
Nowadays, many apps seek to build and improve ties with their audiences and, at the same time, expand their operations
to other countries. The glue that connects these two things – improving relationships with existing customers and
expanding into other markets and winning a new audience – is translation. But how to translation an app? Should you hire
professional translators to ensure the translation quality and accuracy? Or maybe there are other ways with similar
results? In this blog post, we will reply to those questions by checking pros and cons of using different translation
methods.

## To translate or not to translate?

Software translation is a response to the need to build relationships with users and to expand its operations in other
countries and cultures. Translation allows you to communicate information directly and understandably to the recipient.
It creates a direct communication and a sense of connection between the user and an app.

First question is, do you need to translate your app, or it is ok to keep it in just one language? What are the benefits
of adding more languages to your app? See below the comparison of one language app with multi-language projects.

**One language app without proper language management**

- simple one-language texts
- limited to predefined audience (who speaks given language)
- text blocks added directly in the code, which makes it more difficult to maintain

**Multi-language app with proper translation management**

- diverse content, tailored to the language, culture, and habits of the users
- unlimited audience – add new language and localize your app to open up to new markets
- increased visibility of your app thanks to keywords translation
- better relations and increased engagement with your app users
- easy translation and maintenance with auto-translate option
- simple translation files and cleaner code

## How to translate a website or app?

Translation of a website or app usually involves different teams and areas of work. Thus, it seems complicated at the
start, but with a proper translation management, it is 100% worth the effort as we could see in the comparison above.

Translation process starts from developers, who create a translation file structure in the source code, choose, install
and configure an i18n framework like next-i18next, and build a base for future localization. Usually, it is on
developer's side to connect the app to a translation management software for easier app localization and translation
maintenance.

### Translation methods

The next step it to translate the app. What is the best way to do that, you ask? Well, there are different approaches
and each of them has some pros and cons:

#### Hire professional translators or localization specialists

✅ you can be certain that translations will be accurate and well-done, with proper spelling, grammar and consistent
terminology<br/>
❌ may be expensive, depending on the languages into which you want to translate the application<br/>
❌ more work for you to control the translation process, send source language translation and update translated
texts<br/>
❌ complicated translation updates and maintenance when you add new translations to your app or modify it

#### Ask your team or friends for translations

✅ low-cost solution <br/>
✅ easier translation maintenance if it is done by your team members <br/>
❌ limited to the languages your teammates/friends know <br/>
❌ probably lower quality of translations, they may not be so accurate as translations done by a professional
translator <br/>
❌ may carry pressure/stress if translations are needed now but your team members or friends are not available or
occupied with more important tasks

#### Use automatic translation

✅ the fastest solution which translates to selected languages in a few minutes<br/>
✅ quick way to add new languages to your app<br/>
✅ unlimited languages (machine translation services like DeepL or Google Translate offer many languages – if one doesn't
have one language yet, you will probably find it in the other)<br/>
✅ no need to hire additional people or ask for translations, you can run auto-translation with just one click<br/>
✅ easy and fast translation updates<br/>
❌ may require additional review from given language users<br/>
❌ translation accuracy may be slightly lower than translations prepared by professional translators

![Translate with Google Translate](/assets/auto-translate.png)

## What is automatic translation

Automatic translations is a response to the need of expanding to other markets and opening up to users language and
culture. Because not every app creator can afford to pay for professional translator services, auto-translation is a
great way to expand without sacrificing quality or results.

Auto-translation is the use of machine translation services, like DeepL or Google Translate, to translate a text from
one language to another. The biggest advantage of using auto-translation is saving time – translation takes only few
seconds, and you can translate to multiple languages at once
with [SimpleLocalize auto-translation feature](/blog/posts/how-to-use-auto-translation/).

![Start auto-translation window](/blog/auto-translation-window.png)

This feature combines the characteristics of pros and cons of hiring professional translators and doing translations by
yourself or with your team members and friends help (who would probably use Google Translate anyway). The translation is
fast, done on time, mostly accurate, but may require additional verification of native language users to address some
minor issues. Moreover, it can be done by just one person, it's low cost, and you can run the auto-translation for all
newly added texts and features in your app.

## Conclusion

Software localization is one of the best ways to build relationships with users. It creates a bond, makes the user feel
cared for, taken care of and understood. Even if you cannot afford to hire professional translators, automatic
translation is a great tool that will help you save your time and money.

The response for translating a website or app without hiring professional translators is using auto-translation software
like SimpleLocalize, which comes with a simple, intuitive translation management system. It is the best solution for
small projects who want to start with their app localization and expand their offer and visibility to other countries.



How to translate your app without hiring translators?


AI translation is a technology that has been around for years, and it is getting smarter and more efficient each day. In
this blog post, you will learn how to optimize your website for AI translation and make it easier for machines to
translate your content into other languages.

The use of AI translation services is growing in popularity as the technology becomes more advanced and accessible. This
is because AI-powered translation services like DeepL or Google Translate provide a high-quality translation with
minimum human intervention. AI can translate text in real time, which can be helpful not only for instant translation,
but also for translating the whole website or app content in just a few seconds.

## AI translation options for your website

The visitors of your website usually have two options to see its content in their language. First is enabled on your
side, by creating multilingual website and an option to support different languages. Second one is using browser
extensions or built-in translation services by the user. Both can base on machine translation, and thus both need some
website optimizations and thing to consider when preparing content for AI translation.

### Website localization

Website localization involves not only translation but more importantly adapting the site to the language, culture, and
habits of the recipients. Creating your website in new languages can be challenging at first, but it has many benefits:

- users can access the website content in their mother tongue
- it is easier to find the website in different languages in search engines
- website can load instantly translated and localized to in the user language
- boosting website traffic and making it visible for users from other markets
- increasing customers base
- improving customer satisfaction and relations by more personalized content

### Translation on browser side

Most browsers, like Google Chrome, offer an option to translate pages to the recipient language using AI translation,
like Google Translate. Besides that, there ale multiple extensions also in other browsers that run the AI translation
and translate the website content automatically for the client.

It is a great tool to translate website in less used languages which do not have their version in English and other
languages. However, note that not everyone knows that there is such an option and how to use it. Those users simply
won't find nor get to your website at all. If your website is not optimized for AI translations, the results may not be
so accurate.

## Website optimization for AI translation services

For any type of website or app translation, especially those that use AI translation, it is recommended to optimize its
content and structure, for the best translation quality. Good optimization makes translation management easier and
improves the software internationalization process.

Translation of not optimized website can not be accurate, and occasionally, it can make no sense for the end user. To
avoid such inconsistency and misrepresentation of content on your website, consider the following optimization tips and
bring your website in line with AI translation services.

### UX writing and translations

User-experience writing focuses on user impressions of all your website content. The goal is to keep all forms of texts
as simple as possible, at the same time conveying the information in a precise but user-friendly manner. Users should
perceive the content as something natural, understand it and feel the website's message effortlessly.

UX writing is inseparable from translations and their accuracy. Your website must feel right in all language version,
not only in English. That is why, for the start, we need to create translation-friendly content in the website source
language.

Here are some advices that, when applied in your source language, can highly improve AI translation results in other
languages:

- **Create simple, not complex phrases** and short sentences. Texts must be easily understandable by users from
  different countries whose English in not their first language. This is also great for getting more accurate machine
  translation results.
- **Use relative pronouns** like “that” and “which” in the source language to build the complete sentence. It will make
  texts clearer and at the same time improve AI translation quality and precision.
- **Be precise** when writing the main text, focus on the meaning of the text. Choose words that have only one meaning
  if possible to avoid misinterpretation by translators or machines.
- **Avoid using passive voice**. It is great advice for content writing in general, and it helps in text optimization
  for AI translation too.
- **Avoid abbreviations**. Sometime abbreviations may not be known or recognized correctly by AI, so it is better to
  avoid them or add the expansion next to the abbreviation itself.
- **Avoid colloquialisms and idioms** as they may not be properly translated by AI, as they may not have their
  corresponding in the target language.

### Character Length and Text Wrapping

Translated texts in some languages like German or Dutch can result much longer than the English version. Keep that in
mind when creating your website UI by adjusting the site to accommodate longer words or sentences. **Decide on the
maximum characters count** that that specific key can work with, and also the width of the whole text. Try adding some
extra space for a bit longer translations.

For longer paragraphs, have in mind also how texts are displayed. A sentence in one line in English can result with two
lines in Spanish. To manage such cases of text expansion, **use text wrapping to break texts into more lines** if the
translation text is longer than the element width. Estimate text expansion and how much space it can take to decide if
text-wrapping is necessary.

### Avoid string splitting

String splitting is a situation when one block of text is divided into smaller chunks. It usually happens when there is
some value inside that block, that is taken from the database.

Let's check an example. “From $12 per night”, this block is logically coherent when in one sentence, but to make it work
in different places, with different prices, developers need to replace $12 with a value from the database. To achieve
that, they split the block into different fragments: `From`, `{roomPrice}` and `per night`.

Such string splitting creates two different translation keys, `FROM` and `PER_NIGHT`. In this case, AI will translate
them separately, not knowing that there is something between those keys that makes them one logical sentence.

In such cases, to improve AI translation results, it is better to use **{} placeholder** instead to not split the
string. The correct source text in this case would be:

`From {roomPrice} per night`

### Set up words excluded AI translations

Sometimes you don't want AI to translate some words or expressions to other languages because they are **proper nouns or
proper names**. Translating them to another language would make no sense or could entirely change the meaning of the
text. Imagine translating your company proper name in a sentence, the output would not be accurate.

In SimpleLocalize, you can create a list of words or expressions that you want to exclude from
the [auto-translation process](/blog/posts/how-to-use-auto-translation/). DeepL or Google Translate will consider them
as proper names and won't ever translate them.

## Do you need a review of machine translated texts?

AI translation, although very well-developed, also has some drawbacks. There are still some words and phrases that
cannot be translated correctly, even with AI assistance.
Currently, AI translation still cannot replicate the nuances of the original language. This is why, if you care about
translation quality and accuracy, it needs to be reviewed by a professional translator before being published.

### How to help translators in AI translation review?

Translation review is a crucial step in translation management to provide users with accurate and localized content. To
make the review easier and more efficient for professional translators, make sure to give them the following
information:

- **Context of the translation keys and where they are located on the website**, so they can verify the accuracy of the
  translated text. Note that context is not only the location, but the overall use of the text, when it appears for the
  user, on what action it shows up, in what situation it appears. This is important as the way of translating texts is
  strongly connected to its context.
- Does the translation key work as a button or heading, or maybe it is used in the footer of the website? The usage,
  **function of the key will define and affect the translation**. You can translate differently a simple key “Book Now”
  for a button (“Book Now”), for a headline (“Book now and start your experience”) or a footer (“Booking button”). It
  can have different translation for different text function, so make sure you add this information for translators.
- **Translation formality and style** – to whom is this text directed? Who is the recipient? How to address them? The
  formality differs in many languages. Your text may be very straightforward and direct in English, but should it be the
  same in German or Spanish in Spain or Chile? AI might not always be that accurate to catch those differences, but
  professional translators will be able to verify and correct the text formality to make it suitable for the recipient.
- **Length of translation** – translators can see and compare number of characters of source text and translations to
  make sure they are not significantly different.

## How to translate your website using AI translation?

Make your website multilingual with AI translation services like DeepL or Google Translate and SimpleLocalize
translation management system. It is a great way to get started with your website content translation
and [software localization](/blog/posts/software-localization/).

Start with uploading your translation keys and source language to SimpleLocalize, add new languages and use
auto-translation option to translate them in seconds!
SimpleLocalize [translation editor](/blog/posts/translation-editor-explained/) will help you to update and manage
translations and review texts translated by AI.

Using translation management system helps not only in translating your website or app, but also provides with:

- translation hosting
- seamless updates of your translation files
- intuitive and customizable translation editor
- team workflow and tools for developers, translators and managers
- easy import and export of translation files
- translation project sharing
- machine translation with DeepL and Google Translate

## Explore our simple and intuitive translation editor

Are you ready to start translating your website content with AI translation
services? [Register now to SimpleLocalize](/register/) and start managing your website translations and add new
languages with just a few clicks. **Get started with a 14-day trial** or use our free Community plan for your website
localization!


How to optimize your website for AI translation


**[Auto-translation](/docs/general/auto-translation/)** is a powerful feature which helps you translate your app, website, game or other digital content to multiple languages with just one click.

Using [machine translation services](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machine_translation) for auto-translations can be extremely helpful to those who want to expand their reach on a global level without having to hire translators. Auto-translation works great for a start of app localization process, it creates translations instantly and with great results.

## How auto-translation works?

SimpleLocalize is integrated with two most popular machine translation services, [DeepL](https://www.deepl.com/translator) and [Google Translate](https://translate.google.com). You can choose between those two providers for the best translation results for your project.

**Google Translate** is a well-known translation service, and it [provides a significant number of available languages](https://cloud.google.com/translate/docs/languages). It's a great option if you need a translation to a less popular or uncommon language.

**DeepL** provides sightly more accurate translations than Google Translate and works better with idioms and slang. What's important in web translations, it can **preserve custom translation format like HTML**. DeepL works really well with texts written in Markdown. It [offers 24 languages](https://www.deepl.com/docs-api/other-functions/listing-supported-languages/) with many varieties, e.g., Portuguese and Portuguese (Brazilian). A really nice feature is also **tone formality** — you can select between formal or informal version in selected languages.

![How to start auto-translation for many languages at once (March 2023)](/video/auto-translation.mp4)

Auto-translation by default won't override your existing translations, unless you decide to replace them. You can auto-translate only selected languages or all of them at once. Translations will be based on the source language, the best matching one for the machine translation service.

### Auto-translation options

- **Excluding variables from translations**. You can exclude selected text from auto translation using brackets `{` and `}` or another character type like `[]`, `<>` or `()`. Simply wrap the text, like here: `There are {charsCount} characters left`, to exclude it from translation. This option will help you translate texts with code snippets inside.

![exclusion dialect](/blog/translation-exclusion-dialects.png)

- **Excluding selected words or phrases**. In Auto-translation settings, you can create a list of words or expressions that will be excluded from auto-translation. You can put there your company name or other proper names that you don't want to get translated.

![auto-translation settings](/blog/translation-excluded-words-or-phrases.png)

- **Auto-publishing translations** to CDN to the latest environment – if you are using SimpleLocalize translation hosting, auto-translated keys can be deployed to your development or staging environment directly.
- **Translating keys** if no translation is available – if your source language has no translation, SimpleLocalize can use the key to work as the source for your translation.

With auto-translation, you can translate your app or website to a new language with just a few simple steps that we describe below.

## How to translate your app with Google Translate or DeepL?

There are only **3 simple steps** to auto-translate your app or website using SimpleLocalize. First, import your existing keys and translations to SimpleLocalize. Second, run auto-translate option. And final step, export ready to go translation files and add them to your project repo, or upload them with one click using SimpleLocalize translation hosting.

### Import your translations to SimpleLocalize

There are multiple ways of importing translations to SimpleLocalize. You can use **Excel, JSON or CSV file formats or import them automatically using CLI or API**. Check out [documentation](https://simplelocalize.io/docs/general/import/) for all details and instructions.

![Import translations window](/blog/import-translations.png)

### Start auto-translation

When your existing translation files are already imported to SimpleLocalize, you are good to go and start working on missing translations or add new languages to your project.   Auto-translation is a great help in the translation process. It can speed up the translation by providing a base for translator's review.

#### Auto-translate single translation

Sometimes you just need some help with translating a single translation key. Here comes our **quick auto-translate option, which you can use directly in the translation editor** in all editor views. Just click on the auto-translate icon in the language you are working on, confirm the settings and source language and hit Auto-translate.

![How to auto-translate a single string in Translation Editor](/video/single-auto-translate.mp4)

Within a second, you can have a ready translation, without copying and pasting texts back and forth to the editor and machine translation provider.

#### Auto-translate languages

To translate all translations from selected languages, or all languages at once, go to the Languages. There, you can use the option **Start auto-translation** for selected language or **Auto-translate all** to use machine translation for all languages (more selected ones) with one click.

![Auto-translate language](/blog/auto-translate-languages.png)

When you choose one of those options, you will see auto-translation settings with extra options. Select a translation service (DeepL or Google Translate), decide on extra options and start translation. You will see translation progress in the languages view.

![Start auto-translation window](/blog/auto-translation-window.png)

### Export translations for your project

When the translations are ready, you can [export the files](https://simplelocalize.io/docs/general/export-translations/) and **upload them to your project** source code. Translation can also be updated automatically with SimpleLocalize [CLI](https://simplelocalize.io/docs/cli/upload-translations/) or [CDN hosting](https://simplelocalize.io/docs/general/translation-hosting/).

![Export translations to file](/blog/export-translations.png)

Automatic translation option is available in all SimpleLocalize plans, you can test it now and see how it works in your project. [Create account](https://simplelocalize.io/register/) in SimpleLocalize to start managing translations more efficiently and expand your business to new levels.

## Auto-translation advantages

Translating a website or app is a significant step in the process of expanding your business. It is a necessary part of localization, and will help you reach more customers who don't speak your native language.

There are many benefits to auto-translation, such as saving time and money on translation services. It also allows you to translate your website into any language without having to know the language yourself. It significantly speeds up the translation process, and using a translation management system, like SimpleLocalize, will help you to keep track of all changes in your project localization. 


How to use auto-translation?


## What is machine translation?

Machine translation (MT) or Automated translation (AT) is the process of automated translation provided by a translation service or software (e.g., Google Translate or DeepL). MT is the process of translating text or speech from one language to another.
Automated translation is a relatively new development. It is aimed at making ubiquitous and useful information accessible to a global audience. 

Different languages have different words for the same things. For example, when you say "hello", people from different countries have different ways of responding.
Some languages make it easier for you to understand them by making the subject disappear after the verb, or making it personal: "Good morning". Other languages require additional information to be understood, 
and force you to attach information to the end of the verb: "Be nice". Not all languages use "be nice" as a completely objective sentence, but most do.

## How does it work?

SimpleLocalize takes all available translations and tries to match the best translation source for a given service (e.g., Google Translate and DeepL). Usually, English translations are taken as the best translation source.
If an English translation is not available for some reason, SimpleLocalize will try to use another language translation. English messages are considered as the best source, and they provide the best results due to fact there is no additional translation step, for example `Polish > English > German`. Not every language is translated directly from one to another. In many cases the step between is needed, which may result with inaccurate translations or even losing context.

## Using DeepL for automated translation

![text with source code translated in DeepL](/blog/app-auto-translation-deepl.png)

In DeepL, all code variables stay untouched during translation process. Here is the HTML example.

```html
<div class="text-bold button">My bold text</div>
```
Please note that the `class` variable and value `text-bold button` are not translated. Great job DeepL!


## Using Google Translate for automated translation

![text with source code translated in Google Translate](/blog/app-auto-translation-google-translate-example.png)

Google Translate is much better in translating longer text with more sentences. However, it cannot always translate text with application source code.
In the example above, the source code has been translated as well together with texts. Now it becomes:

```html
<div klasa="tekst-pogrubiony przycisk">Mój pogrubiony tekst</div>
```

This may cause additional work for software teams because every auto-translated message must be adjusted manually.
Often, SimpleLocalize can extract text from a message to prevent such situations.

## DeepL vs Google Translate

**There is not much difference between those two services in general.** DeepL has advantage that they keep application source code context. In most cases, DeepL
translation output is very accurate for short sentences. Google Translated is a much cheaper solution if you use it for large translation volumes.
Google Translate is better in translating longer texts with multiple sentences, while DeepL can have hiccups.

## How to start using machine translations in app?

**Upload your translations** to SimpleLocalize. You can do it on various ways:
- [API file import](/docs/api/import-translations/),
- [Add translations using API](/docs/api/add-translations/),
- [Upload translations with CLI](/docs/cli/upload-translations/),
- [import translation file manually](/docs/general/import/).

Learn more about [supported file formats](/docs/general/file-formats/).

![translation messages in translation management software](/blog/all-translation-keys-from-application.png)

Once you're done with the import step, you can start adding languages in the 'Languages' tabs.

## How to use auto-translation feature?

![how to use automated translations in SimpleLocalize](/blog/start-auto-translation.png)

**It's simple! Add a new language, click 'Start auto translation' button** next to the language which you want to translate and wait for the results. 
Usually, this process doesn't take more than 5 minutes for big projects with about 5000 translation keys. 

![example of auto translated texts in SimpleLocalize editor](/blog/auto-translated-texts.png)

Translation messages, which have been auto-translated, have a small provider logo next to the input to indicate it has been translated 
automatically. This icon will disappear once you edit translation manually.

## How much does it cost?

**It's free, seriously!** You can translate your application for free with SimpleLocalize. [Our free plan](/pricing#free) allows you to keep 50 translation keys with 
**unlimited number of hosted words, unlimited languages and unlimited number of modifications**.
You are limited to 3 translation jobs per a month in the [SimpleLocalize Community Plan](/pricing#free) and 10 translation jobs in the [SimpleLocalize Developer Plan](/pricing).
The [Team and Business plans](/pricing) has unlimited access to the auto translation feature.

[Try it for Free](/register)


Translation Hosting

SimpleLocalize CLI

REST API

Auto-translation

Alternative translations

Google translate

How to translate your app without hiring translators?

How to optimize your website for AI translation

How to use auto-translation?

How to translate app automatically?