How To Create An International Web Site

Although increasingly important, creation of multilingual World Wide Web sites is not that easy to do, maintained Deborah Tyroler of International Communications, at an event sponsored by the Webgrrls of Boston.

The Web is already "the first place that lets you be everywhere in the world at once," Tyroler said at the beginning of her talk, entitled "Crafting a Successful International Web Presence."

"By the year 2000, non-English Web sites will surpass English Web sites," Tyroler said. "Even if you don’t have foreign language content yet, you can still begin to drive international traffic to your site, through the use of foreign language directories."

For example, Tyroler pointed out that Excite (at http://www.excite.com) allows you to enter your site on different "country pages," for use by non-English language speakers who are searching the Web. You can also enter foreign language search terms related to content on your site, she said, citing "pomme" (French for "apple") as one example.

Tyroler’s own company, International Communications, also provides a foreign language directory, as does one of the company’s competitors.

Web site architects and designers might also consider establishing reciprocal links to non-English sites, Tyroler suggested.

"Automatic" translation engines are also available. But although these might be effective in translating simple e-mail notes, "so you can get the gist," the technology is not yet advanced enough for "complex messages," she asserted.

When it comes time to actually produce non-English content, the quality of translation is paramount. Other issues to consider include navigation, forms, back-end mail servers, and graphics.

Using a native speaker of the non-English language is very important, according to Tyroler. A translation can be "correct," while still missing the mark when it comes to cultural "subtleties." Unwittingly, a Web site can even post a message in another language that is "subtly insulting."

Wherever possible, the translation should be "checked" by a bilingual individual who is quite familiar with the company’s products — an employee or a foreign distributor, for instance. In using forms, enough space should be left for "long" phone and fax numbers, to accommodate international dialing, she suggested.

Web sites should be built with mail servers that can handle the 16-bit code used for Asian languages, and the 8-bit code employed for many European languages. "Most mail servers sold today do this," she said. English uses 7-bit code.

In the graphics arena, Web sites should aim for "multicultural" images. Web designers should try not to embed text in graphics, so as to prevent the need to recreate images in multiple languages.

You should also avoid "high density" graphics — because in contrast to the US, modems running at 9600 bps or lower are still common in many parts of the world.

As examples of two effective multilingual Web sites, Tyroler showed the audience http://www.china.connect.com, as well as the Mercedes-Benz site (at http://www.mercedes-benz.com).

The Boston chapter of the Webgrrls is located at http://www.gen.com/bos-webgrrls on the Web.