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Your first few guesses for the answer to that question might be Wikipedia, Google, or maybe Amazon.
While these are among the top contenders, there’s one website that takes the crown.
Read on to discover which website holds the title and how it achieved this level of global reach.
What Makes a Website the Most Translated?
Number of Languages Offered on the Website
There are two different criteria to consider when answering that question.
The first one would be looking at the number of languages the website supports.
In other words, in how many languages can users view this website’s interface when clicking on the languages icon (usually at the top of the web page)?
The website with the largest number of languages would be what we’re looking for.
Amount of Content Translated
Another way to look at it is to consider the amount of content translated on the website.
For example, a website can support a number of languages, but by taking a look at the number of its web pages, you’ll find that it only has a few.
This means that the content itself is not all translated.
Meanwhile, if the website supports a large number of languages and has a large number of web pages as well, that means that the amount of translated content is proportionate with the number of languages it offers.
A Look at JW.org: The Most Translated Website in the World
JW.org, the official website for Jehovah’s Witnesses, is the most translated website in the world, with around 1,068 languages featured on the website.
This website offers translated content in all featured formats; you’ll find that videos and audio are also available in different languages on the website.
What Is JW.org?
Jehovah’s Witnesses represent a Christian religious sect that differs in its beliefs from traditional Christianity. They are known for their door-to-door preaching as well as giving out literature publications.
Jehovah’s Witnesses headquarters are located in Warwick, New York. The governing body of this group uses this office to oversee operations and the production and distribution of their publications.
Why JW.org Is Big on Translation
Spreading Religious Beliefs as a Main Goal
Because Jehovah’s Witnesses heavily rely on preaching to spread their religion, translation of their website is an important part of reaching out to a global audience.
To truly reach out to people and connect with them, you have to speak their native language, especially with a lot of people being only fluent in their native language.
And that’s why JW.org has an abundance of language options to choose from.
Along with popular languages, this website supports lesser-known languages, different dialects for each language, endangered languages, and even different sign languages.
Volunteer Translators for Every Language
What helped this website rank as number 1 as the most translated website is that its creators rely on native volunteer translators to translate their website.
The volunteers, motivated by their religious beliefs, put in all their efforts to translate content into their native languages and dialects to reach as many people as possible.
JW.org vs. Other Major Websites
Other websites like Wikipedia, Google, Apple, and Facebook offer a lot of translations and rank high on the most translated websites list.
And while there’s a huge gap between the number of languages supported on Jehovah’s Witnesses website and that on Wikipedia, with Wikipedia only featuring 329 languages, Wikipedia beats JW.org’s number of web pages.
Wikipedia takes the lead with 61,832,853 pages, while JW.org only has around 180+ web pages when you view its site XML.
This means that Wikipedia has much more translated content than JW.org, which takes us back to the criteria by which we judge the most translated website.
To give you an idea of how much of a gap there is between JW.org and other websites regarding the languages they support, here’s a comparison.
How Does Content Differ from Each Website?
These websites differ in the type and amount of content they display and translate.
- Google is a search engine, so little text needs to be translated. And Facebook is a social media platform with the majority of its content posted by its own users.
- Facebook offers automated translation for posts and captions submitted by its users.
- In comparison to Google and Facebook, Apple displays more content, featuring product descriptions and services.
- Wikipedia being an online encyclopedia makes it feature the largest amount of content. It is open for its users to edit and that increases the amount of content it has and translations of it.
The Future of Website Translation
It is no accident that the most successful websites and businesses like Apple, Facebook, and Google are the most translated websites.
Many businesses understand the importance of multilingualism and are investing in website translation and localization to create a strong presence in the digital landscape.
This growing interest in globalization has started a trend of websites supporting more languages.
The competition is fierce and each business wants to create the best customer experience.
That along with the fact that 68% of customers prefer to interact with brands in their native languages made businesses utilize translation services to dominate the market, following the steps of Google and Apple.
Translation has evolved so much through the years and now machine translation and translation management systems (TMS) facilitate website translation and localization.
bayantech: Your Partner in Success
At bayantech, we believe in the power of a well-translated and localized website.
That’s why we offer top-tier website translation and localization services, ensuring your content resonates with global audiences and search engine optimization for your website is enhanced.
With our expertise, you can quickly expand into new markets, supported by the languages you need. Explore our services or get an instant quote for your project today.
