Software localisation services for mobile app developers

Successful mobile apps are the result of a complex, costly and long development process, in which IT engineers, designer sand many other experts transform a great idea into a working application. Of course, any commercial app developer will always aim for a high MAU (monthly active users) score to make sure that the whole effort was profitable. But what if the home market of an app developer is saturated and only few new users download the app? To many successful app developers, the answer at that point is to go global and increase ROI by having their software professionally localised. In this blog, we will talk about some key aspects of the mobile app localisation process.

Target language selection and quality translation – the foundations of successful app localisation

Translating all text content is certainly the most central aspect of mobile app localisation. Usually developers will have selected one or more target languages for the new markets that they want to penetrate by the time they contact an app and software localisation service provider. Of course, the selection of those new target markets and the associated languages always depends on the app developer’s global business plan. While translations into “big” languages mean that appswill immediately become accessible to huge numbers of prospective new users (such as Arabic, Spanish or Chinese for example), other apps might be more suitable for languages with less speakers – which can sometimes make software translations into “smaller” languages strategically preferable.

A quality translation service provider can conduct multilingual app localisation so that the application is localised simultaneously into more than one language – atime saving option that many software developers prefer.

The devil is in the detail

– Localising multimedia content, including videogames, clips, etc. requires expertise from various fields so that the best solutions can be found on a case-by-case basis. This is a complicated endeavor, but it can very often multiply ROI for IT developers (click here for more details).

– Text length: Most text content in any software must fit into very limited space.In many multilingual app translation projects, individual solutions need to be found for each language: Choosing a smaller font can be a solution for many languages, particularly those that use Roman script, but it might negatively affect readability for other languages (such as Japanese). Languages in which only few blank spaces appear within texts (such as Thai) typically require otherspecific solutions. Such issues can often be detected through intensive software testing and then be handled by multilingual DTPor IT specialists.

– It is important to check if fonts are displayed correctly and if they look appealing, particularly with certain languages,which are prone to display issues, such as Burmese or Vietnamese.

– In the mobile app localisation process, many technical problems can occur and will require a dialogue between IT experts and linguists, in which solutions can be developed.

– As many apps come with their own glossary with terms that only exist within the application, IT developers will want to make sure that those terms are used consistently. This can be arranged with the software translation service provider, who will make the glossary available to linguists.

Localising more than just the app

It is interesting to note that in the mobile app localisation process, a lot of translation work is required for text that is not part of the actual software. Depending on the type of the mobile app (game, education, shopping, transport services, staff training, etc.), translations are usually also required forthe following:

– Marketing collateral (for which transcreation will often be a preferable option)

– Legal conditions for app usage

– Contracts with business partners in foreign markets

– App user feedback forms / questionnaires

– Websites of the IT developers, etc.

elionetwork has proven to be an expert software localisation service provider for mobile app developers and other companies from the IT sector. With our rich pool of professional translators, designers, IT engineers, etc. we can handle the entire software localisation process and provide turnkey solutions for our clients. If you are looking for app localisation solutions, contact our friendly team now to see how we can help you!