Some Of The Best Ways To Go Forward With Mobile App Localization

 

With the advent of the advancement of features in mobile applications, small businesses, and startups are indulging in the implementation of effective mobile app localization services. This helps them to tap into their targeted customer segment easily because these days almost everyone has a smartphone in their pocket. But as easy as it sounds, proper mobile app localization is a tricky task to stick to. It requires disciplined steps and a proper methodology to execute it properly. Here are some of the best practices that professional app localization services follow-

·        Through research of target segments of the market- The professional services help a business to tap into their market segments, via the application by executing thorough market research based on the culture, language, need, and interests. Simultaneously, they also analyze the competitors of their clients which helps the respective business to make informed decisions. Any budding business needs to have a competitor analysis done to the core of their innovation, technology and from the business perspective itself. Hence this makes it one of the most important pointers in the list of best practices.

·         Framing the app for localization- Structuring the application properly requires a lot of experience and time. First would be segregating the translatable content from the code and storing them in resource files. This will ease the job of translating the files without editing the code. Secondly, the developer should be considering varied pluralization guidelines. Certain other steps like utilizing Unicode UTF-8 encoding ensure the proper display of characters across varied languages. Lastly, synchronization between iOS and Android translation keys also plays a crucial role in the overall output.

·         Incorporating pseudo-localization- It’s a solid prevention for user interface issues and offers a simulation of the translation process. It helps identify application user interface errors, such as text contraction or extraction prior to the actual translation process commencing. It boosts the localization workflow by extending placeholders for untranslated content. This is not an exclusive feature but is offered by any standard mobile app localization company in India.

·         Flexible design for text expansion- professional applocalization services strategize their localization methodology in such a way as to keep a flexible layout for future modification. They avoid fixed elements that might hinder texts with languages that have longer phrases or words. Additionally to prevent overcrowding implementing ample whitespaces is a must. The best app localization providers always avoid hard coding and refrain from hard-coding content strings straight into UI elements. When all of these are in terms, one should be testing the app’s user interface with the target languages to catch any text expansion hindrances or issues.

·         Modifying the user interface- Another important practice for any mobile application localization provider is to modify the user interface according to the cultural sensitivity, language, and interests of their client’s target market. This step involves three key pointers where the first being is to consider language direction i.e. identifying whether the language is read from left-right or top to down or right to left. This helps one to align all the UI features correctly including icons, buttons, and menus. Secondly, offering clear navigation to the UI, hence makes the target customers stay in the application for a long time; which means greater sales. And lastly, one needs to incorporate universal icons so that the application is very much communicable to almost every person worldwide.

·         Localize keywords for app store enhancements- A business or an organization releases its application in the Play Store so that people across the world can download and utilize it for the offered platform which has the desired features that the audience wants. So it has to be visible, discoverable, and understandable to a wide range of audiences to get hold of it. So any standard mobile app localization company in India would optimize the app localization in such a way that it is accessible to the wider audience. This includes doing keyword research via Google keyword planner or other relevant platforms which helps. Secondly, localization services should do a thorough check on the local trends for which they are optimizing the contents and last but not least would be to optimize app store metadata. Encompassing localized keywords into the respective app’s metadata, including the description, subtitle, screenshot captioning, and the app’s title are the key elements to consider.