{"id":250,"date":"2016-05-23T10:58:45","date_gmt":"2016-05-23T08:58:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/phraseapp.com\/blog\/?p=250"},"modified":"2023-04-07T15:24:10","modified_gmt":"2023-04-07T13:24:10","slug":"writing-10-best-practice-tips-on-how-to-write-global-ready-content-for-localization","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phrase.com\/blog\/posts\/writing-10-best-practice-tips-on-how-to-write-global-ready-content-for-localization\/","title":{"rendered":"Best Practices for Writing Global-Ready Content for Localization"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: left;\">A <a href=\"https:\/\/phrase.com\/blog\/posts\/global-content-strategy\/\">global content strategy<\/a> that caters to different target markets can have a substantial impact on building a global user base for your software product. Nevertheless, translating an international content strategy into daily business may often lead to confusion, or even tension, among stakeholders who need to create content that will be translated for the international markets.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Even if the <a href=\"https:\/\/phrase.com\/blog\/posts\/how-important-is-localization-for-your-business\/\">benefits of localization<\/a> may be obvious in an increasingly globalized world, the process of translation management can be quite tedious, and often the process of translating content into multiple languages still costs too much and takes too long.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Yet, by applying a few simple tips you can avoid common pitfalls when writing content for localization. Not only will it reduce your localization costs, but it also means a shorter time to market, improved translation quality, and accelerated revenue streams.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_69_1 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Overview<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/phrase.com\/blog\/posts\/writing-10-best-practice-tips-on-how-to-write-global-ready-content-for-localization\/#write-with-localization-in-mind\" title=\"Write with localization in mind\">Write with localization in mind<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/phrase.com\/blog\/posts\/writing-10-best-practice-tips-on-how-to-write-global-ready-content-for-localization\/#write-clear-and-concise-content\" title=\"Write clear and concise content\">Write clear and concise content<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/phrase.com\/blog\/posts\/writing-10-best-practice-tips-on-how-to-write-global-ready-content-for-localization\/#maintain-your-unique-voice\" title=\"Maintain your unique voice\">Maintain your unique voice<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/phrase.com\/blog\/posts\/writing-10-best-practice-tips-on-how-to-write-global-ready-content-for-localization\/#use-images-the-right-way\" title=\"Use images the right way\">Use images the right way<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/phrase.com\/blog\/posts\/writing-10-best-practice-tips-on-how-to-write-global-ready-content-for-localization\/#avoid-starting-from-scratch%e2%80%94unless-the-content-is-entirely-new\" title=\"Avoid starting from scratch\u2014unless the content is entirely new\">Avoid starting from scratch\u2014unless the content is entirely new<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/phrase.com\/blog\/posts\/writing-10-best-practice-tips-on-how-to-write-global-ready-content-for-localization\/#use-a-style-guide-and-glossary-of-terms\" title=\"Use a style guide and glossary of terms\">Use a style guide and glossary of terms<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/phrase.com\/blog\/posts\/writing-10-best-practice-tips-on-how-to-write-global-ready-content-for-localization\/#be-careful-with-granularity-of-conditional-text\" title=\"Be careful with granularity of conditional text\">Be careful with granularity of conditional text<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/phrase.com\/blog\/posts\/writing-10-best-practice-tips-on-how-to-write-global-ready-content-for-localization\/#provide-context-about-your-content\" title=\"Provide context about your content\">Provide context about your content<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/phrase.com\/blog\/posts\/writing-10-best-practice-tips-on-how-to-write-global-ready-content-for-localization\/#provide-reference-material-and-access-to-software\" title=\"Provide reference material and access to software\">Provide reference material and access to software<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/phrase.com\/blog\/posts\/writing-10-best-practice-tips-on-how-to-write-global-ready-content-for-localization\/#speed-up-the-localization-process-with-localization-software\" title=\"Speed up the localization process with localization software\">Speed up the localization process with localization software<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/phrase.com\/blog\/posts\/writing-10-best-practice-tips-on-how-to-write-global-ready-content-for-localization\/#get-your-content-proofread\" title=\"Get your content proofread\">Get your content proofread<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/phrase.com\/blog\/posts\/writing-10-best-practice-tips-on-how-to-write-global-ready-content-for-localization\/#test-early-and-often\" title=\"Test early and often\">Test early and often<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-13\" href=\"https:\/\/phrase.com\/blog\/posts\/writing-10-best-practice-tips-on-how-to-write-global-ready-content-for-localization\/#writing-content-for-global-audiences-doesnt-have-to-be-difficult\" title=\"Writing content for global audiences doesn&#8217;t have to be difficult\">Writing content for global audiences doesn&#8217;t have to be difficult<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 id=\"write-with-localization-in-mind\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"write-with-localization-in-mind\"><\/span>Write with localization in mind<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">If you want to maintain a future-proof localization workflow that sustainably reduces costs and the margin for error, your copywriters and content creators will need to adjust their writing style.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">To write easily localized content, you may think that you need to oversimplify your message, but, in a more positive sense, it\u2019s about removing colorful or colloquial language from your English source text. Taking out anything ambiguous or unnecessary. After all, English will very likely be the mothership content you\u2019re working with, so for many, it&#8217;ll make sense to start their efforts there.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Put another way, source content that has been properly internationalized is easier, less costly, and more efficient to localize. Writing with localization in mind means thinking globally and acting locally. Your wording should always be planned with cultural diversity in mind.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">When writing source content, be careful with examples and scenarios and use caution when utilizing expressions, slang or other phraseological constructs specific to your own culture or references to historical events that may not resonate. They need not be cut out entirely, simply used carefully and in such a way that they can be modified to be made suitable or omitted entirely.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Prepare for text expansion. If you are tight on space, keep in mind that text expands in length during translation. Some languages are more \u201cwordy\u201d than others, requiring more or fewer words to express the same meanings. An example of this is the compounding of words in German to create some linguistic monstrosities.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"write-clear-and-concise\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"write-clear-and-concise-content\"><\/span>Write clear and concise content<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Translators will be more successful in what they do when you write simple and clear source content.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Simplify your wording and always focus on what\u2019s truly important. If something doesn\u2019t need to be said, don\u2019t say it.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Use simple sentence constructions, define and use the appropriate product-specific terminology and spell out acronyms. Use active voice so translators can easily identify the subject of the sentence to further enhance clarity.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Try to remove ambiguity by replacing imprecise pronouns with actual nouns and use articles before nouns. Keep in mind that mistakes in source content might be replicated or amplified in various language versions.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"maintain-your-unique-voice\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"maintain-your-unique-voice\"><\/span>Maintain your unique voice<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Your tone of voice is integral to your corporate identity. You might ask yourself if writing clearly and concisely means getting rid of your individual tone of voice.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Consider yourself a translator and start with a clear version of your text first, using more internationalized and global English, that builds up the source content for further translation and localization. Starting with this version, you might then translate it into more idiomatic English. Global-ready content avoids humor, idioms, and even casual language.<\/p>\n<p>Any translator will tell you that humor is one of the hardest things to translate. Many jokes only apply to a certain region with a shared culture and value set. Take the joke overseas and it will most likely fizzle out like a wet sparkler. If you want to get your content localized faster and easier, keep the jokes to a minimum\u2014or keep them out.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"use-images-the-right-way\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"use-images-the-right-way\"><\/span>Use images the right way<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Images can help you save on localization costs.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">The use of images cuts down on your word count for translation and may even make your product easier to understand.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">A picture is worth a thousand words, but be aware of cultural characteristics. Not all symbols carry the same meaning across borders. Sometimes words are far easier to translate and many writers can be unaware of cross-cultural differences.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Ideally, images should not contain text for the simple reason that it eliminates the need for translation. If text must be associated with a graphic, try to separate text from graphics and create the text as a separate component.<\/p>\n<p>Otherwise, every time you localize copy added to images, you&#8217;ll have to do it manually, including manually uploading the localized image file.<br \/>\nEven more complicated is the issue of space in your images. Very likely, you\u2019ll be dealing with limited characters to fit in your image descriptions. When you try to localize that text into different languages, it may be almost impossible to get it to fit\u2014meaning you may need to change images and pay more for a designer.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"dont-start-from-scratch-unless-the-content-is-entirely-new\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"avoid-starting-from-scratch%e2%80%94unless-the-content-is-entirely-new\"><\/span>Avoid starting from scratch\u2014unless the content is entirely new<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">The most profound way to save costs in localization is by reusing content that has already been translated.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">By finding new and different ways to say the same thing every time a phrase or concept appears in your source content, you are only going to increase your localization budget. Translation is mostly charged by the volume of words, so reducing the word count is a guaranteed way to minimize localization costs.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">So, don\u2019t start from scratch unless the content is all new. When using translation memory tools a reused phrase is a 100% match. It is charged at a much lower rate because it simply needs to be reviewed to ensure appropriate meaning for the new translation.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">As a side-effect reusing content will make your communication appear more coherent across different content pieces.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"use-a-style-guide-and-glossary-of-terms\"><\/span>Use a style guide and glossary of terms<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Most companies have an established style guide. In case you have more than one writer on staff, it&#8217;s important that they follow certain norms.<br \/>\nFor example, if you don\u2019t use the Oxford comma, or always spell a certain term the same way, make sure your writers have a copy of your style guide at hand.<br \/>\nWhen you deal with regular terms, such as in the legal and medical industry, you can compile a glossary of those terms with clear definitions and use cases to make both the source writer and the translator\u2019s jobs easier.<br \/>\nEqually important, you need to be consistent with using terms: 5 different ways to say \u201ccompany\u201d or \u201cdocument\u201d may force translators to find 5 different words and select the one they feel fits best. This leaves too much room for human interpretation, potentially ending up in errors and inconsistency.<br \/>\nThat&#8217;s why it&#8217;s recommendable to choose just one agreed-upon term. Use it consistently throughout your texts to avoid confusion and ensure your localized versions are consistent as well.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"be-careful-with-granularity-of-conditional-text\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"be-careful-with-granularity-of-conditional-text\"><\/span>Be careful with granularity of conditional text<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">When you are already single-sourcing your content, you might use conditional statements to allow content reuse for different outputs. This is great, but if you conditionalize single terms or a portion of a sentence, the granularity of conditional text might cause confusion during the translation process.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Keep in mind that translators might run into problems with regard to gender or the number of the surrounding words. Sometimes you are safer to set a condition at the sentence level.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"provide-context-on-your-content\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"provide-context-about-your-content\"><\/span>Provide context about your content<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Context is king when it comes to translation and localization.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Translators are often given content in a context-free format. How will a translator know if the single term \u201cContact\u201d is a verb for a button or if it is a noun for a label? There are several ways for providing context about the content.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Aside from glossaries and style guides, you can provide context information to translators directly in your source files. The more context you give, by writing notes for translators and providing alternate phrasings, the better.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">So, if you work with content in text-based code files (XML, HTML, JSON, etc.), make sure to use code comments to help translators. If you handle your translations in a spreadsheet you can easily add a column for context notes.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"provide-reference-material-and-access-to-software\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"provide-reference-material-and-access-to-software\"><\/span>Provide reference material and access to software<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Make sure you provide your translators with some means of visualizing how the localized content will be used.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Ideally, translators have access to the software or product that is being built. However, if organizational or technological impediments prevent you from giving translators access to your in-development software, you can provide other reference material such as UI wireframes, mockups, screenshots, screencast videos, or existing documentation.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Also, make sure to specify general technical requirements for the delivery of translated files, specific character count requirements on translations, the desired translator expertise, etc..<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"speed-up-the-localization-process-by-using-the-right-tools\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"speed-up-the-localization-process-with-localization-software\"><\/span>Speed up the localization process with localization software<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Make sure your vendor is taking advantage of the latest translation technology. It can help you ensure quality and consistency as well as reduce costs. Translators are not constantly translating the same phrases over and over again, but rather reusing approved translations.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Even if your translators make use of the latest tools, translation management can be a tedious process.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">From a developer or project manager\u2019s point of view, managing files, dynamic content, and automation are often major pain points when it comes to localization.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Integrating a localization solution into your product development process will streamline and speed up localization, reducing administrative overhead and improving translation quality.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"get-your-content-proofread\"><\/span>Get your content proofread<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The importance of proofreading can\u2019t be stressed enough. The source content that you put out to be localized into other languages must be 100% accurate. It doesn\u2019t matter how professional and diligent your copywriters are. Another pair of eyes on your texts are always helpful to catch potential mistakes.<br \/>\nThat&#8217;s why it&#8217;s key to get your content proofread before sending it out for translation. Then, get one more round of proofreading. Even the smallest errors in grammar, punctuation, or spelling can cause large and expensive issues\u2014as can the use of ambiguity or incorrect terminology.<br \/>\nIf your source content is wrong, all your language versions will most probably be wrong as well\u2014and that could mean a lot of extra costly fixes.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"test-early-and-test-often\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"test-early-and-often\"><\/span>Test early and often<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Most companies don\u2019t worry about localization and translation management until it\u2019s too late.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Mistakes in source content can be replicated or worse, amplified, in various language versions.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">You don\u2019t want to end up fixing dozens of localization bugs that your team had never thought of begin with. So prepare source content for localization ahead of time and test your translations early and often. You\u2019ll save yourself a lot of trouble and angst in the long run.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">We hope these 10 best practice tips will help to make your next localization project a huge success and prep your products for international release. To learn more about how best to globalize your content, we provide a product called Phrase that makes localization for software companies a lot easier.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"writing-content-for-global-audiences-doesnt-have-to-be-difficult\"><\/span>Writing content for global audiences doesn&#8217;t have to be difficult<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Localization can work more smoothly when your source content is written with localization in mind. You may get some backlash from your copywriters at first, but your localization project is a time to set egos aside.<br \/>\nYour writers aren\u2019t the ones tasked with the job of creating a credible and meaningful message around the globe. You are. So write content that is easy to localize, and you can save significant localization costs.<br \/>\nAsking your writers to create content that is easy to localize isn\u2019t all bad either. Not only will it make your localization project run quickly and more smoothly, but it&#8217;ll get your team focused on optimum readability and user experience (UX).<br \/>\nBy cutting down on elaborate and unnecessary sentences, you will make your global content easier to digest across markets. This will keep the user on the page and lead to lower bounce rates and higher conversions. You may even benefit from improved search engine ranking, too, both home and abroad\u2014a win-win situation all around.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Good is not enough: Learn best practices for writing content for global audiences that is easy to translate and adapt to different markets.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":50,"featured_media":1238,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_stopmodifiedupdate":true,"_modified_date":"","_searchwp_excluded":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"class_list":["post-250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-localization-strategy"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/phrase.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/phrase.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/phrase.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phrase.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/50"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phrase.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=250"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/phrase.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80332,"href":"https:\/\/phrase.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250\/revisions\/80332"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phrase.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1238"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/phrase.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phrase.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}