How to Write Website Content so it’s Easier to Localise
If you're planning to take your website into new markets, the way your source content is written matters more than most businesses realise. A professional translation agency can do a great deal with strong, clear copy, but poor source content makes their job harder, slows down the process, and can affect the quality of the final localised content.
The good news is that a few simple writing habits make a significant difference. Here's what to keep in mind before you send your content to us.
Write short, simple sentences
Long sentences with multiple clauses are harder to translate accurately and more likely to lose their meaning along the way. Aim for one idea per sentence. This doesn't mean your writing has to feel blunt – it just means being precise. Clear English is the best starting point for clear localised content.
Avoid idioms and colloquialisms
Phrases like "hit the ground running", "touch base", or "at the end of the day" are so embedded in business English that they're easy to overlook. But they rarely translate well. A translator has to decide whether to translate literally, find a local equivalent, or rewrite entirely. Save them the guesswork and write in plain, direct language from the start.
Be consistent with your terminology
If you refer to your product as a "platform" on one page and a "tool" or "solution" on another, a translator has to make a judgement call every time. Inconsistency creates uncertainty and can lead to different terms appearing across your localised site.
Before you brief your translation service, it's worth creating a simple brand glossary. This doesn't need to be complicated; even a short document covering your key terms, product names and preferred phrasing will make a real difference to consistency and turnaround time.
Don't embed text inside images
Text that lives inside a graphic, banner or infographic can't be extracted and translated without redesigning the asset. This slows down localisation and adds unnecessary cost. Keep text in the CMS or HTML wherever possible, and if images must contain copy, flag them early so your translation agency can plan for it.
Leave room for text expansion
Translated content is often 20-30% longer than the English source, particularly in languages like German or Finnish. Tight button labels, narrow columns and fixed-width layouts can break badly when that extra length arrives. When designing your pages, build in flexibility. A button that reads "Get Started" in English may need considerably more space in another language.
It's worth bearing in mind that text may also end up being shorter than your designed space, especially for languages like Arabic or Chinese. Flexibility and adaptation are key! For a head start on this, we've pulled together some common website call-to-actions that you can use to help design your localised webpages.
Write for your audience, not your office
Internal jargon, acronyms and content that assumes insider knowledge all make copy harder to localise well. If a new visitor from another country wouldn't immediately understand a phrase, it's worth revisiting before it reaches a translator. Read every page with fresh eyes. If anything needs context to make sense, rewrite it first.
Before you brief your translation agency: a quick checklist
Run through this before sending your content to a translation provider. It takes ten minutes and can save a lot of back-and-forth.
Sentences are short and contain one idea each
Idioms, colloquialisms and jargon have been removed or rewritten
Key terms and product names are used consistently throughout
A brand glossary or terminology list has been shared
Text is not embedded inside images or graphics
Page layouts have been checked for flexibility around text expansion
Acronyms are explained or written out in full on first use
Content has been reviewed for assumed context that a new reader wouldn't understand
Any culturally specific references (dates, currency, humour, examples) have been flagged
We've been briefed on your tone of voice and target audience
A note on tone of voice
One thing businesses often forget to share with a translation service is their tone of voice guidelines. If your brand is warm and conversational in English, you want that personality to carry through in every language. A good translation agency will ask for this… but if yours doesn't, volunteer it. The more context your translators have about who you are and who you're speaking to, the better the localised content will feel to your audience.
In summary
Working with a translation agency is a collaborative process, and the quality of what you give them shapes the quality of what you get back. These habits don't just help your translation service, they tend to improve the readability of your original content, too. Get the foundations right before you brief, and localisation becomes a much smoother process from the start.
Ready to localise your website? Talk to us about getting the foundations right.