Monday, March 16, 2009

Website Translator -- 3 Questions

Do You Really Need A Website Translator?

This probably sounds like a strange question. However, there is a reason I am asking it. See, the fact that you’re reading this article means that you yourself are wondering if indeed you need to have a website translator. You think you do, but you’re just not sure. So, below, I am going to give you a few questions for you to answer. Depending on whether you answer yes or no will determine whether or not you probably need a website translator. Simple enough? Great…let’s get started.

Question number 1…are you expecting a lot of non English speaking people to be viewing your website? I am not asking if you’d LIKE to have a lot of non English speaking people view your website. There is a difference. By expecting, I mean do you believe that there is a viable market for people from other countries to want to view the content that you have? Most likely, if it’s generic information, such as world news, then yes, you probably do have a market out there. However, if your content is highly targeted to English speaking people, then probably not. Only you can make this determination.

Question number 2…is it cost efficient? Website translation isn’t free. You’re going to have to pay in some way to have this done. If we’re talking actual software, such as a translator, then you have to look at the cost compared to what revenue you expect to receive. If it’s a non profit website, is it really worth it to you to get a few million more eyeballs on your page if it’s not going to bring you any income? Again, this is a question only you can answer. However, cost efficiency has to be considered.

Question number 3…is your hosting going to support it? I’m not talking about technical support, because you can forget about that. Most web hosts do not support third party apps. I am talking about actually being able to support the install of the translator…as in…will it work? There is a lot of technology involved with these things and incompatibilities are going to pop up all over the place, especially if you’re planning on using your translator on a Wordpress blog. Your install may very well turn your blog into an incomprehensible mess by the time it’s done.

For more info here is a review of a great website translator. If you think this is something you need, you might want to read it.

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