All features

Quality Checks

Term Base

Translation History

Translation Memory

Style Guide

Translation Team Management

Professional Translation

Machine Translation

Features

For managers

For translators

For developers

For designers

For enterprises

Solutions

Help Center

Blog

Case Studies

Integrations

Resources

Pricing

Demo

Book a demo

Navigation Bar

Our goal is to provide you with in-depth knowledge regarding localization.

Learn how CMS localization can boost your online presence, expand your reach, and optimize for international success with our informative article.

CMSs: industry state and how to localize them best

Newsletter Sign Up

Localization Blog

One of the important aspects of localization is the technical side, as this is a significant factor in localization speed and cost. Developers work with resource files, implement new translations, and are responsible for the correct work of localized software versions. But what will happen if developers, instead of the technical part, upload and download resource files and spend time and effort on manual tasks? The technical team will be frustrated by the constant back and forth of the files, distracting them from important tasks and slowing down the processes. 
However, we know how to prevent this situation and ensure everything is done correctly. Let's start with the basis and overview of Git and its ability to be used in development. Then, till the end of this article, you will get the best practice of organizing the technical side of localization.

## Git in a nutshell
Git is a utility for tracking and maintaining a history of file changes. The system enables developers to track modifications and work on the same project simultaneously with colleagues. 
The primary function of Git is to provide developers with version control and tracking changes; thus, engineers can roll back changes, compare and analyze versions, or merge changes into a repository. 
**Here, we combine the list of factors that condition the popularity of Git:**
- Free and open-source;
- Small and fast - all operations are local;
- Data safety: Git is efficient at storing backups.
- Simple branching: Git makes branch management much easier and more efficient.
- Version control: Simplified code rollback to a working state and avoided spending hours looking for errors.

For comfortable collaboration with the code, teams often use web Git hosting services, which fit the requirements for teamwork and provide a list of abilities for CI/CD. Take a look at an example of such solutions:
- GitHub
- Bitbucket
- GitLab
- AWS
- CodeCommit
- Azure
- JetBrains Spaces
- etc.

Let's overview Git's collaboration with the web hosting services on the Git+GitHub example.

## Git + GitHub: how does this work?

As mentioned above, Git is a tool for implementing a distributed version control system. GitHub is an online Git-hosting service with all the distributed version control and source control functionality — everything Git supports and more. In addition to GitHub, other services such as Bitbucket and GitLab also use Git. 

Let's take a look at GitHub's additional capabilities.
- convenient UI,
- boosted access control, 
- issues tracking, 
- task management,
- analytics,
- wiki for each project,
- **CI/CD pipelines** (actions),
- and more 

Let's examine Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery more closely. This approach speeds up development, automates the process of building, testing, and deploying software, avoids early-stage mistakes, and minimizes risks. 

GitHub actions allow the creation of any automated workflow with the code. For example, developers can provide tests across multiple operating systems and versions, validate code, compile and log all changes (CI process), and automatic assembly deployment in production, test, or development environments (CD process). After committing to GitHub, the changes will be automatically built, tested, and placed in the needed environment. Different events can trigger GitHub actions, e.g., after pushing a commit in the branch, pull request, or by schedule (once per day/week at the same time.)

Regarding localization, CI/CD pipelines allow easy handling of software versions in different languages. Developers can configure a **separate pipeline for each localized version**, ensuring the localization changes are appropriately integrated, tested, and deployed. To create such a smooth and automated localization process, teams require a translation or [localization management system](/) (TMS/LMS) that allows file transfer between the editing environment and the repositories. 

## Why does the TMS system need repository integrations?
The market for translation management systems is vast and offers various solutions. One essential thing to consider when choosing a solution for your team is the support of repository integration. Localization implies communication between at least two teams — translators and developers, so the smoother this process is, the more time and cost-saving localization you have.


We designed Lingohub with customers' needs in mind, so our solution supports GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Azure, etc., integrations which, in combination with CAT tools, will allow translators and developers to do their work without worrying about manual file transferring. The file import or export can be done in a few clicks, and you will know that all placeholders and technical nuances are correct as they are controlled by the [quality checks tool](/features/quality-checks). 

In the context of this topic, an additional Lingohub feature that requires a deep overview is **branching support**. This magic wand allows your team to take advantage of all the advantages of Git and repository integrations we provide.

## What is branching?
Branches are a tool that allows developers to work separately on different features/processes and keep the main code clean. For example, you can have a branch "main" with the clean project code, a separate branch for a new feature "**feature_1**", or release, "**release_1**", etc, and work with each independently. At the same time, you can create unlimited branches, and in each branch, you can commit changes. Also, the additional branches can be merged with the main one if/when needed. So, this is a safety and collaborative feature that ensures code correctness and isolates the development of the specific part of the project.

In turn, we at Lingohub provide a branching feature that allows our users to localize branches’ files and work with them directly. With Lingohub, you can connect as many branches as you need and filter them to keep only the required ones. Thus, the localization process does not violate the logic of project development; your team can work with individual parts of the project and easily implement the localization into the CI/CD process, which ensures continuous localization. Let's take a quick look at how Lingohub branches work.

## How to work with Git branches with Lingohub?


> Find detailed guidelines on how to work with branching inside our Help Center  → [How to use branching in Lingohub](https://help.lingohub.com/en/articles/6816754-how-to-use-branching-in-lingohub)?


To overview this topic, we first need to describe the Lingohub plugins briefly. In Lingohub exist two plugin types:
- **Workspace-based plugins**, which are responsible for settings across the entire workspace.
- **Project-based plugins**, which are defined by the project type and configure the connection for a specific project(s.) 

So, the Lingohub user should connect the repository (for example, GitHub) to the workspace via a plugin, create a project, and set up the Git plugin inside the project (see image below). 



## How can the branches be used?

After successfully setting up the connection between your repository and Lingohub, you can use the following advantages of the branching feature:

- **Focus only on important things with the branch filters**. Lingohub supports regular expressions that simplify the filtering process; for example, in the feature* expression, the asterisk matches zero or more characters. Read details about the [branching](https://help.lingohub.com/en/articles/6816754-how-to-use-branching-in-lingohub) in the help center article.

- **Push directly or create pull requests for the defined branch**. The second option (pull requests) is preferable because it is more secure, protects your project from code issues, and allows code review. It is the most common flow in the most significant part of a complete project. Use the push directly option only if you are 100% confident with the changes.


- **Control the progress per branch.** You can have different numbers of languages for each branch and monitor the progress separately within one project.

- **Work with separate branches in Editor**. The ready filters allow translators to select the needed branch in a few clicks.


## Bottom line

Repository integration to TMS is required for all who want to build a smooth and continuous localization process. Lingohub offers integrations with repositories such as GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, and Azure, which, in combination with the branching feature, allow organically included localization in the CI/CD process and assist the comfortable work with the translations and resource files. Our team will gladly demonstrate how this option can work with your repository at the short demo call, so don't hesitate to [book a suitable time](/demo) for you right now.  

Discover how Lingohub confidently implements branching feature for localization in our informative article. Learn more about branching abilities and Git and localization features.

Importance of branching and repository integrations in localization

SAAS, or Software-as-a-Service, has become popular since Internet speeds reached acceptable levels, allowing users to perform various manipulations without delay. I remember the days that were accompanied by the sound of a dial-up connection (all who want to feel these nostalgic sounds are welcome <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsNaR6FRuO0&t=8s" target="_blank" rel="noffolow"> here </a>) over a telephone line, and no SaaS was possible then. It used to be much faster and cheaper to buy a music disk at the shop than to download tracks from the web.

And what do we have now? The Internet connection allows people worldwide to collaborate effectively, so SaaS is a widespread option for different industries. In 2023, the SaaS market revenue reached <a href="https://www.techopedia.com/saas-statistics" target="_blank" rel="noffolow">$258 billion</a>, up from $62 billion in 2016, marking an incredible leap. Also, the average lifetime value (LTV) ratio to customer acquisition cost amounted to 6:1, which describes the high profitability of SaaS solutions.

SaaS services have many advantages. They help businesses increase agility and improve availability by reducing the need to install software directly on the computer, buy user licenses, and share data via additional paths. So, considering all the benefits of SaaS (companies have increasingly preferred SaaS solutions (<a href="https://www.techopedia.com/saas-statistics" target="_blank" rel="noffolow">64.5%</a>) over traditional software), the questions of SaaS localization have become a top priority for their developers. 


## Localization for software as a service (SaaS)

SaaS localization is adapting SaaS and related resources to a specific location. What does "related resources" mean? This is a broad phrase, and we will discuss it separately. The thing is that SaaS is a term used to describe different products, including:
- ERP
- CRM
- CMS
- HR apps
- Project management apps
- Code management apps 
- And many more

Each type can have a list of marketing resources, websites, help centers, etc. One of the well-known SaaS companies is Netflix. In addition to the app, they have a website, marketing emails, social media, mobile applications, a YouTube channel, etc. For each supported region, Netflix translates the content for all the resources to meet the user's needs. Find a more detailed overview of [Netflix localization](/blog/famous-products-localization-overview) in our blog. 

SaaS localization is a complex process, so we listed all the possible tasks you can meet during the localization of SaaS and have described the main "related resources" below. 


## Desktop SaaS localization
 
One of the most essential parts is to localize the main product perfectly. The UI and UX for users from different countries should be identically high-quality and comfortable, regardless of location. Here included:
- The color palette and visual content localization (if needed) — the same colors and symbols can have opposite meanings in some regions because of cultural or religious nuances.
- Content translation and [transcreation](/blog/the-importance-of-transcreation-in-localization): Not all content should be translated literally; some CTAs, slogans, etc., are best to transcreate to share the correct message. 
- User experience optimization — ensure that button size, forms, and menu items look correct - text is not overwrapped or clipped, and all URLs lead the user to the proper language version.


## Mobile SaaS localization

If your SaaS is mobile-based or has a mobile version, consider the region's preferences regarding the preferred platform to concentrate on the important first. For example, iOS shares in Japan are almost <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ios-vs-android-market-share-135251641.html" target="_blank" rel="noffolow">70%</a>, while in the UK, the iOS and Android platforms have nearly the same position - around 49%. During mobile SaaS localization, pay your attention, besides the things described in the paragraph above, to:
- Platform-specific features - location services, push notifications, and gestures;
- Performance and resource constraints of mobile devices;
- [App stores optimization](/blog/app-store-optimization-localized-apps).


## SaaS price localization 

You should first analyze your users' purchasing power parity to compete in the local market. Regional market analysis will give you more information about the country's GDP, the competitors' pricing policy, and other financial indicators of your audience. For instance, Spotify - a big music platform, provides different prices depending on region. Thus, pricing in the <a href="https://www.spotify.com/us/premium/" target="_blank" rel="noffolow"> USA </a> is 10,99$, while in <a href="https://www.spotify.com/ua-uk/premium/" target="_blank" rel="noffolow"> Ukraine </a>, it is only 4,99$. 


## SaaS payment systems localization

When choosing the best tool for a payment processing task, consider the tool's regional availability and audience preferences. The most popular options, such as PayPal, Alipay, Payoneer, Stripe, etc., are widespread, so finding the appropriate alternative for some regions should be easy. 


## SaaS website localization

In addition to the application itself, SaaS products often have a website where users can get acquainted with the product features, use cases, pricing, guidance, etc. We overviewed the website localization challenges in a separate article, but for SaaS, there are things you should always consider:
- Terms accuracies. The situations when some feature was redesigned and renamed aren't alone. Therefore, controlling the consistent naming elements within your website content and app is essential for a better user experience. 
- SEO. If you support different languages for website content, take care of [local search engines](/blog/seo-for-multilingual-websites), relevant keywords, and located-specific URL structure. 


## SaaS social media localization

As a SaaS provider, you should deeply analyze the audience's preferences in a particular region. This knowledge is essential for getting answers to two questions:
- What to show? You will have a correct answer to this question, and the content plan for social media will meet the audience's needs. 
- Where to show? It is crucial to identify and prioritize the social media platforms that are widely used in each region, such as <a href="https://www.mixbloom.com/resources/social-media-usage-by-country" target="_blank" rel="noffolow"> Facebook </a>in the USA, Canada, and Western Europe, WeChat in China, and Line in Japan. 

## SaaS marketing localization
Here, we will miss the already clear statements, which include text and image localization, and will look at the following specific things:
- Local partnerships and influencers market. Collaboration with regional partners can help build trust and target audiences in new markets even before you reach them. 
- A/B testing. Regardless of your confidence in the localization strategy, it's important to continuously explore new approaches and conduct A/B tests to enhance your business's presence in the new market.

## SaaS customer support localization
To build this process effectively, you should do fundamental work. 
- Prepare a localized knowledge base for the support team. This document will help your team maintain consistency during communication with the users. 
- Translate a help center for users. This process includes translating articles, FAQs, tutorials, and user guides and organizing content in a convenient and user-friendly layout.
- Build local support channels. Regional phone numbers, email addresses, and live chat options make it easier for users to reach customer support in their time zone and preferred language. 


## 5 SaaS localization challenges and how to solve them


### Challenge 1. String length variability

Languages vary in word length, leading to design issues when the translated text fits outside predefined UI elements. For example, text "OK" and "Гаразд" for the same button will require different widths of the component. 
**Solution**: The Lingohub translation tool provides a few options to solve this challenge:
- First, you can use the [Lingohub Figma plugin](/blog/localization-of-your-figma-design) to try on the needed language for the current layouts and check how it will work. This process takes minutes to show how the current design will look after translation and which component should be changed.
- Second, you can set up [quality checks](/features/quality-checks) with the predetermined length for some text segments (e.g., for buttons). Thus, translators will know the number of characters they can use for the segment. 
- Third and the best one - combine both approaches for the best result.

### Challenge 2. Consistency across platform
It can be difficult to keep consistency across different resources, such as websites, mobile and desktop apps, help centers, user tech documentation, etc. 
**Solution**: The Lingohub app provides CAT tools aimed at solving this issue:
- A [term base](/features/term-base) or glossary is a tool where you can keep all the project-related terms with their detailed description and images (if needed). The ability to share the context and automatic suggestions for translators during their work supply the accuracy and consistency for terminology usage. 
- The [style guide](/features/style-guide) by Lingohub allows for the uniformity of all the texts during localization and gives additional information for linguistic teams. 

### Challenge 3. Resource management
Localizing a SaaS requires managers, translators, developers, local experts, and testers. Managing such a large team requires effort, time, and established processes; otherwise, the localization will drown in chaos. 
**Solution**: We build a Lingohub translation management tool with customers' needs in mind, which means there is everything needed for localization control:
- Custom roles and permissions;
- Dashboard and project's progress bars;
- Work and cost reports;
- Labeling and filtering options;
- and many more.

### Challenge 4. Continuous updates
Localization is a long-lasting process that requires regular maintenance. The SaaS content will change with time; new features will be launched, and new content will be written. That means the localization process should be continuous and "live" in parallel with the development. 
**Solution**: Smooth synchronization with repositories like GitHub, Azure, GitLab, and Bitbucket provides a nonstop localization process. Your team can work on translating new features from the initial development stages, which speeds up time-to-market as there is no need to wait for the development process to finish before starting translation.

### Challenge 5. Testing and quality assurance
Quality control is crucial during the localization process. Your QA team should generally check the correctness of the texts, interfaces, and so on. This will take additional time, and some human mistakes can be present in the ready version. 
**Solution**: Lingohub quality checks feature reduces the number of issues checking some predetermined criteria like:
- Missed or extra placeholders, HTML tags;
- Duplications in the text;
- Extra spaces;
- Length of the segments;
- Terminology usage;
- etc. 


## Conclusion
 
SaaS localization is a long-term process that requires a professional team, strong skills, a lot of effort, and the best tool to manage all the processes. We at Lingohub did our best to create a solution that helps our SaaS customers effectively manage different language versions. 

Read the case study of the SaaS localization:
- [CompanyMood](/case-studies/companymood)
- [Tractive](/case-studies/tractive)
- [Rocket.Chat](/case-studies/rocket-chat)

Want to test how the Lingohub will work for your business? Start with a free trial or register for a [demo call](/demo), and let's grow together.

SaaS localization is a complex task with a lot of corner stone. Read inside our blog how to solve the SaaS localization challenges.  

SaaS localization: best practices and challenges 

Each tourist knows that after a long trip, seeing the Starbucks or McDonald's logo means s(he) can find the restaurant with a specific list of drinks/dishes with a predicted taste. So, above, you read a quick explanation of standardization. However, this topic is much broader and has nuances that need to be known. 

Global standardization strategy aims to create and use uniform standards and methods and offer the same products/services/production for all markets.

Today, businesses gravitate towards using a global standardization strategy as the world is connected across continents and countries. Big labels from various industries, such as Coca-Cola, Nike, and Amazon, widely use it. Thus, people from the USA and Japan will have **almost the same** experience with a Coca-Cola bottle or Starbucks coffee. And this "almost" is pretty important to describe. 


## Global Standardization vs. Localization

When compared, global standardization and localization are strategies for business growth across diverse markets. Standardization implies scaling the procedures and products without deep adaptation for new markets, while localization is about focusing on tailoring products and services to meet individual markets' specific needs and preferences.

Global standardization sounds excellent in terms of a few moments like:
- Less marketing and financial efforts - there is no need to rebuild the product and marketing strategy fully;
- High brand recognition — as mentioned above, customers worldwide can quickly identify the product, improving its trustworthiness.
- Streamlined processes — the standardized practices can be easily replicated across different locations, speeding up all the processes. 

On the other hand, as we often highlight on our blog, 

> local culture and preferences highly impact brand success in regional markets. Ignoring this fact can lead to failure. 


One such example is Starbucks' strategy to enter the Australian market. They came to the market with the already-established coffee culture and tried to sell their vision, which predictably failed. If we dive into the history (what Starbucks didn't do at their time), we will know that after World War II, many emigrants from Greece and Italy came to Australia and brought a part of their coffee culture there. Australians already had favorite drinks and understood the nuances of coffee making, but Starbucks didn't consider this information. As a result, they lost <a href="https://www.justologist.com/how-starbucks-failed-in-australia/" target="_blank" rel="noffolow">$105 million</a> in this market and were forced to adapt the menu to fit the local taste. 

So, the strategy of 50/50, when companies keep the identity but slightly change their product, is widespread through other brands. For instance: 
- McDonald's provides local cuisine weeks and different menus depending on region - under the recognizable logo, you can find shrimp in an Egyptian restaurant, salad with Parmigiano in an Italian restaurant, and squids in Greece. 
- Coca-Cola's sweetness varies depending on the region in which it is sold. For example, Coca-Cola in the US is <a href="https://www.valiber.com/article/coca-cola-eng" target="_blank" rel="noffolow">much sweeter</a> than in Japan.


## When to use a global standardization strategy?

Based on what was written above, global standardization works partly, and businesses adapt to local conditions anyway. Standardization strategy can work if:
- **The business has low competition or provides unique services in the region.** In this situation, there is no need to stand up for the piece of the market. 
- **The regions are culturally close. Some countries may have a close mentality, religion, and economic situation**. As a result, the target audience for your product will be the same. This data implies there is no need to overhaul the marketing strategy entirely, and you can utilize many existing approaches.
- **The product evokes the same feelings in people worldwide**. For example, Kinder Surprise is one of the most popular chocolates for kids, so they keep the design and message to audiences throughout all regions. 


## When don’t use the global standardization strategy?

- **There are cultural differences between the markets.** It is impossible to use the same narratives for countries and regions with opposed meanings for essential things. If your product or service somehow affects a sensitive topic in the area, the best way would be to use the localization approach. 
- **Regulatory differences**. No matter which method you choose, it is essential to research and comply with local legal requirements and regulations. 
- **Dynamic market**. Fast-developing industries require a fast reaction to all challenges. Global standardization will be the losing option in such markets as it slows innovation and responsiveness to market shifts.

Based on the last point, global standardization would not work in most technological areas where innovation is a natural business development process. 


## How to implement the global standardization strategy?

If you plan to use a global standardization strategy, you will require a tool to manage translation efforts and establish standard translation processes across all regions. Scaling successful experiences across regions requires an instrument to provide such an option, and Lingohub could be an ideal match for you as it offers:
- **Centralized translation management**: No matter how many team members you need to involve, how much content you should keep translated, and how many markets you want to work with, Lingohub can help manage the translation process conveniently.
- **Terminology management**: Global standardization means that some terms will have the same spelling throughout all regions, and the easiest way to guarantee this is to create and maintain the Lingohub term base. No matter which language your team will translate - they will have identical rules for selected terms. Also, you can mark some words as untranslatable or provide translations only for some languages.
- **Backups and version control**. The backup option protects all your localization from mistakes and fast-resets to previous versions if any occur. Also, your team can see each segment's version history and status so that multiple users can work together on translation projects in real-time. 
- **Wide list of supported tools**. Lingohub integrates seamlessly with development tools (GitHub, Gitlab, Azure, Bitbucket), content management systems (Contentful, Storyblok), applications (Figma, Zendesk), and other platforms commonly used in global businesses. Such an ability allows businesses to implement new tools in the development/translation process and ensure no integration issues will arise.
- **Wide list of supported file formats**. The translation process will always be uniform, regardless of your teams' file formats. Moreover, the Lingohub XLIFF format is designed for simple collaboration with external translation agencies and protects your file structure from errors. 
- **Unified criteria for all languages**. The built-in quality checks feature maintains high-quality standards, which means all your text will be translated with predetermined criteria. 
- **Comprehensive reports**. Control all the projects via dashboards, create custom roles for users, manage the projects (group and highlight them), overview the progress per language, generate cost reports and much more. All translation teams can be via well-organized UI. 


## To sum up

A global standardization strategy aims to streamline processes by implementing uniform products, services, or methods. This process requires centralizing operations and tools to achieve consistency and scaling across all regions, and that's what Lingohub was designed for in terms of translation. We did our best to create a solution to keep all the translations centralized and manage them easily, regardless of their quantity and complexity. If you want to get more information about how Lingohub will work for your project - [schedule a quick demo call](/demo) with our team and

Read in our blog about Global Standardization strategy and how to implement it in your business. 

How to balance the global standardization strategy?

How to balance the Global Standardization strategy?

Our blog often discusses tools that will make your localization accurate and high-quality. Rarely do we mention the second important part of your success — the translation service agencies and localization companies that can deliver outstanding results. It's time to take a closer look at how to find the best translation agencies for your company and how Lingohub allows you to collaborate with them easily.


## Why do companies need localization translation companies?

Companies pursuing going global need to take a serious approach to the expertise of the translation/localization teams they work with. Finding the best translation agencies can be time-consuming, as well as assembling a professional in-house localization team, including translators, local experts, marketers who understand the new region perfectly, localization managers, etc. 

When do you need a localization service? 
1. If you want to enter new markets and be a solid player in them.
2. If you need to extend your influence on the new market.
3. If you're going to strengthen or remarket the brand identity.
 
The goals above can only be reached by localizing the business' web resources (not just translating), which requires an in-depth knowledge of the market and local expertise. 


## 10 tips on how to choose the translation and localization company? 

If you decide to go with a localization agency, you should do meticulous research to be sure you will find the top localization company on the market. We prepared a checklist that help in the decision-making process. 

**1. Native linguistic expertise.**
 Localization is a process that requires an understanding of all the language nuances, especially in sensitive industries or when adapting marketing content. Because of this, preference should be given to language service providers who collaborate with local linguists.

**2. Language variabilities.** 
One of the first options you must consider is which languages the localization company supports. Even if your target language is already on the list, it is worth thinking in advance. 
The reason is that you will collaborate with the agency for a long time, as localization is an ongoing task. In the future, if you need to find a contractor to localize your product for an additional market, it will be easier for you to work with a reliable company than find a new one and handle the processes with two separate agencies.

**3. Industry specialization.** 
High-tech or complex industries require an individual approach. The localization company can only adapt your project perfectly with a corresponding background. The most challenging sectors for localization are: 
- [Medical](/blog/medical-software-localization), pharmaceuticals and healthcare; 
- Legal;
- Tech and engineering;
- [Financial](/blog/how-localization-can-boost-fintech) and banking;
- Marketing and advertising;
- Gaming;
- [E-learning](/blog/how-to-localize-an-e-learning-product-challenges-and-best-practices);

If you have a unique area that localization agencies do not represent, prefer a company with vast experience in localizing complex industries more or less related to your product.

**4. Quality and quality assurance** 
The localized version of your products is the first touch point for new users and gives them the first impression of your business. Linguistic and spelling mistakes, outdated or wrong terminology, and incorrect or offensive visual materials will negatively affect users' experience and trust in you.
That's why it is essential to understand the following information:
- How does the localization company hire translators? Which expertise do their translators have?
- Do potential translators for your project have appropriate knowledge in the field? 
- How does the localization company control the translation quality?
- How does the localization agency manage the released issues if they miss them in the previous stages?

**5. Technology usage.** 
Modern CAT tools allow significant speeding up of localization. Ensure the company you want to collaborate with does its best to optimize the processes and is ready to use your solutions. For example, suppose you are already a Lingohub user. In that case, you can add as many external linguists from the agencies as you need or use the Lingohub XLIFF file format for convenient localization, content exchange and management. Ask if the language service provider is ready to use the tools that are new to them but convenient for you. 


> **Read more** --> Find a detailed overview of Lingohub XLIFF in the next paragraph. 

 
**6. Consider the type of product** 
When choosing the localization company, ensure they are familiar with the localization of your product's type. This tip is especially essential for industries like video games as their adaptation differs significantly from standard websites or e-commerce resources. 

**7. Client references and cases.** 
Ask for more information about clients' references and testimonials. Moreover, getting testimonials from clients with similar projects is more helpful, as they demonstrate the company's ability to meet specific industry requirements and challenges. Explore case studies in your industry, find possible pain points, and ask how these challenges were decided. A reliable localization company is eager to provide a successful problem-solving story as this is a marker of their expertise.

**8. Transparent pricing and timelines** 
An experienced company comprehensively understands the project's scope of tasks and timelines, so you will never buy the pig in a poke. They are ready to present transparent, detailed pricing structures without hidden fees. Before signing the contract, they can calculate realistic estimates for project timelines, including factors such as the complexity of the content, number of languages, etc.

**9. Responsive communication and support** 
Soft skills are just as crucial as hard skills in a localization setting. Localization agencies' ability to communicate promptly and in a friendly manner plays a crucial role in efficiently sharing feedback and updates and addressing any concerns or issues that may arise during the localization process. 

**10. Adaptability and flexibility** 
No matter how professional the localization company is, the business owner always has the last word and final responsibility. Ensure that people on the language service provider's side are ready to hear you and communicate with you regarding adjustments and improvements (not only about translation but the entire process.)
These ten points will provide you with the best contractors for your product localization, which is already 50% of the success. The second part of success is the selection of correct tech solutions for localization management. 


## How does Lingohub TMS help localization and translation companies collaborate?

Translation management software is the best option for keeping abreast of localization. You will see all progress, documentation, and edits and can be involved in adaptation management or fully coordinating it. 
At Lingohub, we provide comfortable ways to collaborate with external agencies and strengthen their translators with CAT tools. There are a few options.


### **1. Add the translators to your Lingohub company.** 

Based on the chosen pricing plan, you can add from 5 to unlimited translators. We also allow you to create a separate (unlimited) number of workspaces and projects to split the project files and translators into an isolated environment for convenient management. 
Your companies' team members can be managed separately from their individual access to their efforts and work reports. Independent of your chosen pricing plan, they will have access to all the powerful CAT features, such as machine translation, quality check suggestions, term base, style guides, etc. 


### **2. Work with localization agencies with Lingohub XLIFF support.** 

Of course, the best option for our customers is to add contractors to Lingohub to centralize all the data. However, sometimes this option is impossible as localization agencies cannot use Lingohub because of internal rules, etc. In this case, it will be helpful for you to explore the Lingohub XLIFF file format. 
Lingohub XLIFF is a platform-independent format for data exchange. Its main advantage is that our customers can import/export data and share it with agencies without affecting the file structure. The best thing is that Lingohub XLIFF is available for any project and can be generated in a few clicks. 


### **What else?**

Besides the two options above, we want to focus your attention on the management options that will allow your managers or the external localization manager to have all the data without manual reports' creating:
- Dashboard with the critical data;
- Projects' reports with status bars;
- Work logs;
- Automatically created cost reports;
- Text edits, API, and Audit logs;

Also, you can always enhance the translation team by translating or proofreading orders. For instance, if you need some text translated urgently, you have a few ways: 
- Fast rescheduling of your team load;
- Ask your localization company for an additional translator;
- Place the order in the Lingohub app, where it can be quickly taken into work. Moreover, without your involvement, our translators will have the project's related context information, like the style guide and term base. 


## Conclusion 

Perfect localization is a symbiosis of sequential and quality adaptation, which can be reached only by having a professional localization team and management tool that will cover the needs of all team members to speed up and automate the process. These parts will ensure the localized product quality is maintained. At Lingohub, we do our best to help companies work with their in-house translators to the same extent as localization and translation agencies, and we hope this article will help you find the best-fit team for your product. From our side, we will gladly provide more information for you during the short [demo call](/demo) and answer any questions you may have.

How can you select the best translation and localization company to improve efficiency? Check out our blog for more information.

How to choose the best translation and localization company to maximize efficiency?

How to choose the best translation and localization company

Today, we are talking about the cat — not the cat that wakes you up early with the pitter-patter of little paws, but the cat that can change everything in the translation process. 
Computer-assisted translation (CAT) or computer-assisted human translation (CAHT) tools are software designed to support translators in their work and speed up the entire process while removing manual tasks. This article overviews the best cat software, their types, abilities, and use cases. Learn below why CAT tools are the required puzzle of successful localization and translation processes and how to implement them best. 


## CAT tools in the industry. The main pros

Firstly, to highlight the importance of CAT tools in the localization and translation process, let's look at the CAT tool's figures and how their usage improves the process. 
Based on the <a href="https://go.proz.com/blog/cat-tool-use-by-translators-who-is-using" target="_blank" rel="noffolow"> survey </a>, 88% of translators use at least one CAT tool, and 76% use more than one. The most popular industries of expertise are:
1. Tech/Engineering - 34%
2. Business/Financial - 15%
3. Marketing - 12%

Such popularity is provoked by the fact that CAT tools have a list of advantages:
speeding up the translation process;
- ensuring the consistency of the content;
- keeping the quality at a high level;
- reducing manual tasks;
- improving productivity;
- and based on all the points above, they save time and money for customers, which also affects the increasing popularity of CAT in the industry.

But how is all of the above achieved? You will understand this better after you understand the types of CAT tools and their use cases. 


## What are CAT tools? Types overview

The types of CAT tools are variable, ranging from desktop applications to SaaS (Software as a Service) and hybrid platforms. Each of these solutions has pros and cons, catering to the support of the unique needs of businesses. The Lingohub team overviewed each option's strengths and weaknesses for a comprehensive analysis. 


### Desktop CAT tools
As the name shows, this software is installed directly on the users' computers and works locally and offline. 

**Pros**:
- Offline access to the data guarantees access to content even if the internet connection is lost;
- Data security as all information is stored locally; 
- Higher performance because the users can't be affected by the external servers or connection speed. 

**Cons**:
- Poor collaboration. Users have fewer options to work together in real time, which triggers the usage of additional communication tools and approaches. 
- Harder team scaling. Desktop CAT tools often imply using individual licenses and additional fees per each. Thus, the business should buy extra licenses for new team members. 
- Maintenance. The final app performance depends on the user's computer capacity. Translators should also handle updates, backups, and other maintenance tasks.
- Human mistakes. The data on users' computers can be stolen or destroyed by malware or system errors. 


### SaaS CAT tools
 
The cloud-based software available via browser or application interface. 

**Pros**:
- High accessibility. Your team can use any device with personal credentials, allowing more flexibility for when and where to work. 
- Real-time collaboration. With the SaaS CAT tool, team members can complete the project tasks simultaneously. 
- Flexible scalability. Often, SaaS solutions provide flexible pricing plans that can be easily switched. For instance, the [Lingohub Team plan](/pricing) allows adding up to 20 users, while the Business Plan does not limit seats. 
- Accounts management. Companies that use freelance translators' services and often change performers can create a "guest" account and share the credentials with new members. This is much more comfortable than asking new employees to install new software on their devices and take care of licensing.
- Support and automatic updates. With SaaS, users receive all the app updates automatically, often with instructions on using this or that new feature. 

**Cons**:
- Dependence on the Internet connection. The performers can work only with a stable connection. 
- Data security. Some industries/companies with sensitive data can't store it somewhere outside their perimeter. If your company has no such individual restrictions, you don't need to worry about data safety with Lingohub, as our [security](/security) policy ensures your data is safe.


### Hybrid CAT tools
A hybrid approach combines the previous two options when some features, such as text translation, can be available offline. It has pros and cons, the same as the approaches above, and individual peculiarities.

**Pros**:
- Availability. Hybrid CAT tools allow translators to do the work offline and synchronize the result after finding the connection.
- Data control. If some data should be stored locally, users can translate it into the desktop software and share it manually. 

**Cons**:
- Synchronization issues. Localization managers should pay more attention to task synchronization when some team members work offline to avoid translating the same texts.

So, when we discussed the main types of CAT translation tools, let's review what software we can precisely attribute to this group.


## Best CAT tools for translation work in 2024

**Translation Memory** (TM) is a feature that stores all the translations made for reuse in the future. 

- **TM purpose - speed increasing**. This tool aims to improve efficiency by reusing previously translated content. Using TM, the translators don't spend time on the same content, and the localization manager wouldn't recheck the same text twice.

**Style Guide** is a set of standards that describe the audience, preferred tone of voice, grammatical person, etc. 
- **Style Guide purpose - consistency keeping**. Having a prepared guideline, translators can work on the content and maintain a unified tone of voice and brand identity. 

**Quality Checking features** - are the tools that can monitor and identify errors automatically without human effort.
- **Quality Checks purpose - keeping quality and reducing human efforts**. Automated monitoring allows us to avoid issues such as double spacing, missing elements, etc. 

**Translation History** - a base that tracks all the changes through each text segment in the project(s.)

- **Translation History purpose - tracking text evolution** and **fast restoring**. Translation History allows a quick return to the previous versions in case of issues.

**Term base (glossary)** - the database that contains all the preferred projects' terms with their translations (if needed) in different languages. 
- **Term base purpose - keeping consistency.** No matter who will work on your project - in-house or freelance translators - they will use the same naming for all essential terms.

Based on all the above, we can say that CAT tools are focused on assisting translators with translation tasks, and during this goal, they increase the speed and quality of the process. It looks impressive, doesn't it? But when looking for the best option for the business, remember that CAT tools are targeted only at translators' work and don't cover translation and localization management tasks. If you need a system to help control the entire process, we suggest paying attention to the TMS (translation management system).


## CAT tools vs TMS. What's the difference?

The distinction between these terms sometimes needs to be clarified. For instance, users can see that both solutions have a term base or style guide abilities and wrongly think they are more or less the same. But these are two different products with two distinct purposes. 

As previously mentioned, computer-assisted translation (CAT) tools aid and support translators in their work. In turn, the TMS targets the management of translation projects, workflow, and automation, and TMS can contain, synchronize, and improve all of the CAT tool's abilities. 

For example, the Lingohub translation management system provides all the CAT tools mentioned in the previous paragraph and adds additional value by extending their functionality:
- [Translation Memory](/features/translation-memory) can be paired with the prefill feature, meaning all the repeated text segments can be filled out automatically in seconds.
- [Style Guide](/features/style-guide), in addition to the translators' support, affects the machine translation results. Hence, you will see the difference in the pre-translated text if you choose the formal or informal tone of voice, various connotations, etc.
- [Quality Checks](/features/quality-checks) by Lingohub warning about wrong terminology usage in addition to the more common placeholders, spaces, and lengths checking.
- [Translation History](/features/translation-history) is provided not only for translators but also for managers in a separate united report to see what was done for a specific period.
- [Term base](/features/term-base) (glossary) - automatically provides suggestions during editing and terms context (description and image.)

As you can see, all CAT tools inside Lingohub are closely related to each other and can provide valuable data for localization managers. Besides already described functions, Lingohub TMS allows:
- manage projects' progress with progress bars that show text segments' statuses;
- discuss the project-related questions in the interface;
- generate cost reports;
- integrate all popular repositories and applications to build continuous localization;
- use AI machine translation results;
- order translations and proofreading;
- and many more.

**TMS or CAT?** Consider what best suits your organization's needs. We advise avoiding splitting these systems and opting for an all-in-one solution. 
Our team hopes this article has helped you gain more information about the translation software market, particularly CAT tools. If you need more details about our CAT features and TMS abilities, contact the Lingohub team by scheduling a fast [demo call](/demo), and we will gladly provide it. Stay awesome!


Discover the top CAT (computer-assisted translation) tools of 2024. Gain valuable insights on how to use their power by visiting our blog. 

Top CAT (computer-assisted translation) tools in 2024 for translation

Websites are multipurpose tools for communication between businesses and customers. They commonly provide the maximum information about services and products, allow for the building of comprehensive e-commerce funnels, are the first contact point between the user and the company, and make the first impression about the business. Such a wide list of tasks that can be covered makes localization of websites a hot topic and increases the popularity of web localization services. 

So, what is [website localization](/use-cases/web-localization)? It is adapting the website content, including images, texts, and number formats (date and time, currencies, etc.) to the specific region's (cultural, language, religion, and other) nuances. Hence, this is translation and a complex group of activities to adjust the website to the audiences' expectations. Let's examine the main advantages multilingual websites can bring to companies and organizations. The <a href="https://csa-research.com/Blogs-Events/CSA-in-the-Media/Press-Releases/Consumers-Prefer-their-Own-Language" target="_blank" rel="noffolow"> statistics </a> showed the following data:
- **65%** of users prefer the website to be in their native languages (even if the language is poor and has mistakes).
- **40%** of users will never buy on websites with a language other than their native.
- Only <a href="https://www.verbolabs.com/internet-users-by-languages-worldwide/" target="_blank" rel="noffolow">**25%**</a> of users on the internet speak English.

Thus, we can see how many business opportunities can be lost by staying with English-targeted content only. This correlation will also be more clearly expressed when entering new markets. Language is vital to national identification, so using the local language is also an expression of respect and will increase the audience's trust. Otherwise, compared to domestic companies, businesses that communicate with clients in a foreign language may be less competitive in the local market.


## What does the website localization process include? 
Believing you can only translate the main information and communicate with different audiences successfully is a mistake. The multilingual website's best practices include a list of preparatory tasks, translating, testing, polishing, etc. For convenience, we have split all the web localization tasks into three groups and provided an overview separately. Let's go through them.


### Group 1. Preparatory work

- **Market research**. Before starting any website localization process, you should clearly understand where you will go and what the local audience expects, as this understanding affects the final result. For example, after an unsuccessful competitive race, Walmart left the South Korean market in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/23/business/worldbusiness/23shop.html" target="_blank" rel="noffolow"> 2006 </a>. They faced the same situation in Germany when Walmart didn't consider the importance of the ecological question in society and provided abundant plastic bags and packaging in stores. To prevent such a mistake during web localization, you should clearly understand your customers, their pain points, cultural nuances, hot topics, and how your successful local competitors work.
 
- **Resource and task scope planning**. To start a website localization process, you should approach it in the same way as any other long-term development project: 
- decide on the final deadline;
- collect all the info that should be localized, including marketing materials, pitches, infographics, emails, etc;
- analyze current team abilities in terms of deadlines to start the recruitment process (if needed;)
- build the roadmap to understand the localization stages and their deadlines clearly.

- **Choose the auxiliary tools**. You should understand which payment, scheduling, or other software you will have on your website. For instance, if you have used PayPal for payments, it is worth researching if this option is available in the region you want to enter. 

- **Choose the localization system**. The more content you have, the more necessary it is to use the web localization software to unite all the localization efforts and automate the entire process. Choosing the right TMS (translation management software) can be complex, so we have provided detailed steps to find the best option for your project in a separate paragraph below.


### Group 2. Localization process

- **Creating documentation for localization**. There is a list of the documentation required for successful website localization. At the very least, it includes a glossary with all the essential terms for the project (including non-translatable terms) and a style guide to keep the project consistent. The quality of this documentation directly corresponds to the quality of the final result.

- **Preparing the localization resource files**. Depending on the technology stack, the team may need to create or modify resource files — JSON, XML, YAML, Excel tables, etc. The multilingual website best practices discussed in this article recommend one of the best options: using seamless synchronization between CMS (content management system) and TMS as a time-saving approach when your development team does not need to do prep work.

- **Web design localization**. The same sentence in different languages will have a different length, which can affect the entire design. The same situation can also be faced during button translation and because of the text direction (right to left or top to button.) Due to this, design localization is often the first step of website content adaptation to avoid potential issues with layouts and cultural nuances (for example, by using offensive images or wrong colors). 

- **Website content translation**. After completing all the tasks above, we can finally start translating. Your team now has all the tools, guides, and workload needed. 


### Group 3. Pre-launching and improving 

- **SEO optimization**. To make the localization of the website successful, include SEO optimization in the plan. Well-done SEO tasks will help you reach the top position in the region's search engines and get organic users/clients. Talking about SEO, this process primarily includes keyword research and page optimization based on them, correct interlinking, and preparing best-fit [located-specific URL structure](/blog/seo-for-multilingual-websites). 

- **[Localization QA](/blog/what-is-localization-testing)**. As with any other development process, website localization requires accurate testing. The process includes:
- Checking cultural and regional nuances like date formats, currencies, measurement systems, etc.
- Checking of linguistics (spelling and grammatical errors, wrappings, terms usage, etc.)
- Checking of interfaces (UI/UX). Here, we can include design consistency, correct hyperlink language, hotkeys, etc.

Completing the steps above without wasting time and in an optimized way can be complex for those who have faced the localization challenge for the first time. Companies are forced to build processes from scratch and study how to manage them, which is only possible with a proper web localization solution. 

However, the vast market and finding the best [translation management software](/) that fits your requirements can also take time. 



## How to choose the web translation software? 
Before starting research, you should choose the approach you want to use for website localization. This step will immediately shorten the list of potential web localization services. Let's highlight three main options.
- **Translation via integration**. One of the most straightforward ways is to find the TMS (translation management system) that supports integrating your content management system (for example, [Contentful or Storyblok](/integrations/)) from scratch. This option builds seamless translation workflows where translators are fully synchronized with all the needed content and can get/provide updates quickly. Such an option guarantees that all new content will be available for translators in time.
- **Embedded JavaScript**. Some translation management systems allow embedded JavaScript localization. This approach dynamically changes website content based on the user's language preferences. Despite the apparent convenience, you may encounter a list of problems by using Embedded JavaScript:
 - Page loading speed decrease: Inline text can increase the size and loading time of JavaScript files, which affects page loading speed. 
- Indexing issues: Search engines like Google may have difficulty indexing text embedded in JavaScript. 

- **Using proxy.** The website traffic is routed to the intermediate server, and the content changes dynamically based on the user's location and language preferences. Using a proxy also has a list of restrictions that should be considered when choosing the optimal localization way, namely:
- Performance. When routing traffic through the intermediate server, the site speed can decrease.
- More availability risks. If the proxy server fails or is unavailable, the site may be partly or wholly unavailable for users.
- Security issues. Redirecting traffic through a proxy server may increase data security and privacy risks.
- SEO difficulties: The multilingual website pages have worse indexing as content changes dynamically. 

As soon as you decide which path to take, examine the TMS abilities in three directions: localization management, translation, and communication. For instance, Lingohub provides the following [localization solutions](/features/) for each category:

[Localization management ](/solutions/managers)is represented by:


1. Comprehensive dashboard with the most priority information;
2. Work reports with a summary of all translations that were done;
3. Cost reports that allow automatic counting of fees per translator.
4. The project's progress bars show the gains per language and text status. 
5. Audit, API, and text edit logs to control any activities in the organization.
6. User roles and custom permissions to provide individual access. 


For [convenience translation](/solutions/translators), we have:
1. Two different editor views that are fully customizable and sharpened per focus and general overview. 
2. Term base, which automatically provides suggestions and a style guide that affects machine translation suggestions and helps linguists keep a project in a single tone of voice. 
3. Pre-translation feature (prefill) that fills all chosen segments from machine translation, translation memory, or translation history.
4. Automated suggestions from the quality checks about extra or missed spacing, duplication, incorrect terms, missed or extra placeholders, etc. 

Additionally, your team can communicate without leaving the Lingohub application. **Discussions** is a perfect tool for translators to comfortably mention other team members or text segments they have questions about and discuss any issues that arise.

Of course, this is only a part of our features. The entire list, including two-factor authentication, workflows, translation orders, backups, and other abilities, is available on our [website](/pricing). 
If you have any questions or want to learn more about how Lingohub can cover your business needs, please contact us or arrange a demo call with our team. We are always happy to help!

In 2024, learn the best practices for localizing a website with expert tips from Lingohub.
 