Mobile App Localization | How to Get Started?
Businesses, around the world, are adopting mobile-first approaches to make their brands available and accessible to the global masses. Around 83.3% of the population of world has mobile phones. Therefore, it has become important for global companies to make their products and services available through the devices in their customers' hands. As a result, mobile apps have become common, and they have indeed made our routine life more convenient. You can book a cab, order your favorite food, learn a new language or skill, and watch your favorite sport live on a mobile device.
Mobile apps are handy solutions to our everyday problems and are easy to use. The increasing trend of online shopping has made global businesses more active in selling their products and services through mobile apps. However, localizing your mobile apps is also significant to make them fit into local environments and trends. Here are some easy steps that you must follow for mobile app localization.
Things You Need to Know About Mobile App Localization
If you want to launch your mobile app in a new marketplace, you must localize it first. Unless you have adapted all elements of your app to local cultures, you can't survive in that market. Carefully read the points mentioned below to do your mobile app localization efficiently.
Target Profitable Markets
You can randomly jump into any market and start promoting your brand there. However, you must be very careful and conduct proper market research to look for any potential for your brand to grow. Not all markets are meant for your products, so you should use profitable markets only. For testing a potential market, you can do a patch test by proving your product to a sample of customers. You can ask them questions related to your product and services, what they like about it, how to improve the mobile app experience, etc.
Hire Credible Resources
Once you have selected the markets that you want to target, it's time to get on board professional localization experts and translators. Only hire certified native translators to translate your app's content. You can either assemble your in-house team or hire professional language service providers for mobile app localization purposes. Translation agencies usually have expert translators and developers with an extensive number of experiences. They would help you achieve your mobile app localization goals through their skills and industry knowledge.
Consider Cultural Differences
One important thing to consider while doing mobile app localization is the culture, customs, and social norms of the region. You have to be aware of cultural sensitivities and social nuances to carry out your localization project correctly. Furthermore, make sure all elements of your mobile app are in harmony with customers' interests and core psychologies. So, before targeting any new market, you must gather sufficient knowledge about the cultural values, or you can also hire a culture consultant to get some guidance regarding your mobile app localization.
Use A Localization Management Platform
To keep your mobile app localization process agile and seamless, you must have a professional localization management platform. Working on such a platform automates your localization process, making your day-to-day localization tasks hassle-free and easy. A modern translation management system provides automated translation, advanced editing tools, QA testing, robust security infrastructure, integration options, and a lot more. Even if you are working with language service providers, you must have some idea about the localization management platforms that they are using.
Develop Your App with Unicode
To make your mobile app localization process fast and easy, you must first develop your app using Unicode. Hardcoded elements in your apps could make it hard for developers to localize them for new markets. It makes localization more time-consuming and challenging because they have to write new code from scratch. Unicode development doesn't hardcode any element in the source code, so you can make modifications to your mobile app more conveniently. To avoid future trouble, you must develop your app, keeping in mind localization from the very beginning.
Summing Up!
If you think your brand has potential with other brands, you must first localize your mobile app to connect with local customers. Localization would unleash the true potential of your brand in a foreign market and help you get more downloads, increase your user base and earn more profit. First, make sure you have all the right tools and equipment for app localization. Then, hire native translators and invest in Unicode development to get desirable results from your app and your localization project.