To Be or Not To Be Multilingual?

by OnTheGoSystems

Sometimes WordPress users may think that multilingual websites are not necessary for their audience. However, there is a huge potential of targeting a much larger audience by going multilingual, even for small businesses.

WPML makes it easy for you to translate web pages, posts, custom types, taxonomies, and even more, into different languages. It offers more than 40 languages to choose from and you can even add variants of languages, such as Canadian French or Colombian Spanish, to enable localizing your content and targeting the right market.

Imagine you’re a restaurant owner in an area visited by people from many countries. Naturally, you will want to translate your menu into the most prevalent languages. You want to reach out to as many people as possible, right?

That’s exactly the same situation for your WordPress site. If you provide your website visitors the content in their mother tongue, you are not only cultivating their trust but getting closer to them. You are generating new opportunities to expand your influence.

  • Regarding e-commerce alone, customers are aware that they have multiple options available for buying online. One way to increase your customer satisfaction is showing that you are prepared and willing to make them special, by making it easier for them to place orders in the language they are most comfortable with. This is an important first step.
  • You are also increasing the possibilities of being discovered in countries which rely mainly on local search engines. This way you are also increasing your credibility. Your users will appreciate the time and effort you are making to become multilingual.  They will realize that, by taking this step, you are committed to managing a genuine, long-term business.
  • Additionally, you can take it a step further by localizing or adapting your content according to the country. For example, you can adapt your content to Colombian or Mexican Spanish, showing your audience in a practical way that you understand their culture and that they are important to you.
  • Finally, you can translate your website in accord with the culture and legislation of the country, sending the right message to the right audience.

As you can see, in a globalized world, becoming multilingual is no longer an option but a necessity. Are you ready to become multilingual?


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