Over the last decade, technology has advanced, and businesses worldwide are recognizing that a prosperous business requires more than just a great product. Constant evolution is necessary in today's highly competitive market to succeed and ensure your customers receive the best experience possible.

One way to guarantee that your customers have an excellent experience is by providing your product in their native language. We assume that you have already realized the potential of stepping out of your comfort zone by being here, and we commend you for it.

Localizing your product can help enhance the customer experience, increasing the likelihood that they will recommend your product to others. This leads to undeniable success for your product.

In this article, we will explore the top five localization platforms you can use to improve your product's performance in 2023. But before we delve into that, let's review some of the basics.

What is localization?

Many confuse localization for translation. And while that is somewhat true, there’s a lot more to localization than to translation.

Software localization refers to adapting your product, not only to the language of the end user, but to their culture as well. This includes the design and UX changes to make your product feel natural to your customers.

Localization is essential for businesses that operate globally as it helps to ensure that the product or service is tailored to meet the needs and preferences of the local consumers. It can include the translation of text, images, audio, video, and other multimedia elements, as well as modifying design, layout, and functionality to suit the target audience.

What are the main benefits of localization?

💡 Did you know that around 13% of the world population speak English? For 4.83% it's their native language.

This statistic goes to show that your product could reach a lot more customers by offering it to them in their native language. Let’s go through the top 5 benefits of localization.

1. You’ll reach new audiences.

Expanding your product's availability to different languages means that you can tap into new markets and reach audiences worldwide. This opens up opportunities to grow your business in ways that were previously impossible when limiting yourself to a specific area.

By localizing your product and making it available in multiple languages, you make it more accessible and easier to navigate for non-native speakers. This allows customers to understand and use your product to its fullest potential, which can lead to increased satisfaction and loyalty. It's important to keep in mind that different languages and cultures have unique

2. You’ll develop long-term relationships with your customers.

Localizing your product can help you establish and maintain long-term relationships with your customers. When customers feel at home using your product in their native language, they are more likely to stay with your product for a longer period of time.

By providing content in the customer's language, you make it easier for them to understand and use your product, creating a sense of familiarity and comfort. This can increase customer satisfaction and loyalty, as they feel understood and valued by your business.

3. You’ll be one step ahead of your competitors.

Localization also offers a significant competitive advantage for your business. By making your product available in multiple languages, you expand your reach to more regions and audiences than your competitors. This can give you an edge in the global marketplace and increase your chances of success.

Adding additional languages to your product can also open up new opportunities for growth and innovation. By staying attuned to the needs and preferences of your customers, you can adapt and evolve your product to meet their changing demands. This can help you stay ahead of the competition and position your business for long-term success.

4. You’ll make Google your new best friend.

One of the ultimate goals for any business is to rank #1 in search engine results, as it can lead to increased visibility, website traffic, and ultimately, more customers.

Currently, your website may be ranking well for a specific keyword or phrase related to your product in your native language.

However, imagine the potential for growth if you were to utilize the power of those keywords in different languages as well. By localizing your website and product, you can tap into new markets and increase your reach to a global audience.

By incorporating keywords in multiple languages, you can attract high-quality traffic to your website from all over the world. This can lead to increased visibility and brand awareness, and ultimately, more customers. Additionally, by using targeted keywords in different languages, you can connect with potential customers who may not have found your product otherwise.

5. You’ll see a higher return on investment.

By localizing your product, you open up the doors to new markets and a wider audience, which can lead to a significant increase in your return on investment (ROI) over time.

With your product now available in different languages and tailored to suit the needs and preferences of local consumers, you can expect to see a boost in sales and revenue.

How can I localize my product?

Now that you’ve realized how valuable localization is for your business, lets explore different methods of localization.

1. Spreadsheets

Localizing with the help of spreadsheets is what many businesses just starting out with localization usually use.

Even though this might seem like a good solution, it turns into a very painful process in the end.

What are the pros?

• It's free.
• We all know how to (kind of) use it.

What are the cons?

• Very time consuming, and a lot of manual work.
• Extremely prone to errors.
• It’s very hard to collaborate with your team members in an excel sheet.
• Constant delays.

Even though spreadsheets are free, in the end they turn out to be quite expensive because you’ll lose a lot of your time on manual work, delays can potentially harm your product and you’ll end up with a lot of errors you have to correct in the end.

2. Translation Agencies

Translation agencies do sound like a good solution, because you are working with professional translators who will deliver high-quality content.

However, this can be quite pricey and you are not able to implement changes fast.

What are the pros?

• High quality translation.
• Professional service.

What are the cons?

• Translation agencies usually come with a hefty pricing tag.
• The whole process can be quite slow, as you’re not able to quickly adapt to content changes.
• You do not have full control of the entire localization process.
• Usually, you do not end up with the file format you need for your software.

3. Localization Platforms

Technology has evolved throughout the years, and is now able to match your content needs with ease. You’ll be able to have full control over your localization process, and ensure you’re getting high quality translations for your product.

What are the pros?

• Full control of the localization process.
• High quality translations (both machine and human translation).
• Timely communication with your team members.
• Saves you and your team a lot of time because you have a centralized platform to work from..
• No errors, and misunderstandings.
• You’re able to make content changes to your product fast - no more delays.
• Full automation of the localization process.

What are the cons?

• Some localization platforms do come with a hefty price tag.
• Could be quite complicated to use.
• Some solutions are not fully automated.

We’ve briefly covered all of the localization methods, and now we’ll go into our top 5 localization platforms your business can benefit from in 2023.

Top 5 Localization Platforms for 2023

1. Translized, For fully automated localization

Translized is a software localization and translation platform that can help you localize your web and mobile applications, games or websites, without having to do any of the manual work. It comes with all of the features you and your team need for a flawless localization experience at a price that’s simply unbeatable.

Integrate Translized by using CLI, enabling you to update localization with a single line from your terminal. Simple REST API is also available for more advanced use cases.

And a popular feature, loved by all mobile developers is the option to integrate with Translized’s mobile SDK and publish translation in real-time on App Store and Google Play.

You can expect high-quality translation with the help of both machine and human translation.

Utilize the power of Translation Memory and History, as well as the option to add screenshots to certain terms, to make sure your translation is flawless.

Collaboration is by far the most important thing when it comes to localization, and with Translized, you’ll get real-time updates via comments and mentions within them.

As a Project Manager you’ll have a full overview of the entire project, and are able to easily import and export files in 10+ file formats supported by Translized.

“I love this piece of software. It is great to use, easy to integrate with any app and UI makes sense. Compared to other products it offers you better packages for less money and with features it is fairly the same or better then some other products.”

Top Features

• Over the Air (OTA) Mobile SDK

No more need to create a new release each time you want to make textual changes. Publish translation in real-time.

• Machine and Human Translation

Machine Translation allows you to translate your content in 70+ languages. For complex features, on-demand professional translation is available.

• Import and Export Files

Manage your translations by importing and exporting files in 10+ file formats supported by Translized.

• Term Screenshots

Provide your team members with visual context, and add screenshots to certain terms.

• CLI & REST API

Integrate CLI in your build process, and make sure you have the latest translations in every build. You can also utilize the power of the powerful REST API for more advanced use cases.

Pricing

Translized offers 5 different pricing plans depending on your needs. A 7-day free trial is available during which you’ll have access to 50 000 strings and unlimited projects.

For teams of up to 10 users that require more advanced features, with 6000 available strings and unlimited projects, Translized is only $14.45 a month, billed annually.

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2. POEditor, Effective translation management platform

POEditor is a localization management platform that lets you translate your content in a simple way, without the unnecessary bells and whistles. It allows you to easily translate your app, website, game or other software in a user-friendly way.

POEditor lets you connect it to your software via their REST API, so you can automate your localization process. It also offers GitHub, Bitbucket, GItLab and Azure DevOps integration.

Translation Memory and History is also available to help you easily check previous translation versions, and reduce your translation workload.

Translate your content with the help of both Human and Machine translation according to your translation needs.

Collaborate with your team members through comments and screenshots.

“POEditor is easy to use, gives you translation suggestions and allows others to contribute to translating your app by either an invite based system or just by allowing anyone to edit it.”

Top Features

• Simple REST API

Automate your localization and reduce manual workload.

• Slack and Microsoft Teams integration

Get real-time updates with the help of Slack and Microsoft Teams integration.

• Machine and Human Translation

Both machine and human translation are available according to your translation needs.

• Screenshots and Comments

Collaborate with your team members easily by providing additional context on terms that need translating.

• Translation History

Easily revert to the previous version within POEditor.

Pricing

POEditor comes with a 14-day free trial, and it offers 5 different pricing plans.

It’s free up to 1000 strings, and their pricing plans start with $12.74 a month for 3000 strings.

3. Localazy, User-friendly localization software

Localazy is another great choice for your localization needs. With their user-friendly interface, you can easily localize your mobile, web or desktop app.

Localazy allows for easy collaboration and gives you a full overview of your localization process. With contributor control, you'll have full control over your team members.

Achieve high quality translation with their translation glossary, translation memory and pro-active review. Machine translation is available, as well as the option to order professional translation and review.

Developers will appreciate the power of their multi platform CLI, as well as their Over the Air feature. Use release tags to maintain multiple existing releases.

“It is simple to use, with easy options and setup. A wide range of languages are supported, making it simple to apply for any product offer anywhere in the world.”

Top Features

• OTA Updates

Easily make textual changes to your app without having to wait for the next release.

• CLI Tool

Utilize Localazy from command-line.

• Translation Memory

Make sure you avoid unnecessary workload with the help of Translation Memory.

• Continuous Localization Team

On-demand translation and review.

• Shared Translations

Shared Memory with 80+ languages is available.

Pricing

Localazy offers a 7-day free trial. You can start for free with 200 source keys. Their pricing plans start with 500 source keys for $9.

4. Lokalise, Feature-packed localization solution

Lokalise is a fully automated localization platform, created for your complex software translations and is ideal for large enterprises. You can easily localize your web and mobile apps, games, documents and marketing assets.

Lokalise allows you to easily collaborate with your team in a single workspace, by adding and assigning tasks while tracking the entire process.

Adobe XD, Figma and Sketch plugins let you start working on translations as soon as the product is ready, so there is no more waiting.

Their built-in tools, such as translation memory, QA checks and machine translation help you ensure high quality translation. Use screenshots to provide visual context.

Lokalise is a developer-friendly solution as it offers API, CLI, mobile SKDs and integrations with GitHub, Bitbucket, Jira and more. This way developers can focus on development, and spend less time on localization.

“Lokalise is really easy to work with and it's easy for new people to understand the software pretty fast. Its interface is good, simple and allows for deep customization.”

Top Features

• Create Tasks

Create and assign translation and review tasks to contributors.

• Screenshots

Add screenshots for visual context.

• Quality assurance checks

High-quality QA checks to make sure you avoid typos and other textual errors.

• Over-the-air SDKs

Publish your translation to iOS and Android apps instantly.

• API & CLI tool

Automate routine tasks and create unique workflows.

Pricing

Even though Lokalise is a great localization platform, it does come with a hefty price tag.

They offer a 14-day free trial, and their first plan starts at $120 billed monthly with annual billing. It includes 10 seats and 5000 hosted keys.

5. Phrase, Reliable localization platform

Phrase is a fast and reliable software localization platform. It's a good option for the entire team - from developers, managers, translators to designers.

Phrase provides fast import and export of language files, great API and CLI, and it supports over 40 file formats. Over the Air feature is also available.

Managers can easily organize translation projects  in the form of jobs directly in Phrase, and relevant team members will be notified when a translation is needed or is completed.

For translators, screenshots are available, to help them gain deeper knowledge of text that needs to be translated. They can also utilize the power of translation memory to reduce translation workload.

“Translations can be managed pretty easily with the web frontend. It is easy to use and pretty self explanatory. The customer support is great and handles issues very professional. The response times are very good comparing to other services.”

Top Features

• API

Phrase's API allows you to easily import files into your account.

• In-context Editor

In-context editor provides the possibility to translate content directly on the site.

• Sketch & Figma Integration

Connect Phrase with your designs in Sketch and Figma within seconds.

• Over the air (OTA)

Avoid waiting for the next deployment and publish translation in real-time.

• Order Translation

Order professional translation right from Phrase.

Pricing

Phrase offers 3 pricing plans, with the first one being the Basic pricing plans that starts at $23 per user/month when billed annually.

How to Choose the Right Localization Platform in 2023?

Choosing the right localization platform for your business can be a crucial decision that affects the success and growth of your product. Fortunately, there are several popular and effective platforms available, each with their own unique features and capabilities.

In our detailed article, we have explored and evaluated the top 5 localization platforms in 2023 that are suitable for teams of all sizes looking to scale their business. By reading about each platform's features, pricing plans, and customer support, you can make an informed decision based on your specific needs and budget.

Most of these platforms offer a free trial period of 7 or 14 days, which is a great way to test the waters and explore all of the features before making a commitment. During the trial period, you can evaluate the ease of use, the quality of translations, and the overall user experience of the platform to decide whether it's the right fit for your product.

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