6 Vital Things to Consider When Choosing an Online Translation Service
by Josh Biggs in Tips on 14th April 2019The internet is awash with translation services. Learn what to look out for to ensure that you pick the right one for your needs. Choosing is so easy.
The demand for multi-language websites and translation services continues to increase by the day. Better communication, higher sales, improved user experience, effective SEO, and improved customer satisfaction are some of the benefits that motivate brands to keep embracing website translations enthusiastically. And with the increasing demand for translation services, the number of sites offering the same has skyrocketed in the past few years.
While there are some excellent translation services on the internet, it is vital to note that many unreliable services exist as well. Such translation services offer low-quality translations and fail to comply with even the most basic of translation standards. At times, searching for or contacting such platforms can be grueling, especially when one needs urgent translations.
That said, this post will highlight 6 things that can help you select the right online translation service. Let’s get started, shall we?
Do You Want Translations for Informal or Professional Purposes?
Determining whether you need simple or professional website translations can help you choose the right service. For instance, if you need professional translations, you will want to work with a service that has accomplished translators who can use proper niche-specific vocabulary. You want them because they are best placed to provide you with high-quality content. See, poor website translations from amateurs or machines can water down your message and lower the level of professionalism your business needs to showcase. If you consider translation services as a career, the English course website Progress English is suited to helping internationals learn the English language and gain qualifications
Apart from that, a translation service that has a local specialist will come in handy if you need professional content. Working with a local translator will ensure that a business offers discounts that make sense to the target demographic. Moreover, such a specialist understands the type of branding and marketing that works in a particular community. As such, they are better placed to come up with effective slogan translations, practical tips, and colors that appeal to the audience during specific seasons.
Another thing you need to check when you are after professional translations is the availability of editing services. The lack of these services means that you will have quality-related issues. So, expand your pool of translation services to include those that promise proofreading and editing services. Last but not least, for professional translations, you need to make sure that the website you hire uses useful translation software. Such tools ensure that you get a consistent website translation.
On the other hand, even if you are after informal content, you still want to work with a service that does a good job. Check out some examples of the previous work done by the service to get an idea of the output it can offer you.
Interface Convenience and Usability
Scrutinizing the interfaces of various translation service websites can help in your decision making too. You want to work with a service that has a functional site which is easy to use. It is particularly useful on those days when you need quick translations of website content. That said, essential buttons such as “hire a human translator” as well as the contact information should be easy to spot on the website. Also, the text boxes where you paste your texts should be visible and allow for a decent amount of content to be pasted within. A translation service with a text box that takes in short texts is not ideal if you are working with a short deadline.
It is also important to pay attention to the formatting of the texts after translating them on the text box. A service that yields results in the correct arrangement of dates, numbers, postal codes, and overall sentence structure is worth giving a shot.
Timeliness
Often, those who seek translation services online need them instantly. If you can relate, then you need to work with a translation service that offers quick online translations. As such, you can beat the deadline for the task and get to post up your content on time. Worth noting is that despite the urgency of your work, you still need to get accurate translations. So, it makes total sense to work with a service that promises both of these things.
Speed extends beyond the actual translation to aspects such as customer support. Therefore, make a point of making an inquiry to gauge the response time of a particular service. On any day, working with a service that offers quick answers to your queries will provide you with a pleasant experience.
Multi-Language Translation
The more the languages a service offers, the better. Working with a service that provides translations in a variety of languages enables you to convert your website to multiple languages in one sitting. Today, some services offer high-quality translations in over 90 languages on the internet. All you have to do is specify the ones you want, and your work will be tackled accordingly.
Cost
An excellent translation service will charge a reasonable fee for high-quality translations. And while it is easy to get tempted into working with a cheap/ free service, it is not advisable to do so. Often, such services provide you with subpar translations that can lead to miscommunication, low levels of professionalism, and overall jumbling up of ideas. The consequences of such translations can prove to be too costly in the end for a business.
Customer Support
You ought to work with a translation service that goes above and beyond to offer you excellent customer support. Whenever you make an inquiry, you need to get fast responses to ensure that you make your plans of cooperating with service on time. A company that takes too long to reply to queries from customers is a sure red flag.
Wrapping It Up
To recap; an excellent translation service has the following qualities:
- It can deliver either professional or informal translations as per your specification.
- It has a user-friendly interface.
- It offers timely solutions.
- It provides translations in many languages.
- It has reasonable prices.
- It has excellent customer support.
With this in mind, you will hire the right service for the job. Just be sure first to review the examples of the work done by the translation service to know the quality of the output to expect.