Translation workflow set-up

The problem this solves

Text copied into a document, emailed to a translator, returned and pasted back by hand is slow and fragile. Paragraphs go missing, links point to the wrong language, button labels stay in English, and nobody knows which pages changed since the last round. The more languages, the more places for each slip to repeat.

A designed workflow replaces that with a route that is the same every time and visible to everyone involved.

What we set up

Export and import

Text leaves the site in a format your translators' tools can read, and returns the same way. Depending on your platform and your translators, that may be XLIFF files, a structured spreadsheet or direct work in the content system with restricted accounts. The comparison in our handover guide shows the trade-offs. We test a full round trip with a real page before anything else is sent.

A glossary

A shared list of terms that must be translated the same way everywhere, or left untranslated: product names, service names, department names, legal terms. We set up the template and seed it with terms from your site; your translators and reviewers fill in the approved translations.

Context for translators

Screenshots or staging access for each page, with buttons, headings and error messages marked so translators know where each string lives. Length limits for strings that must fit a fixed space, informed by the W3C finding that short strings expand the most ¹.

Review in the layout

A checklist for reviewing each language on the real pages, on phones and desktops: overflowing headings, cut-off buttons, links pointing to the wrong language, untranslated form messages and automatic emails. We run this review for the first round with you, so your team knows what to look for in later rounds.

Updates after launch

A rule for what happens when the source changes: which content is updated in all languages straight away (prices, opening hours, legal text), which waits for a regular batch, and which stays in one language. Where the platform allows, we set it to flag pages that are out of date in a language.

Machine translation in the workflow

Some organisations use machine translation for a first draft. That can save time, provided a fluent person reviews every page before publication. Google's spam policies name automated transformations, including translating, among the techniques involved in scaled content abuse when pages are generated with little value for readers ². The workflow we set up keeps a named person responsible for approving every published language.

Who it suits

• Organisations with regular content changes in more than one language.
• Teams working with external translators or an agency for the first time.
• Sites where translations were done once at launch and have drifted since.

What you receive

1. A written workflow description: steps, formats, people and timings you set.
2. A tested export and import route on your platform.
3. A glossary template seeded with your key terms.
4. A context pack template for translators.
5. A review checklist for each language.
6. One accompanied review round on real pages.

Working with your translators

If you already work with translators, we involve them early: the formats they accept and the context they need shape the workflow. If you do not yet have translators, we can describe what to ask when choosing them, but we do not recommend specific individuals or agencies, and we receive no commission from any.

Price

From CHF 1,600 for a workflow on an existing multilingual site with a standard content system, plus VAT where applicable. Larger organisations with several teams or platforms are quoted after a first conversation by email. The pricing page has the other starting points.