The localization industry is growing day by day with the rising demands of the global world. Software localization is an important aspect in this regard. It is not the conversion of one language to another, but the complete cultural adaptation. Localization is truly a complex process that requires the services of localization management platforms, including all localization software tools. If you want to do business in any foreign land, you have to promote your website internationally. Your enterprise must fall for software localization.
But if the developers are not able to maintain the difference between translating the software and localizing software, your campaign would get badly affected.
There are some worst mistakes in software localization that can be seen commonly:
Difference in Layouts
Languages differ from region to region. Every language has its own formatting and writing style. For instance, English is a more compact language than other languages like Chinese, Japanese. Likewise, there are some languages that take up more space than others. The strings might overlap due to tight spacing if you do not take this spacing difference into account. Consequently, editing will be required of the interface after translation. This requires time and cost.
English is a concise language, and it does not take more spacing, and this language is also a default language during the localization of software internationally. But the spacing for Korean or Japanese language would not be enough. So, this is the worst mistake that occurs during software localization and designers must keep this point into consideration while designing the localization software.
Localization Regardless of Tone and Style
Another worst mistake in software localization is of tone and style. Many enterprises, during software localization, use free tools or do not take care of the context genre. Even in writing, the content tone and style matter a lot. Likewise, in localizing the software, a reliable localization management platform uses different tools in generating the message on the basis of context.
Major Initial Mistakes
Taking care of the initial criteria is very important. Codes, numbers, dates, units, and time should be kept in mind very precisely. For example, different countries use different date formats. It may be 29.09.2021 or 09.29.2021. Likewise, the writing style of time also differs from region to region, like 14:00 or 2:00 pm. Some enterprises think they are just minor things, but in reality, these initials hold great importance, the mistake in these kinds of minor initials can cause a backlash in the localization process.
Wrong Display of Images
Images are always useful in conveying a clear message. People are more likely to attract and understand the vision clearly through pictures. Because not everyone is literate enough to read the blogs and messages. So, pictures are a smooth way of giving understanding. Many times developers use the wrong images. For instance, the red color shows the fertility symbol in India, but in Africa, it is a mourning symbol. So, during software localization, developers miss these crucial details. And these graphics can cause troubleshooting problems in software localization.
Language Difference
If languages are different from one another, then their writing style is also different. Another major mistake in software localization is not to take care of formatting. Language writing styles differ from one another. All languages cannot be written in the same pattern. Some follow horizontally and some follow vertically. During software localization, if a localization management platform relies only on machine translation and automation tools, then its transformation from one language to another can cause serious issues.
For example, Arabic and Hebrew are read from right to left, on the other hand, the Chinese languages are read from top to bottom. So, designing the formatting cannot be the same for every language. For this reason, choosing the authentic localization management platform is necessary to avoid the worst mistake of software localization.
Misuse of Icons or Symbols
During software localization, there is a possibility that developers misuse symbols or icons. These things like language also vary from one region to another. There should be proper research on what especially religious symbols, gender symbols, animals, and other pictures should be used. One must try to avoid the use of unnecessary icons if it is not researched properly.
Concluding Note
Conclusively, software localization is a complex process. But it is the major demand of the business world that needs to be designed carefully. However, many worst mistakes are being observed during software localization like language differences, initial differences, misuse of icons, and many more. By all means, these mistakes can hurt the business reputation drastically. To avoid mistakes during localization, one must choose a reliable localization management platform like MarsHub where the project management system is individually designed, and joining all the stakeholders at one platform results in collaborative results. Read More
