ecommerce blog

designing a multilingual ecommerce solution

Written by: Ian | January 15th, 2010

Here at advansys we are experts when it comes to designing and developing ecommerce solutions, and quite often we need to design the site to be a multi-lingual ecommerce solution. But how can this affect the design process and the decisions that are made? We have asked our web designers to explain.

One of the most important aspects of designing a multilingual ecommerce website design is to ensure users know how to change the language of the site. The best, and most simple way to do this is by using flags, positioned at the top right of the website design. This can either be displayed as a row of flags, or as a drop-down. Use of symbols will guide the user, avoiding the language barrier.

Another area to remember is that the length of text and words will change from language to language, which means its essential to take this into consideration. Button sizes may change rapidly, so it's important that you allow sufficient design space for these adjustments.

From a graphic design point of view it's important to remember to translate all areas of your ecommerce solution, including the banners and images. Consider the countries way of working, and cultural requirements as this may effect design considerations.

When content is translated, don't forget to consider search engines, as international SEO differs from country to country, and relevant and popular keyword searches may vary. Don't forget -; it's not a direct translation, the content is still important from a Search Engine Optimisation perspective.

So if you want a well-designed multilingual ecommerce design, contact the ecommerce experts at advansys. Take a look at our ecommerce design portfolio for some great examples of already completed ecommerce solutions.