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Website Globalization
Globalize Your Website
The Internet has unlocked a wide array of markets and knocked down barriers that previously prevented merchants from marketing their products on a global scale. There are a number of ways to 'globalize' a website and broaden a businesses general appeal to an international audience.
1.) Payment Options - vary from country to country, therefore offering flexible payment options are important. While PayPal might be a good option for consumer-oriented products, this service is not widely used by businesses and is only available to customers in specific countries. In order to attract global customers, businesses must provide a variety of payment options that customers, in different countries, are familiar and comfortable with.
2.) Currency Distinction - provides added convenience to a potential customer, and shows an understanding and respect for global audiences. A currency converter is a good option, especially for large companies who may be dealing with many countries. When listing prices clearly indicate the country currency, such as between US dollars and Canadian dollars. This distinction will prevent misconceptions and prevent customer dissatisfaction.
3.) Contact Information - should be given for a country code, along with the area code, when listing phone numbers. It should not be assumed that customers know the numbers to dial foreign calls. Since the standards of address formats can differ from country to country, ensure that the mailing address listed on the website is properly formatted. In this time of rapidly expanding use of numbers, if your area code changes, don't forget to change the information on your website.
4.) Delivery Options - should make sense for all customers. Ensure that they have full knowledge of shipping information to avoid delay and error. If a shipping option is not available for a specific region be sure that is clearly stated on the website. Provide estimates as to when the product will
arrive to various regions, so that customers have appropriate expectations about delivery time frames.
5.) Order Forms - when creating order forms use terminology that is universal; if possible, where relevant, refer to postal codes rather than zip codes. The terminology on the order form should support the fact that the company sells to an international audience.
6.) Payment Policy - clearly state payment policies on any order pages, if purchase orders or wire transfers are not accepted from specific countries be sure that the policy is clearly stated. Prepare an explanation as to why the policies are in place. Customers understand that foreign purchase orders are not legally binding and will not feel alienated if an explanation is offered and clearly stated.
7.) Spelling - can vary, so avoid using terminology on the website that would cause confusion or look like careless spelling mistakes. Be clear and concise as many customers may be viewing your website in their second language. A website that can be viewed in different languages is all the better for communicating with foreign customers.
Ultimately the goal is to make purchasing the product or service easy for a customer. A website that respects cultural differences, as well as the nuances of language and terminology, will go a long way in attracting an international audience.
Copyright 2004 Sharon Housley
Sharon Housley manages marketing for NotePage, Inc. http://www.notepage.net a company specializing in alphanumeric paging, SMS and wireless messaging software solutions. Other sites by Sharon can be found at http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com, http://www.rss-specifications.com and http://www.small-business-software.net
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Language Tools |
Translation of text and web pages between English and several European languages. |
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Language - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
Gestures are a part of human language too. Some invented human languages have ... In human languages, the symbols are sometimes known as lexemes and the ... |
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English language - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
Estimates about second language speakers of English vary greatly between 150 million ... Distribution of first-language native English speakers by country ... |
en.wikipedia.org |
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Free Translation and Professional Translation Services from SDL ... |
SDL International is the world's number 1 provider of free and professional language translation services for websites and documents. |
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AltaVista - Babel Fish Translation |
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babelfish.altavista.com |
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yourDictionary.com • Comprehensive and Authoritative Language Portal |
Comprehensive index of on-line dictionaries in more than 200 different languages. Includes an index of on-line grammars, word of the day by email, ... |
www.yourdictionary.com |
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iLoveLanguages - Your Guide to Languages on the Web |
The Human-Languages Page is a comprehensive catalog of language-related Internet resources. The over 1900 links in the HLP database have been hand-reviewed ... |
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AltaVista - Babel Fish Translation |
AltaVista Babel Fish provides the online text and web page language translation! ... Select from and to languages, Chinese-simp to English, Chinese-trad to ... |
world.altavista.com |
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BBC - Languages - Homepage |
Learn French, Spanish, German, Italian and other languages with the BBC. Start up with our courses or brush up with our audio magazines. |
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Online Dictionaries and Translators |
online dictionaries that assist in the conversion from one language to ... If the dictionary only translates from one language to another you will see this ... |
www.word2word.com |
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The Klingon Language Institute |
Nonprofit organization offers language tutorials, related merchandise, mailing list and membership information. |
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MARC Code List for Languages |
MARC Code List for Languages prepared by the Library of Congress Network Development and MARC Standards Office. |
www.loc.gov |
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Python Programming Language -- Official Website |
Home page for Python, an interpreted, interactive, object-oriented, extensible programming language. It provides an extraordinary combination of clarity and ... |
www.python.org |
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SYSTRAN Language Translation Technology |
Machine translation products. Free online translation available (the engine used by Altavista's Web translator) - English to French, German, Italian, ... |
www.systransoft.com |
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Project MUSE - Language |
Language, the official journal for the Linguistic Society of America, ... Edited by Brian Joseph , Language serves a readership of over 7000 and has been ... |
muse.jhu.edu |
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Learn a Language :: English, Spanish, German, Italian, French ... |
English language courses online: e-learning, learn English online, ... English language learning events,news, conferences, workshops and seminars ... |
www.edufind.com |
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Parlo - Welcome to Parlo - learn to speak a new language. |
Parlo helps you learn English, French, Spanish and other languages with free online courses, music, a magazine, flash cards, chat rooms, message boards and ... |
www.parlo.com |
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PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor |
PHP is a server-side HTML embedded scripting language. It provides web developers with a full suite of tools for building dynamic websites: native APIs to ... |
www.php.net |
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Ethnologue, Languages of the World |
Home page of ethnologue.com, a searchable database of language resources. |
www.ethnologue.com |
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Language Log |
Weblog run by University of Pennsylvania phonetician Mark Liberman, with multiple guest linguists. |
itre.cis.upenn.edu |
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