion agency’. Therefore the translation of texts (content) in the site cannot be called translation proper. It is rather rendering of the site content (some of its pages) in view of the Internet and retrieval request peculiarities.

Besides, not only the website, but also the other objects such as buttons, menus, splash screens as well as the site code and other information invisible to the user such as headlines, meta-tags and other code parts, which are of great significance in the course of the retrieval site promotion, are translated

The site is usually dealt with on several stages:

1. Content translation. The translation of basic site content (visible to the reader).
   
   
2. Site localization. The translation of invisible modules and text which the visitor can see as a result of certain operations in the site. For example: incorrect password, filling of form, sending of messages etc.
   
   
3. Adjustment of a site for the visitor ‘concerned’. For example: such expression as ‘translation bureau’ which is usual in Ukraine is uncommon for the English-speaking users. The English-speaking user would rather type ‘translation agency’ or ‘translation company’ in the retrieval. However, the last expression as translated into Ukrainian literarily is uncommon for the Ukrainian-speaking users. All these peculiarities shall be taken into account in the course of web-site translation.
   
   
4. Site integration – insertion of the translated text into html-pages, splash screens etc.
   
   
5. Site testing – checking of the operability of the translated version of a site.

Precise calculation (final cost of the web-site translation) requires conversion of the web-site content into a MS WORD format. The price for such service is 20% of the total price of the web-site translation.