Selling in more than one language

A shop in someone's own language sells better. A half-translated shop reads as careless, which is worse than one language done properly.

What has to be translated

Product titles and descriptions, categories, the pages people read before buying, and the checkout.

What people forget

The emails. A shop translated beautifully that sends its order confirmation in another language has done the easy half. The same goes for the messages about delivery and cancellation.

Also: error messages, the words on buttons, and anything written by an add-on.

What stays as it is

Brand names, product codes, and your own company name. Translating those creates confusion, not clarity.

Machine translation

It is a starting point for a description, not for a policy or a legal page. Anything with a number in it — a deadline, a guarantee, a return period — must be checked by someone who reads the language, because a wrong number there is a promise you did not mean to make.

What to check

• Switch the language and walk from product to checkout without meeting the first language.
• Place a test order and read the emails in that language.
• Any period or guarantee says the same number in every language.