You have an international project that needs localization. What tools will help you get it done?

In my experience, by defining a clear scope you can streamline the app localization process. - Decide on target languages and regions for localization. - Gather user feedback to understand preferences and expectations. - Use analytics data to identify regions with high user engagement. - Analyze user behavior to inform localization decisions. - Evaluate budget constraints for localization efforts. - Define a realistic timeline for the localization process. - Assess available resources for localization, including linguistic expertise. - Prioritize languages based on market potential and user demographics. - Tailor localization strategies based on the cultural and linguistic nuances of different markets.

When defining the scope for app localization, it's crucial to align the choice of languages and regions with your app's growth strategy. Data-driven decisions are key; leveraging analytics to understand where your current or potential users are located can significantly impact the ROI of localization efforts. Additionally, consider the cultural nuances and legal requirements of each target market, as these can affect both the content and functionality of your localized app. Prioritization based on potential market size and engagement levels will help optimize resource allocation.

Use Translation Management Systems like Smartling, Transifex, or Crowdin to manage translation projects. Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) Tools such as SDL Trados or MemoQ aid translators. Localization Management Platforms like Phrase or Lokalise help manage projects and translations. Content Management Systems like WordPress offer multilingual support. Globalization Management Systems like Acclaro provide end-to-end solutions. Collaboration tools like Slack aid team communication. Localization Testing Tools ensure quality. Web Localization Tools like Localize.js help with web content translation. These tools simplify the localization process, ensuring successful adaptation for different languages and regions.

As Android developer, through years of tackling internationalization challenges, I've found below tools and approaches to be particularly effective. Built-in: Studio's Editor for efficient language management & previews. 3rd-party: LMPs(Localization Management Platforms) streamline workflows, offering MT, quality checks & collaboration. Other tools: Use machine translation (MT) for drafts, but rely on human expertise for accuracy & cultural nuances. Localization testing tools like AppSee help catch UI issues & translation errors before release. Pro tips: Plan early, design for localization, involve local experts, & test thoroughly for a seamless global experience.

It depends upon the priorities you set before launching the app. If you are working on a simple utility types apps you may consider the simple "Google translator" or "DeepL" to translate the content. If you have long-term plan to work on a specific app and really want it bigger than a native translator for specific languages will be plus point. As the age and audience of a specific apps increase you should be more careful.

From my experience as a mobile developer for almost 10 years know, I can say that supporting different images, fonts, strings, resources, etc. can be a nightmare if not tackled well at the beginning. In the past 5 years my go to framework is Flutter due to its capabilities of hot reload/restart which saves so much on build/debug time. If you want to separate resources per language in Flutter, you can use a combination of different solutions: - Translations (updating, plurals..): easy_localization, lokalise_flutter_sdk or any other package you prefer - Add suffix for images, fonts so you know which to load for which language

In my view, PFB a concise breakdown: - Select a framework supporting resource management in multiple languages. - Ensure it handles variations like plurals, genders, scripts, and formats. - Look for support for strings, images, fonts, and other resources. - Look for features simplifying cultural and linguistic nuances. - Look for version control and collaborative tools. - Choose a framework allowing seamless updates of localized content. - Prioritize quick iterations and modifications. - Consider financial aspects and team expertise. - Ensure the framework is scalable for future updates and languages. - Plan for long-term scalability. - Choose a framework aligned with the app's unique requirements.

Choosing the right framework for app localization is crucial for a seamless user experience across different markets. It's important to consider not only the technical capabilities of the framework but also the ease of integration with translation management systems (TMS) and version control platforms. Frameworks like Flutter and React Native offer robust internationalization (i18n) libraries that simplify the process of adding new languages and managing locale-specific assets, which is essential for maintaining consistency and accuracy in your app's global presentation.

Using a cross platform technology (React Native, Flutter, etc) -> reducing the codebase Extract all the texts in a JSON like structure -> avoid spread all over your code base Depending on the dynamic of the project and how often the copies will be changed, you can opt-in for: 1. keep text local, bundled in your app an use a tool like react-native-localise to handle the texts Pros: - it is really simple Cons: - you need a new release to change some copy Workaround: - use a service like OTA (over the air updates) 2. keep the texts on a server/CMS and pull them when app boots/ when necessary - you need to tests and see what works best for you use cases Pros: - flexibility and more control over the texts Cons: - extra network request

When it comes to choosing a framework, the existing language the application is written will have a translation framework built or service that can be integrated. Before that, it is beneficial to move any/all hard coded strings to one strings or resx file, so there would be no conflicts or missing any translation in any screen.

Utilizing translation technology is undoubtedly beneficial for app localization, yet it is imperative to ensure that the translated content not only retains the accurate meaning but also aligns with the intended tone. Having a subject matter expert available to verify the translated text adds an extra layer of assurance, ensuring that the localization truly reflects the intended nuances and context. Recognizing that the same word may carry different meanings based on context in various languages, it is essential to ensure comprehensive coverage in app localization. This involves not only linguistic accuracy but also an understanding of contextual nuances to convey the intended meaning in each instance.

In my view, PFB is a concise breakdown: - Decide between professional, crowdsourced, or machine translators. - High-quality and accurate, but more expensive and slower. - Low-cost and faster, but lack consistency and expertise. - Assess the importance of translation accuracy for your app. - Determine the urgency of your app localization. - Consider budget constraints for translation services. - Maintain consistency with clear translation guidelines. - Foster open communication between translators and the development team. - Prioritize translators with an understanding of cultural nuances. - Establish a feedback loop for ongoing improvement in translation strategies.

I leveraged ChatGPT and Google Translate for small apps and worked quite well. I think leveraging AI tools can bridge the language gaps and a skilled translator can is efficient for reviewing an curating the texts. But this should not stop you to build/release.

When hiring translators for app localization, it's crucial to consider the context and nuances of your content. Professional translators are ideal for apps requiring high precision, such as medical or financial services. Crowdsourcing can be effective for more general content and engaging with a community, while machine translation suits real-time, informal, or internal purposes. However, combining human expertise with machine efficiency, through post-editing machine-translated content, often strikes the best balance between quality, speed, and cost.

Most of the apps that are being developed now a days have localization to target people from different region & countries. As we have multiple options to develop cross platform mobile app now a days apart from native development, So tool varies based on the platform you are doing development. As I work on react native so I prefer react-i18next translation tool that helps you manage translation in as many languages as you want. Other than that I use redux, redux-persist to save user preference for the selected language and sometimes device automatically set language based on which region it is currently being used.

In my experience to test the app, - Check functionality, usability, and appearance across languages and devices. - Test for broken links, missing images, or layout problems. - Ensure compatibility with various devices and screen sizes. - Verify spelling, grammar, and cultural appropriateness. - Obtain feedback from different user groups for thorough evaluation. - Focus on language-specific challenges like text expansion or contraction. - Test localized features to ensure alignment with user expectations. - Address usability issues identified during testing. - Verify cultural sensitivity in the app's content. - Address nuances impacting user experience. - Confirm new changes do not introduce issues.

Testing an app for localization is not just about finding bugs—it's about ensuring a seamless user experience across different cultures. Utilizing a combination of automated testing tools and human testers, particularly native speakers, is essential for capturing nuances in language and cultural context. Moreover, it's important to consider varying screen sizes, resolutions, and operating systems when testing on different devices to ensure the app's UI/UX remains consistent and functional.

Testing is a crucial part of the CI/CD setup to ensure that the end users are getting a great experience but it's not always possible to catch all bugs so it's also important to have mechanisms to catch those bugs in production. From my experience it's good to have testers go over each dev build and to do regression testing on the internal beta builds before going live. They are always testing on the agreed target devices so we ensure that the UI is not broken. One should not forget the importance of widget, unit and automated testing that should be part of development to speed up the testing process and ensure that the business logic is still working as planned.

Testing is the most important part of the process due to different word lengths in different languages. Releasing an app with misspellings, typos, incorrect layout (text doesn't fit the boundaries right) will discourage users and leave them with bitter experience. There are couple of approaches to testing including manual testing, but I was always achieving good results with snapshot testing. Snapshot tests are doing a screenshot of a given screen (snapshot) and compare it to the reference snapshot. It can support multiple devices and screen sizes, font settings etc. It requires some overhead of generating reference screenshots and a bit of configuration, but then are fast to run and efficient to spot inconsistencies.

Testing an app for localization is a crucial step in ensuring that it effectively caters to users across different regions and languages. Here's a guide on how to effectively test an app for localization: 1. User Interface Testing 2. Plan Localization Testing Strategy 3. Functionality Testing 4. Date/Time and Currency Testing 5. Localization-Specific Features Testing 6. Language Display Testing 7. Device and OS Compatibility Testing 8. Device and OS Compatibility Testing 9. Usability Testing 10. Localization Tools and Automation By following these steps and conducting thorough testing, you can ensure that your app is effectively localized and provides a seamless experience for users worldwide.

This is my favorite part, publishing the app and updating it to see how users react to your hard labour. Thankfully App and Play Store have made it easy to have different metadata for different languages so it's just a matter of syncing with designers and translation team to have everything ready to upload. The process of updating the app is done via CI/CD (I love to use CodeMagic for Flutter apps) since it's making the process really easy. Once the app is live it's important to have mechanism in place to track what's going on, for those purposes I like to use Firebase Crashlytics, Analytics and Performance so that I know if everything is OK for the users also.

I recall when we first expanded our app to Spanish-speaking markets. Updating the app's metadata, like title and description, to resonate with the local audience was key. We used a blend of localization tools and version control systems, ensuring our translations were spot-on and culturally relevant. Post-release, monitoring user feedback and app analytics was vital. It revealed how well our localization efforts were received and where we needed improvements. For example, user reviews highlighted a cultural nuance we had missed in our initial translation, which we quickly rectified in the next update. it's about cultural adaptation and ongoing refinement based on real-world feedback.

The easiest and most scalable way to update translations is to use some sort of OTA (over-the-air) update system. Once set up, you can change the translations on the backend, and all users will have the new translations. Gone are the days when you had to submit a new version to the App Store or Play Store. The main con of this approach is the need for an internet connection, but most of the apps need an internet connection anyway, so this only applies to a small fraction of offline apps. Additionally, you can make the translations usable offline by storing them in the database.

Simple! Define your target languages and regions based on market research. Choose a suitable framework for managing translations and adapting to language specifics. Hire translators, balancing quality and cost, and test your app thoroughly for both technical and linguistic accuracy. Key tools include Translation Management Systems for organizing translations, glossaries for consistency, and quality assurance processes for error-checking. Remember to update your app's metadata for each market and use SEO strategies for local visibility.

In addition to the mentioned steps, consider the importance of context in localization. Sometimes, direct translations may not capture the intended meaning or cultural nuances. For instance, a phrase that's perfectly acceptable in one language may be offensive in another. It's crucial to have native speakers or cultural experts review the translations to ensure they align with cultural sensitivities and idiomatic expressions. Additionally, consider legal requirements and regulations in target regions, such as data protection laws or labeling requirements. Ignoring these aspects could lead to legal complications or fines.