How to prepare a localization project

1. Choose markets and priorities

Start by deciding which countries or language groups you are targeting and why. Spanish for Spain and Spanish for Mexico, for example, differ in vocabulary and tone, and Portuguese for Brazil differs from Portuguese for Portugal. Pick one market first if you can. Then list the content in order of importance: product pages, checkout or sign-up screens, support articles, emails and marketing. Localizing the most important path first gives faster results and makes problems visible early.

2. Export the text cleanly

Specialists work best with text in editable files rather than screenshots. For a website or app, ask your developer to export the text into a spreadsheet or a standard translation file format, with one string per row and a key that identifies where it appears. Remove text that should never change, such as code or internal labels, or mark it clearly. Mention any character limits, such as button labels that must stay short.

3. Give context

Words without context are easy to mistranslate. A short word like "Save" or "Order" can have several meanings. Provide screenshots or a test account so the specialist can see where each piece of text appears. Explain who your customers are, what they already know and the tone you want: friendly, formal or technical. Context costs little to provide and prevents many errors.

4. Write a glossary and style notes

List your product names, feature names and key terms, and note which ones stay in the original language. Add brief style notes: how to address the reader, whether to use formal or informal forms, how to write numbers, dates and units, and any words to avoid. If you already have localized content, share it so the new work stays consistent. A glossary also helps when more than one translator works on the project.

5. Decide what to adapt, not just translate

Look for content that only makes sense in your home market: holidays, sports references, jokes, sizes, payment methods, phone formats and legal notices. Decide whether to adapt examples and images for the new market. Legal and regulatory text, such as terms of service or product safety notices, should be reviewed by a qualified professional in that country rather than only translated.

Budget and timing

Costs usually depend on the number of words, the language pair, how technical the content is, whether review and testing are included and how much developer work is needed to export and import the text. Repeated text often costs less if the specialist uses translation memory tools, so ask about it. Plan time for review and testing, not just for the translation itself.

Questions to ask a localization specialist

• Are you a native speaker of the target language, and do you know this market?
• Which file formats can you work with, and do you use translation memory tools?
• How will you handle terms that are not in my glossary?
• Is a second review by another linguist included?
• Will you check the text in the live layout after import?

Getting started

Send the market, the priority list, the exported files, screenshots or test access, the glossary and the style notes. Ask for a short test of a few hundred words before the full project. Review it with a native speaker you trust and refine the glossary based on their comments.

Testing in each language

After the text is imported, check every localized page or screen. Look for text that overflows buttons, words cut off, wrong date or currency formats and untranslated strings. Test important actions, such as sign-up, checkout and contact forms, from start to finish. Ask a native speaker to use the product for a few minutes and note anything that feels odd. Fix issues before you promote the new language.

Common mistakes

• Sending screenshots instead of editable text.
• No glossary, so product terms change from page to page.
• Translating legal text without local professional review.
• Skipping a test of the live layout after import.
• Localizing everything at once instead of the most important path first.