Localization and globalization: Building a global-ready product

If you’re expanding into new markets, you’ll bump into the word “localization” almost immediately, usually alongside “globalization,” “internationalization,”i18n”, and “l10n”. These terms may sound similar, but they describe distinct layers of your global strategy. Understanding the difference between localization and globalization is the difference between merely translating a website and the product actually working and feeling native in every market. If you want a side-by-side take on how translation fits in, we also unpack this in more detail in our article Translation versus Localization: Don’t Be a Wax Tadpole.

This article walks through what localization is, what globalization is, how they relate, and why you rarely choose one over the other. Instead, you design them to work together.

What is localization?

In simple terms, localization is the process of adapting your product, service, or content so that it feels as if it was created for a specific market from the start. It includes language localization but does not stop there. Language localization encompasses translation, terminology, and tone, choosing “Sie” vs. “du” in German, “vous” vs. “tu” in French, or the appropriate dialect of Spanish for Mexico versus Spain. It ensures that technical jargon sounds natural to professionals in that market and that your terminology aligns with what users already use.

Beyond language, localization touches culture and context. This means adapting examples, metaphors, and stories so they resonate locally, adjusting imagery and colors that might carry different meanings, and avoiding phrases or visuals that are harmless in one culture but offensive in another. It also involves UX details, such as date and time formats, currencies, measurement systems, and address formats, all of which directly affect whether users can complete basic tasks without confusion.

If you want to see how deep some of these differences go, visit our article Why English-Only Content Just Won’t Cut It Anymore.

Regulation is another dimension. Localized products must often carry country-specific legal text, privacy notices, cookie consent flows, and sector-specific disclaimers. Marketing teams layer on localized SEO and campaign strategies, utilizing the keywords, channels, and tone that are actually effective in that country. In short, localization is the sum of all the small and large adaptations that make your global product truly local.

We also broke down what localization and l10n mean in our December Localization Advent Calendar over on our LinkedIn profile.

Real-world examples of localization

To make localization concrete, it is helpful to examine how well-known brands approach it.

Netflix goes beyond simply adding subtitles. It invests in local originals like “La Casa de Papel”, “Squid Game”, and “Lupin”, and then localizes those shows back into dozens of languages. It adapts UI language, recommendations, and payment methods for each market, so the entire experience feels tailored.¹

McDonald’s is another classic example. The brand stays globally recognizable, but the menu looks different almost everywhere.² In India, you’ll find McAloo Tikki and other vegetarian options; in Japan, shrimp burgers and regional specials; in Europe, localized desserts and coffee concepts. The product lineup is localized while the core brand and operational model remain consistent.

Spotify curates region-specific playlists, editorial content, and promotions.³ A user in Brazil will see very different playlists and editorial sections from a user in Germany or Indonesia, even though the underlying app is the same. The combination of localized content and localized payment options is what makes the experience feel natural.

Airbnb supports dozens of languages and adapts listing pages, user messaging, and help content for each.⁴ ⁵ Localization teams work closely with designers to maintain consistent UX patterns while ensuring that terminology, tone, and layout feel right in every language. For guests and hosts, this is the difference between “this is an American website translated badly” and “this is a global platform I can truly use.”

What is globalization?

If localization zooms in on one market, what is globalization? Globalization zooms out. It is the strategy and infrastructure that enable your product and organization to operate across multiple markets without faltering.

In the software world, globalization typically involves three major components. The first is internationalization (i18n), the technical work that enables later localization. Internationalization involves using Unicode to support multiple scripts, externalizing UI strings into resource files instead of hard-coding them, and utilizing locale-aware formatting for dates, numbers, and currency. It is the foundation of the code and data model. For a concrete example of where it matters, think about adapting layouts for languages that use vertical scripts or right-to-left languages, topics we explore in detail on our blog.

The second piece is the localization process itself, which encompasses everything described earlier, but is run systematically across multiple locales. The third is your global operating model: how you handle pricing in different currencies, taxes and invoicing rules, local payment options, support coverage across time zones, and regulatory obligations in other countries. Together, these layers define your globalization strategy.

Globalization is an ongoing way of building products and organizations. It’s the decision to design core systems that allow you to add a new language or country without redesigning everything, and to create governance that ensures the brand stays coherent as local teams adapt it.

For additional input on globalization and g11n, have a look at our LinkedIn profile.

Real-world examples of globalization

Apple is a clear example of globalization done early and thoroughly.⁶ iOS and macOS support many languages and scripts, locale-aware calendars, and diverse date and number formats out of the box. Developers can plug into these capabilities instead of reinventing them per app. Apple’s global pricing, distribution, and regulatory strategy builds on this technical foundation to deliver devices and services to markets worldwide with relatively consistent experiences.

Airbnb built its platform as a truly global marketplace. The same core product supports hosts and guests in many countries, with shared search, booking, and messaging functionality. Internationalization and infrastructure decisions made it possible to roll out language and currency support widely, while separate teams handle local legal and regulatory constraints in markets like France or Japan. The service appears unified globally, but it operates in vastly different regulatory environments.

Spotify’s expansion into dozens of new markets in a short time also depended on globalization.⁷ Behind the scenes, it had to handle content licensing, payment methods, language support, and network performance across multiple regions, all while maintaining a consistent core product and brand. Without a strong globalization strategy, the localization efforts on playlists and campaigns would be difficult to scale.

Globalization and localization: The main differences

When people ask about globalization and localization, they often expect a “which one is better?” answer. In reality, they solve different problems.

Globalization focuses on designing your product and organization in a way that allows for structural expansion. It is concerned with architecture, processes, and global strategy. Localization focuses on executing that strategy in a particular place, turning potential into reality for real users with real expectations.

You see this difference in timing: globalization decisions tend to happen early and are revisited periodically, while localization happens every time you ship something new. You see it in ownership: globalization is often driven by product, engineering, and leadership; localization is run by localization teams, in-market experts, and content and marketing teams. Most importantly, this is evident in who benefits directly: globalization enhances the company’s ability to scale, while localization improves the end user’s experience.

A simple way to frame it: globalization builds the highway system; localization decides how each exit looks, what the signs say, and how drivers feel using it.

Pros and cons of localization

Localization comes with a clear trade-off: on the one hand, it makes your product truly relevant and drives better performance in key metrics; on the other hand, it incurs costs, requires a structured approach, and can introduce complexity if not managed effectively. Done right, it’s a growth engine. Done loosely, it can become an expensive patchwork.

The most significant advantage of localization is relevance. When users feel that the product speaks their language, respects their culture, and understands their context, they are more likely to try it, keep using it, and recommend it. Netflix’s local originals, McDonald’s regional menus, Spotify’s country-specific playlists, and Airbnb’s localized experiences all show how localization turns a global brand into something people genuinely want in their own lives.

That relevance translates directly into performance. Localized experiences increase conversion rates, onboarding completion, activation, and retention by removing friction at the moments when users are deciding whether to trust you. In competitive markets, localization can be the factor that lets you stand up to, or even outperform, purely local players who already know the language, culture, and expectations of your audience.

The flip side is that localization is not free. High-quality localization across multiple markets requires a budget, dedicated personnel, and robust tools to avoid chaos. Keeping dozens of locales in sync as you ship new features and content can be operationally heavy without automation and clear workflows. And if you lack strong terminology management and brand guidance, each market may drift in its own direction, leading to inconsistencies that weaken your brand rather than strengthen it.

Pros and cons of globalization

Globalization offers a clear mix of benefits and trade-offs: you gain scalability, efficiency, and consistency across markets, but you pay with upfront investment and the risk of being too rigid for local needs. Done well, it makes new market launches feel like configuration. Done poorly, it turns into a system that local teams constantly fight.

The most significant advantage of globalization is scalability. With solid internationalization, global infrastructure, and a clear strategy, entering a new market becomes more about switching on languages and settings than rebuilding the product. That’s how companies like Apple or Spotify can expand into new regions by leveraging shared systems and processes, rather than undertaking one-off rebuilds.

Globalization also boosts efficiency and consistency. Shared platforms and governance enable teams to reuse solutions across markets, ship global features faster, and maintain compliance and brand coherence. The downside is the cost and timing: you invest early in capabilities that only pay off as you scale, and if your global framework is too rigid, local teams may struggle to adapt products properly or circumvent the system altogether.

Why both localization and globalization matter

Globalization without localization gives you a technically global product that still feels foreign. You might support many currencies and languages on paper. Still, if your copy is awkward, your examples are irrelevant, and your UX ignores local norms, users will treat you like a visiting brand that doesn’t really “get it.”

Localization without globalization, on the other hand, becomes a series of heroic one-off efforts. Every new language feels like surgery on the product. Localization teams deal with hard-coded strings, inflexible layouts, and ad-hoc file-based workflows. You can make progress, but it will not scale cleanly as you add more markets and content types.

The companies that thrive globally, Netflix, Apple, Airbnb, Spotify, and many others, invest in globalization to make expansion structurally possible, and in localization to make it meaningful and effective for each market.

Making localization and globalization work together

How do you bring all of this together in a way that your team can actually run?

One practical way is to think in terms of three pillars you want to put in place:

• A central localization platform that connects code, CMS, design, and support, and manages translation memories, glossaries, workflows, and quality checks across all locales.

• Internationalization best practices are baked into your code and content from the start, so localizing new markets feels like configuration, not re-engineering.

• Feedback loops with in-market experts and customer-facing teams, so real user insights feed back into both localized content and global decisions.

This is where LingoHub comes in. On the globalization side, LingoHub serves as your central hub for managing multilingual content. It integrates with your repositories and content systems, supports multiple locales and content types, and provides governance, allowing you to scale without losing control. On the localization side, it provides the tools localization teams need every day: translation memories, glossaries, style guides, collaboration features, and support for continuous, release-by-release localization - human, AI-assisted, or both.

Instead of forcing you to choose between globalization and localization, LingoHub lets you design globally and execute locally in one place.

If you are ready to align your global strategy with the realities of local markets, book a demo now or start a free trial and see how it can support your next phase of international growth.

Sources
¹ https://www.uoc.edu/en/news/2023/222-the-glocal-strategy-that-keeps-Netflix-afloat
² https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235259287_McDonald's_think_global_act_local_-_the_marketing_mix
³ https://www.unitedlanguagegroup.com/blog/spotify-localization-strategy
⁴ https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1580
⁵ https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2651
⁶ https://developer.apple.com/localization/
⁷ https://newsroom.spotify.com/2021-02-22/spotify-expands-international-footprint-bringing-audio-to-80-new-markets/?