White Paper: Preparing Your Website for Localization (cont.)
3. Be culturally aware with your content. Oftentimes this can
involve a delicate mix of standard global content along with content of
local interest only. Being culturally-aware when creating global
content will make it easier to localize later.
- Maintain your global branding. Make sure all your corporate
information (company information, mission, history and culture) is
localized but kept consistent throughout the site in order to maintain
consistent identity and branding.
- Keep local content local. For highly local content (press
releases, news, HR information, etc.), make sure that it is either
generated or reviewed locally with an eye toward maintaining the
overall consistency of the site.
- Avoid overtly culturally biased photographs, graphics or expressions. Make
sure you have a good stock of photographs that represent the different
ethnic groups of a particular country and the varied social situations.
- Double-check your support telephone numbers for other countries. If
they are 1-800 numbers, they cannot be called from outside the U.S. Be
sure to provide non toll-free numbers instead. Also, if service and
support can only be supplied in English, it is best to specify that as
a courtesy to the user.
- Beware of different privacy laws. Remember that there are
legal differences between countries. If you collect visitors’ data on
your website, you need to be aware of data protection laws for their
country. If you advertise aggressively on your website, remember that
negative or comparative advertising often is not allowed in other
countries.
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