Is a language translation tool the right move for your business?
For many small businesses, they serve a diverse audience. Having a website that can present information in multiple languages can provide a huge advantage to the business and the audience. Over the past few years, there are more and more websites with a basic language translation tool on their websites. Doing this makes their content more accessible to a wider audience. Is a language translation tool the right move for your business?
Reasons to Add a Language Translation Tool
- Reach a Wider Audience – If your business works with customers who speak any number of different languages, having a translation option can those customers better engage with your website and business.
- Better User Experience – Visitors who can read your content and navigate your website in their preferred language are more likely to remain on your site and find what information they need, and take action with your business.
- Improved Accessibility – A multilingual site can be helpful for businesses in industries such as healthcare, hospitality, and e-commerce, where clear communication is essential.
Things to Consider
- Accuracy of Translation – While tools like Google Translate provide easy to implement and quick solutions, the translations aren’t always perfect. Automated translations can result in awkward phrasing or misinterpretations of the actual text. If exact wording is critical, you’ll want to work with professional translations for key pages.
- Impact on SEO – Some translation tools won’t create indexed versions of your pages in the different languages. This means that the new language pages won’t help with multilingual SEO. If reaching an international market is a top goal and priority, a more advanced approach will likely be needed.
- Site Performance – Some translation plugins can slow down your website. This is especially true if those plugins need to load any additional scripts. Be sure to test for any performance impacts that the translation tool might have on your website.
- User Preference – Consider whether your audience actually needs translation options. If most of your visitors speak the same language, a translation tool might not be necessary.
A Great Way to Enhance UI
Adding a translation tool can be a great way to enhance user experience and expand your reach, but it’s important to weigh the benefits and challenges. If you’re wondering whether this is the right step for your website, we’re happy to help you explore your options!