How can IA and CMS teams optimize content for different languages, cultures, and regions?

2 Plan your content structure

Once you have a clear picture of your users, you need to plan how your content will be structured and organized. You need to consider how your content will be categorized, labeled, and linked, and how it will support the user tasks and scenarios. You also need to think about how your content will be managed and maintained across different languages and regions. You can use tools like content models, sitemaps, wireframes, and prototypes to design and test your content structure.

3 Choose your localization strategy

Depending on your budget, resources, and goals, you can choose different ways to localize your content. You can use a single CMS to manage all your content variations, or you can use separate CMSs for each language or region. You can use a centralized or decentralized approach to create and update your content, or you can use a hybrid model. You can use automated or manual translation, or you can use a combination of both. You can use a global or local domain name, or you can use subdomains or subdirectories. You need to weigh the pros and cons of each option and decide what works best for your project.

5 Collaborate and communicate

One of the key factors for successful localization is effective collaboration and communication between the IA and CMS teams, as well as other stakeholders, such as translators, editors, designers, developers, and marketers. You need to establish clear roles and responsibilities, workflows and processes, standards and guidelines, tools and platforms, and feedback and evaluation mechanisms. You need to communicate regularly and openly, and resolve any issues or conflicts that may arise. You need to align your goals and expectations, and ensure that everyone is on the same page.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?