Website and App Localisation

Localisation: the art of making your product native in every market

Localisation is often confused with translation. However, they are two distinct processes. Translation converts text from one language to another. Localisation adapts the entire user experience (UX) to a local culture, market and context.

Imagine a US e-commerce site translated into French but still displaying prices in dollars, sizes in inches, dates in MM/DD/YYYY format and references to Thanksgiving. The result: the French visitor immediately perceives that the site is "foreign", which breaks trust and reduces conversions. Proper localisation would have adapted currencies (EUR), units (cm), date formats (DD/MM/YYYY) and cultural references (Christmas instead of Thanksgiving).

Since 2000, Asiatis has supported international companies (e-commerce, SaaS, gaming, software editors) in their localisation projects. Our approach covers 4 dimensions:

1. Linguistic: translation adapted to the local register (France French ≠ Canadian French).
2. Cultural: adaptation of images, colours, examples, references.
3. Technical: date formats, currency, telephone numbers, units of measurement.
4. Local SEO: optimisation for local search engines (Google.fr, Google.de, Baidu, Yandex).

1. Linguistic adaptation: beyond word-for-word translation

A literal translation of a site or app creates sentences that are technically correct but culturally strange. For example, the American slogan "Think different" (Apple) does not work in French if translated literally ("Penser différent"). The official French version is "Pensez différemment", but even this translation loses the impact of the original.

We apply contextual translation:

• Adapted tone: formal in German, informal in US English, polite and indirect in Japanese.
• Localised idioms: "raining cats and dogs" → "il pleut des cordes" (French).
• Text length: German is 30% longer than English, Chinese 50% shorter → UX adjustments.
• Regional variants: France French vs Quebec French, Spain Spanish vs Mexican Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese vs Portugal Portuguese.

2. Cultural adaptation: images, colours, references

Certain visual or textual elements work in one culture but fail in another:

Our native translators identify these cultural sensitivities and recommend adaptations:

• Colours: white = purity in the West, mourning in Asia. Red = danger in the West, prosperity in China.
• Symbols: avoid religious references in certain markets (cross, star, etc.).
• Characters: ethnic diversity adapted to the market (Asian models for China, etc.).
• Examples: replace "Super Bowl" with "World Cup" for Europe, "Black Friday" with "Singles Day" for China.

3. Technical adaptation: formats, currencies, units

Technical details are crucial to avoid confusion:

4. Multilingual SEO: local visibility on Google

Localising a site without optimising local SEO makes it invisible. Our multilingual SEO specialists apply best practices:

1. Native keyword research: no literal translation of your source keywords. Our native SEO specialists identify the queries actually used by local users, with volumes and CPC, using Ahrefs, SEMrush, Google Keyword Planner and Baidu Keyword Tool.
2. hreflang tags: indicate to Google which version of the site to display depending on the user's language/region (avoids duplicate content).
3. Localised URLs: `/en/services` vs `/fr/services` vs `/de/dienstleistungen` (translated slug).
4. Adapted meta tags: titles and descriptions transcreated (not simply translated) for local queries.
5. Local backlinks: partnerships with local sites to strengthen regional authority.

Result: your site appears on the first page of Google.fr, Google.de, Google.co.jp, Baidu (China), Naver (South Korea) and Yandex (Russia), with content adapted to each market.

Formats and platforms: sites, apps, software, games

We localise all types of digital content:

• Websites: CMS (WordPress, Drupal, Joomla), static (HTML/CSS), frameworks (React, Vue, Angular).
• Mobile applications: iOS (.strings files), Android (strings.xml), React Native, Flutter.
• Software: desktop interfaces, online help, resource files (.resx, .po, .properties).
• Video games: dialogue, menus, subtitles (Unity, Unreal Engine, JSON/XML files).
• E-commerce: Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, PrestaShop.

We deliver localised files in the source format (JSON, XML, XLIFF, etc.) for direct integration into your platform.

Localisation process: from analysis to validation

1. Project analysis: target languages, priority markets, technical formats, volume.
2. Content extraction: source files (JSON, XML, CMS export).
3. Glossary + style guide: creation of a terminology glossary and tone guide per language.
4. Translation + cultural adaptation: by specialised native translators.
5. Technical integration: reinsertion into source files, format testing (dates, currencies).
6. Linguistic testing: display verification (text length, special characters, RTL for Arabic).
7. Final validation: quality control + functional testing.

International network: Paris, Canada, Singapore

Asiatis has a presence on 3 continents, with native translators across 150+ languages. This presence allows us to:

• Assign a local translator for each market (Chinese translated by a native in China, Arabic by a native in the Middle East).
• Manage time zones for international projects (teams in France, Canada, Singapore).
• Test user experiences locally (a site for Japan tested by Japanese users).