Multilingual sites and international business culture differences

Its not what you say, it’s the way that you say it

Some statistics

More than 24

Officially recognised languages in the European Union

English only websites reach less than 25% of internet users.

54%

Europeans speaking only one language

Almost half of Europeans speak no English at all.

45%

Potential sales increase

Increase in sales achieved by businesses that are proactive in their use of language and cultural skills (BCOC)

Things to consider when building a website in another language

Choice of plugin

Référencement multilingue

Country and market specifics

Translations

Design and formatting

Flags

Each language version needs to be native to the local user

Translation plugins that work well with Elementor

Polylang

Each page created separately
Elementor formatting can be adjusted per translated page
Polylang connect needed to show the correct language templates
Free and pro version available

WPML

Each page created separately
Elementor formatting can be adjusted per translated page
Only pro version available
Most widely used

Translatepress

Front-end visual translation approach
Integrated Elementor, but no individual formatting options
When changing native language, translations need re-confirmation
Free version for 2 languages

Weglot

Automatic translation - Easy
Convenient
Expensive over 2000 words
Not easy to change formatting

Sadly none of them are perfect

0 %

There is a choice between ease of creation, updates, and cost.

Marketing your business in Europe

In order to understand the marketing practices of the European country you are targeting for business, you need to understand your customer baseand learn about any country-specific laws that may apply to your business

culture

Ideas that appeal in the UK may not work elsewhere in Europe

Customer trust

If you are shipping cross-border, you have to work harder to build trust with customers

Legal implications

Advertising and marketing can be restricted in some countries. For example Germany restricts the value of promotional offers due to anti-competition rules

Position your brand

You may already have a well-established brand – including name, trademarks, logos and more – but you should check if these translate well into a new market.

There are European cultural clusters (e.g. Anglo-Saxon Europe, Scandinavia, Northern Europe Southern Europe, Central Europe and Eastern Europe, so you can cover more than one market.

Multilingual sites and international business culture differences

Some statistics

More than 24

Officially recognised languages in the European Union

54%

Europeans speaking only one language

45%

Potential sales increase

Things to consider when building a website in another language

Choice of plugin

Référencement multilingue

Country and market specifics

Translations

Design and formatting

Flags

Each language version needs to be native to the local user

Translation plugins that work well with Elementor

Polylang

WPML

Translatepress

Weglot

Sadly none of them are perfect

There is a choice between ease of creation, updates, and cost.

Marketing your business in Europe

In order to understand the marketing practices of the European country you are targeting for business, you need to understand your customer baseand learn about any country-specific laws that may apply to your business

culture

Customer trust

Legal implications

Position your brand

Be sensitive

Cultural facts

France

Germany

Netherlands

Spain

UK