Last year, most of the world’s economies suffered the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, slowly but surely, nations are beginning to recover. According to ubiquitous forecasts, a new stage of growth is looming for 2021-2023.
One of the most promising economies for the years ahead is the United Arab Emirates (UAE). If your business is expanding, you should probably be evaluating your possibilities to enter this booming international market.
But not so fast, it is easier said than done. Targeting a foreign market must be calculated down to the last detail, and in every case, you’ll need to adapt to local linguistic and cultural conventions. Therefore, you will need professional translation services.
In this post, we’ll share why you should work with a local provider of website translation services in Dubai (or anywhere in the UAE), rather than a foreign agency, and how to choose the best language partner for you.
Dubai, UAE in Context
Before we begin discussing website translation services in Dubai, let’s briefly dive into the UAE as a potential market.
Forecasters predict a GDP growth of 3.5% for UAE economies, as of 2022, achieving a full financial recovery, and opening development opportunities for businesses and brands, both local and foreign.
As Bloomberg reports, commercial activities in Dubai are at their highest peak since 2019. Thanks to an acceleration in the tourism industry and the fast distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine, everything seems to indicate that Dubai’s economy will return to pre-Covid trends.
Additionally, after the nations of the world implemented lockdown measures, online sales now represent 16.4% of global retail sales. 84% of global consumers shopped online during the COVID-19 pandemics. And the UAE didn’t lag behind. Consequently, you could make a successful entry into this market without a physical location.
In order to make the most out of UAE’s market opportunities, you’ll probably need to adapt your brand (and its greatest digital marketing asset, your website) to the linguistic, cultural, and technical standards of the country.
That’s why website translation services should be at the core of your expansion plan. And who better to work with than a local LSP who knows in depth the Arab’s market language and cultural nuances like no other?
The Importance of Website Translation Services in Dubai and Beyond
Disembarking in a foreign market and refusing to speak the local language is a recipe for failure. As the widely quoted ‘Can’t Read, Won’t Buy’ series of studies by CSA Research corroborates, most users will not engage with a foreign language website when evaluating potential purchases.
By adapting to the local language and culture, you’re building a sense of closeness and inviting the customer to identify with the brand and perceive it as an ally. Achieving this sense of connection is key to growing your customer base. Especially in a new market.
If you’re expanding to the UAE from a very different culture, localizing your brand, marketing assets, and marketing strategy will be the difference between having a very limited outreach and competing at the same level as locals. This is not all, Dubai is an extremely multicultural place. In recent years the city of gold has received large migration flows driven by its beauty, business opportunities, and fine architecture.
Today it’s home to approximately 200 nationalities. There is a huge and very diversified community of young ex-pats, creating an unprecedented business opportunity for those who know how to engage with them. A local LSP lives day by day in this vibrant and diverse community and will know how to create messages that resonate with every micro-audience.
It’s also worth mentioning that, when expanding across very different markets, website translation services are unlikely to suffice. You’ll probably need website localization services as well.
And when it comes to business expansion, you may need other types of translations. These can be legal translations, document translations (whether technical, user manuals, marketing material, or legal documents), or even medical translations since every aspect of your business needs to be available in the spoken language of your target market for regulation purposes. And you may even require interpretation services for business meetings or conferences. So partnering with a local LSP of the highest quality has more than one advantage.
In the next section, we’ll dive into the difference between website translation services and website localization services, and explore why localization and translation services based in UAE are best equipped to help you enter that market when compared to international alternatives.
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When you’re working with a local team of experts (whether in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, or Ras al Khaimah), you can rest assured that your project is in the hands of people with first-hand cultural insight.
How languages are spoken in everyday life can widely differ from what a foreigner could assume. And, when marketing to an audience, you need to speak in their language as they experience it.
Beyond having first-hand experience in how your target language is actually spoken, the professional team will have cross-culturally expertise. That is, they’ll know which elements to adapt for a better local impact in every segment of your target audience. They will be able to maintain a delicate balance between each target audience you want to address, both in linguistic and cultural terms.
In this section, we’ll cover two of the many dimensions in which a local website translation services provider will benefit your company.
Website translation services vs. Website Localization
Content translation is often just a small part of the process of adapting a website to foreign locales. When professional website translation services can’t completely bridge cross-cultural differences, brands rely on website localization services.
Website localization services reimagine and transform every aspect of the website, including cultural references, audiovisual material, UI, and other functional aspects. For instance, when transforming a Canadian website so it can engage Arabic-speaking companies, a website localization services provider that complies with website localization best practices will mirror certain UI elements according to local Arabic conventions.
Insider knowledge and expertise delivering cross-cultural solutions for your target region make website translation services in Dubai the best allies for expanding companies.
A Track Record in Arabic Website Translation Services
An international language service provider could have considerable experience, but a very limited track record in Arabic translation services. And, as we explained in the previous section, in Arabic website translation services, in particular, experience can be a key advantage.
Unlike, for instance, Canadian French to American English website translation services, top-quality Arabic web translation and localization involve very deep cultural and technical adaptation. By hiring a provider of website translation services in Dubai, you can rest assured that your language partner knows how to face your project’s greatest challenges.
An international language service provider could have considerable experience, but a very limited track record in Arabic translation services. And, as we explained in the previous section, in Arabic website translation services, in particular, experience can be a key advantage.
Unlike, for instance, Canadian French to American English website translation services, top-quality Arabic web translation and localization involve very deep cultural and technical adaptation. By hiring a provider of website translation services in Dubai, you can rest assured that your language partner knows how to face your project’s greatest challenges.
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How to Evaluate Potential Website Translation Services Providers
Being a provider of website translation services in Dubai is just one of the many traits you should look for in a potential LSP. Once you have a shortlist of interesting translation companies in Dubai, there are extra factors you should consider. In this section, we’ll go over a few of them.
- Expertise providing various website translation services: Sometimes a certain website localization strategy (such as using a Website localization proxy) may not be right for your specific case. Go for a company that operates across a wide spectrum of solutions and understands that every project is unique.
- Expertise in your industry: If you’re looking for an industry-specific solution, such as eCommerce website localization, you should go for a website translation company in Dubai that has experience within your sector. In the case of eCommerce, a non-specialized company could, for instance, fail to properly localize pricing, causing you severe customer experience problems down the line.
- A proactive customer support team: Website translation and localization processes take time. You’ll want to partner up with a company that remains within reach. Additionally, the best language services providers take a collaborative approach, building upon their client’s knowledge of their product or service. If a company’s team is invested in and values your input, they’ve made your decision a lot easier.
- The right tools: The right tools can make a world of difference. For instance, a team that’s equipped with updated glossaries, after years of working in projects similar to your own, will find it easier to deal with potentially problematic terminology. If that same team is also implementing strategic machine translation and machine translation post editing, they’ll be able to automate the translation of those obscure or culturally loaded terms across the website copy, ensuring speed and quality. These types of processes can prevent confusing your end-users through an inconsistent translation while reducing translation costs.
- Quality processes: Your LSP of choice should operate under translation and localization best practices. For instance, having your content translated, edited, and proofread by at least three different linguists. 3-EYE TEP guarantees a certain level of quality control, and it’s the least you can expect from your translation company. You’ll find signs of whether a company is up to the task by checking their certifications and the content they produce about their discipline.
- Native linguists: Local LSPs can find it easier to source their talent locally. A company providing website translation services in Dubai should rely on a network of linguists, designers, developers, and marketing professionals. A website localized by a native team is more likely to resonate with local audiences, than one elaborated by extremely fluent people living abroad.
The greatest advantages of those providing website translation services in Dubai are local presence and insider knowledge. Technology, proper processes, customer service, industry expertise, and talent sourcing shouldn’t be overlooked.
A Leading Website Translation Company in Dubai
Looking for website translation services in Dubai, by a trusted translation company? For the last two decades, we at bayantech have defined the quality standards in web localization, in Dubai and beyond. We provide strategic translation and localization solutions for industry-leading brands. Expand to the MENA region successfully with a translation company that delivers quality every time.
