Translation Connectors for Website Localization

Introduction

Many companies rely on pre-configured integrations called connectors (sometimes called cartridges or plugins) to transfer their localized content into their content management system. Ideally, translation connectors easily integrate with CMSs, enabling organizations to easily assign digital content to linguists or vendors for translation.

Great translation connectors provide streamlined, scalable and customizable localization management across your website … while also delivering accurate, relevant translations at industry-leading speed.

Connectors also enable you to have exert control over how your translations are crafted, and how your brand is presented across languages and markets.

Common advantages of translation connectors include:

Full Creative Control

Well-designed connectors enable you to exercise granular control over your translated content. The best enable the translation of page tags, metadata, page assets, component strings and more.

Easy Translation Management

Translation Connectors, combined with the dashboard capabilities of a good CMS, can deliver an intuitive interface that can empower you to add individual webpages—or entire sections of your website—to your translation workflow.

Full Translation Visibility

Leading connectors make the translation process as transparent as possible. For instance: Before submitting content for translation, some connectors provide “pricing preview” information such as the number of words that have already been translated (which great vendors republish at no cost), the number of new words and images that require translation, and more.

‘Must Have’ Connector Capabilities

Here are several other powerful capabilities to look for in a translation connector:

• Fully automated workflows that can push, receive & publish translated content
• Cron batch jobs that automatically pull translated content from the vendor
• Supports formats designed for specific CMSs (such as AEM XML)
• Support for translation of image formats specific to CMSs (such as AEM Image)
• Support for i18n dictionary translation within the connector workflow
• The ability for customers to approve and reject translations
• Controlling the frequency or time of day when a translation request is submitted to the vendor
• Robust administrative control for bespoke settings

Common Challenges of Connectors

Translation Connectors are often built for typical CMS use cases. If your CMS has been customized to accommodate your organization’s unique needs, the connector may not work initially, or may “break” after a platform or security update.

This results in development time, cost and effort to configure the connector to get along with a customized CMS instance, and ongoing work to ensure the integrations properly function after upgrades or updates.

Additional shortfalls of translation connectors can include:

• They focus solely on translation and do nothing to optimize a localized site for organic traffic or on-site engagement
• They do not process content that resides outside the platform with which they are integrated
• They often possess increased management requirements that inflate the cost of ownership

Read more about website translation in our ultimate guide to website translation.