Choosing the right CMS to support the ease of localization requires that you ask the right questions during the CMS "interview" process. Your localization vendor can also help you sniff out the best option.
Know your languages. Will your language expand or contract in volume versus your English? Are you introducing accented or double-byte characters, or even a bi-directional language, like Arabic or Hebrew? Some languages will be "understood" by your CMS better than others, so be sure to take that into account.
Know your users. Will your user write "December 1st, 2011" 12/1/2011, 1/12/2011, or 2011/12/1? Will "twelve thousand" be written 12,000, 12.000 or 12 000? Will 3 PM be 3:00, 3.00, or 1500? Will your CMS know the difference? As with languages, calendar, time, and number formats can pose their own unique challenges. Check out our post on internationalization for related information.
Know your content. How is your content coded? Will it support your languages? Do you want to separate translatable from non-translatable content? What if you need to have translated content that doesn't have an English equivalent? Can your CMS handle these easily?
Open source vs. proprietary platform. There are some open source CMS platforms that play well with translated content (check out the full article for a nifty graph of the features). There are also some robust proprietary platforms out there that may be a good fit for your needs. The better choice is ultimately driven by your needs and the characteristics you're looking for.
Speaking of characteristics, there are other CMS criteria for you to peruse in the full article, or contact us if you have specific questions.
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