How to Have a Great Experience When You Hire a Translation Company as a Freelancer

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Looking for a translator to help make your site accessible to customers from different countries? Here we share our tips for freelancers looking to work translations.

1. Discuss Your Website and Future Plans with Your Translation Company

The platform your site is on can have a direct impact on translation speed. Translation companies will consider your site’s structure when determining how content should be managed.  

As an example, CMS platforms like Drupal, HubSpot and WordPress can support plug-ins in multiple languages and have built-in functionality for importing and exporting content. Translation companies can translate source files for HTML sites. There are sites that utilize translation proxies. With a proxy, the original text on the site will be replaced with translations when someone in a foreign country visits a page.

If you discuss your site and your plans for the future with the translation agency you hire, the company will be able to manage the project more effectively, saving you time and money.

2. Determine What Your Update Cycle Will Look Like

What sort of update cycle will your site have? Is it an eCommerce site that will be updated regularly, or is it a business site that will only be updated every once in a while? When will you need to update translated pages? Who will handle these updates? Is it something you’ll take care of on your own or will you outsource the work to a translation company?

In the case of sites that need regular updating, it’s best to discuss your future expectations with the translation company as soon as possible. By talking about your plans ahead of time, your translation company will be able to prepare for your future updates. They can plan ahead and make sure you’ll have access to the assistance and resources you need.

3. Figure Out Which Pages Need to be Translated

It might not be necessary to translate every page on your site. For example, there may be location or even culturally specific pages on your site that only need to be in one language. Go through your entire site before you bring on a translation company. Decide which pages need to be translated and which pages can be left untouched.

4. Go Over Your Content to Make Sure It’s Appropriate for Other Markets

There are references and terminology that may not make much sense to people outside certain regions. One example of this is “toll-free numbers.” This is something that only exists in the United States. When a page is translated, this information will need to be replaced with something that applies to the international audience.

Decide if you want to remove these sections or replace them with more relevant terms or

language. If you’re able to spot these issues in advance, you’ll have the chance to provide some direction to the translation company that you work with.

5. Keep In Mind That Foreign Languages May Take Up More Room

Translating text can cause it to take up more space. As an example, Spanish, German, and French take up approximately 30 to 40% more room than English. You should talk to your web developer about your future translation plans early on. That way, they can make sure there’s ample space for your content after it’s translated.

By using IDS and classes for text styles instead of inline styling, you’ll be able to make formatting changes with ease. Request that the designer show you what the site would look like it had 30% more characters. This will help you see what your site might look like after translations. It’s particularly important to focus on aspects like call-to-action buttons. There are often limits when it comes to character counts, and using a different phrase may be necessary in some cases.

6. Talk to Your Translation Company About the Foreign Language Keywords You Want to Target

If you want to bring search traffic to your translated site, you’ll want to identify foreign language keywords you want to target. An SEO professional can help you find suitable keywords. Once you have these keywords, you should present them to your translation company. It’s crucial that you use the right phrasing when targeting keywords. Instead of opting for direct translations, your translator may decide to use these keywords in specific spots to better optimize your site for search engines.

If you choose to work with a translation company on a long-term basis, they’ll be able to utilize your SEO keywords consistently in current and future translations. This will lead to better results for you.