site languages

Submitted by tcjohans R5 on Thu, 2010-01-21 08:24

I would just like to suggest a site feature to make it easier for non-English speaking clients to use the website:

When visitors first enter the site, I suggest that the web page is shown in a language based on the user's IP address. For instance, I access the site from Argentina, so in my case I should see the site in Spanish (unless I happen to be a returning visitor and have a cookie on my browser with some other language settings...).

Also, you may want to consider making the different site language options more visible... Currently, the different language links are sort of tucked away towards the bottom of the index page, written in a light, grayish color (which makes them not stand out very much and therefore easier to miss)...

Well, just my two subjective cents.

‹ Getting relevant reference/background information from clients Banners in Arabic - good for your eyes? ›

This is a good idea but can

Submitted by dali_butterfly R6 on Thu, 2010-02-11 21:18.

This is a good idea but can be a hassle as well. Let me tell you why. When I was in Europe and I really wanted to access a web page as it looked when I was on the States it was difficult if not impossible to do so and it was pretty frustrating.

depends on the web site design

Submitted by tcjohans R5 on Fri, 2010-02-12 00:39.

I suspect that was a case of bad web site design. If the programmers are conscious of this issue and do their work well, it should not be a problem for people to switch language efficiently. (Or not?)

Here are some basic implementation principles that I would suggest:
(1) A link for switching language should be available on every page.
(2) Once a user has set a certain language, the new language setting should be stored in the user's session.
(3) If a user has set a language manually, that language setting should override any language suggested by the user's IP address.

Fully agree, this would avoid

Submitted by bobbysoxer R4 on Fri, 2010-01-22 09:56.

Fully agree, this would avoid a lot of misunderstandings from translators and fasten site's productivity

Practical idea

Submitted by gelinasm R9 on Fri, 2010-01-22 22:41.

This could be done and it would save time for any user of the Web site.

Thank you all for the

Submitted by Yolanda Tan on Wed, 2010-01-27 01:17.

Thank you all for the suggestions! We will add the language symbols on the top of each page for any user to select the langauage they prefer to read the website. Will come soon - depending on our website translation progress and quality :-)

Sounds good. Makes me vaguely

Submitted by tcjohans R5 on Wed, 2010-01-27 01:54.

Sounds good.

Makes me vaguely think of certain EU sites (but cannot recall any specific names/URLs), where they often have either standard country/language abbreviations ("NL", "GB", "SW", etc.) or small images of related country flags listed horizontally in the top right-hand corner, for selecting language.

Seems to work fine.

A reflection: Possibly you may not need to include language options on all pages, perhaps it suffices on the main entrance pages to the site.

Thomas

Be a little more patient pls

Submitted by Yolanda Tan on Wed, 2010-01-27 02:13.

Be a little more patient pls :-)

We use: /ar, /nl, /fr, /de, /hu, /it, /pt, /ja, /ru, /es