When it comes to translating your Shopify site, it is important to make sure that your online store is accessible for customers worldwide. At first glance, that might seem like a simple task, but translating a website involves a lot more than just swapping its words from one language into another. This is way it is important to call upon a translation agency. To create an optimal user experience and maximise your visibility on search engine results pages, following best translation practices is crucial. This article will explore these practices, as well as examining the CMO’s, the CTO’s and the CEO’s perspectives and warning of the dangers of machine translation.
The importance of translation for a Shopify store
The CMO’s point of view
A company’s CMO is in charge of the business’s brand image and marketing strategy. The translation of the business’s Shopify site is highly important to them, because they know that personalising the content for different markets can strengthen customers’ trust and boost sales. A quality translation can reinforce the store’s credibility and show that the business understands and respects the local culture.
The CTO’s point of view
The CTO is responsible for all the technology behind the business’s online store. This figure must make sure that the Shopify platform is working correctly, with the different languages implemented and any special characters used. Integrating translation apps compatible with Shopify is essential in order to make the user experience as smooth as possible. Technical errors can cause display and browsing problems for foreign visitors.
The CEO’s point of view
The company’s financial results are the main concern for the CEO. They know that translation is a necessary investment in order to access new markets. A well translated Shopify store can increase the business’s reach, leading to more sales and higher turnover.
The dangers of machine translation
Some might be tempted to turn to machine translation for the sake of saving time and money. But this option has its pitfalls. Machine translation engines can produce incorrect or awkward-sounding copy, which will harm your company’s reputation. What’s more, cultural and linguistic nuances might be ignored, leading to misunderstandings or inappropriate content. To avoid these dangers, opting for a quality translation produced by a human professional is preferable.
Shopify translation apps
Luckily, Shopify offers various apps that can make the translation process easier. The most popular ones include Weglot, Langify and Translation Lab. With these apps, you can manage translated content with ease, track modifications and ensure that your whole site is linguistically consistent. They also make it simple to integrate new languages and personalise your store for each market.
The impact of translation on SEO
As well as improving user experience, SEO translation plays a key role in search engine optimisation (SEO). Search engines like Google prefer websites that offer quality content in several languages. The more relevant and well-translated your content, the more likely it is to appear high up in local search results.
The SEO myth: Translated content is not penalised by Google if it is translated properly by a human
As indicated by Gary Illyes, an analyst at Google, translated content is not automatically penalised by Google. Actually, the opposite is true: Google favours sites that offer a quality user experience in different languages. This means that poor-quality machine translations can have a negative impact on your site’s SEO.
In short, translating a Shopify site is a key step in the process of extending your business’s reach. To avoid the pitfalls of machine translation and maximise the benefits of translation, the best option is to call upon a professional translation agency. A quality translation will improve the user experience on your site, consolidate your presence on the international market and boost your online store’s SEO.
Never underestimate the importance of a premium translation for your Shopify store: it can be the key to making your international expansion a success.
