E-ging Solutions is a world-leading Shanghai translation company with specialties in website translation.

In the last article, we looked at how translation proxy might be the best option for you if you are looking for fast website translation, if you regularly update content and want to get started in website localisation quickly. In part two, we look at how direct integration into your content management system and standalone localisation of your website could be the method of choice for you.

Multilingual CMS Integration

Integrating the translation process into your content management system (CMS) is one of the easiest and most intuitive ways to ensure that all your website content is localised. If you have a large website and are fully committed to your new markets in the long-term, this may be the best option for you.

How it works – Your CMS may already have the capabilities for managing multiple languages, or you may be unsure how to go about it. An API (application program interface) between your content management system and the TMS (translation management system) from your language service provider transmits the source text and the translated text seamlessly, ready for you to publish.

Is it for me? Yes…

• If you have a highly dynamic website
• The CMS can keep track of translation revisions, saving time and eradicating frustration when searching for revisions of a given document
• It eliminates your security risk by restricting the unprotected transfer of documents
• You don’t need to download or learn new software
• If there are multiple people creating content for your website, it removes the need to keep on top of all the translation work required
• You can produce websites that are fully localised and can be adapted to each local market
• Local markets can manage their own content, allowing for content editing and change management at each target country site through your multilingual CMS
• You can maximise functionality from your CMS, whether this be for reporting purposes, user experience or personalisation; you can leverage CMS functionality across all target websites.

Standalone Translation/Manual File Transfer

If you have a relatively small number of web pages where the content largely remains the same, or you only add pages on a sporadic basis – you may want to look into this option.

How it works – This method involves manually sending your HTML or XML files from your CMS database directly to your language service provider. This is generally the most time consuming approach as it requires you to export out the content you would like translated, and then you will have to copy and paste the new strings back into your website once translated.

As with anything that becomes more reliant on humans than machines, there is always the increased risk of margin of error, so that is always a caveat to consider.

Is it for me? Yes…

• If updating your website quickly isn’t a priority
• If you are trying one or two pages as a test of the market
• If you have an obscure/home-grown CMS that may be hard to support with an integrated solution.

There is no cookie cutter approach to translating a website, but hopefully you can identify which approach may work best for you. If you would like some additional advice or to discuss your needs in more detail, feel free to contact us via the contact form below.