At globotext, we work with many companies that have rich, dense, well-developed websites in an original language that has been crafted to serve their primary constituency.

Often, when we discuss how to adapt their site to other constituencies, their first thought is that the entire site needs to be translated. The cost for this, however, can be prohibitive and so the initiative dies before it can take its first breath.

globotext’s position is always to analyze your site in light of your constituency. Who are you reaching and why and what are the messages you wish to convey? What do you intend to achieve, bottom line, with your multiple-language sites?

Are you reaching out to serve your community with health care information? If so, consider their health concerns. These can be very different amongst your various multicultural audiences. What ails them? What lifestyle issues will support their wellness and address chronic diseases?

Are you promoting economic development? If so, what key information does your audience need to make decisions on the viability of your community or enterprise for investment? Is there something on your current site that would be confusing, not address their primary issues, or would be unclear read in a different cultural light?

Is your constituency literate? Should you be translating your site or should you adapt your content to audio/video messaging to reach your audience more effectively?

It is easy to ask for and receive a translated website. By just translating your current site you are making a lot of assumptions.

You may be better served by questioning what you have to understand and learn about your audience, what you intend to accomplish by making your firm’s information available in other languages, and above all, what would you like your audience to do as a result of being exposed to your site? Starting with your ideal final outcome will make the steps you must take to arrive there more logical and manageable.

When you think of reaching new markets, think of what that will do to transform your business. Be very clear about the results you intend to achieve. Then consider the ways in which your website’s transcreation will help you achieve that objective.

Question everything! Assume nothing! And remember that it might be wiser financially and ultimately more effective to translate, or transcreate, key pieces only rather than the entire pie!