When it comes to preparing for a multilingual website, one of the most important aspects to consider would be color; color is seen as a universal language that communicates feelings and beyond that it also represents different meanings in different cultures. Thus it is essential to understand the meaning of colors in their localized context.

In this article we will revisit the three primary colors: Red, Green and Blue, most of you are probably familiar with these colors, but you may be surprised by what they can mean.

Red
In Europe, it represents danger i.e traffic signs, love (hearts) and excitement (for sale signs).

In China, red is the traditional bridal color, it is also associated with other positive traits such as Good Luck, Celebration, Happiness, Joy, Vitality and Long life.

In places like Japan it represents life.

From a design perspective, red can be a powerful accent color, but it can have an overwhelming effect if it’s used too much in designs, especially in its purest form.

It’s a great color to use when portraying power or passion in a design. Red can also be a very versatile color, with brighter versions being more energetic and darker shades being more powerful and elegant.

Green
In the Chinese culture, it represents Exorcism and the term “Wearing a green hat” is used when a man’s wife is cheating on him.

It represents Hope in the Islamic culture – the cloak of the prophet was thought to be green and virtue – only those of perfect faith can wear green.

Green is a symbolic color for countries such as Ireland, and in other western cultures some associations are Spring, New birth, Go, Safety, Environmental Awareness, Saint Patrick’s Day. It also a representation of Money in the USA;

In design, green can have a balancing and harmonizing effect. It’s appropriate for designs related to wealth, stability, renewal and nature.

Brighter greens are more energizing and vibrant, while olive greens are more representative of the natural world. Dark greens are the most stable and representative of affluence.

Overall, green gives a modest feel of earth, beginnings and growth. Green is great choice to be used in design that is related with nature, processes in development or money. Similarly, darker tones represent reliability and lighter tone can be used to portray a feeling of energy.

Blue
In the European culture, Blue represents a soothing feeling, “something blue” and also bridal traditions.

For the Native Americans, it spells trouble as blue is a color associated with defeat.

In Middle Eastern cultures, it represents protection and also mourning in Iran.

Blue is also considered a holy color for many beliefs,

• Judaism – represent holiness
• Christianity – represent the color of Christ
• Catholicism – the color of Mary’s robe
• Hinduism – the color of Krishna
• China – represents Immortality

Of the members of the primary colors alongside Red, Blue has two different meanings. One is associated with negative emotions like dullness or sadness. While the other one represents more positive traits like strength, reliability, calmness or responsibility.

From a design perspective, lighter blue tones can be refreshing and friendly, while darker blues are often used as corporate colors, symbolizing reliability.

Therefore, different shades of blue convey different meanings or provide a new perspective for the readers.

Source [Crystal-cure, Sibagraphics and Smashing Magazine]

This globalization movement has thus set the stage for an increasing number of firms to expand and establish their presence internationally, however when businesses venture into foreign markets, they are usually faced with the tough challenge of adaptation as product names and marketing messages might become meaningless or even offensive after translation into a different language.

An example of what happens when global branding goes wrong would be the case of Pepsi. When Pepsi entered the Chinese markets, they discovered that their slogan “Come Alive with the Pepsi Generation” was literally translated in Chinese as “Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the dead” and as “Come out of the grave with Pepsi”.

Examples of such blunders are endless, but it all boils down to the same point: there is a need for businesses to be communicating clear and precise messages that convey the true meaning of the original text.

Therefore before further expansion into their target markets, it is imperative for businesses to have effective brand localization strategies through the understanding of the target market’s language and culture, as it is illogical to market products and services through extravagant campaigns if consumers across the globe cannot understand the message being brought across.

Below are some fundamental practices that businesses should adhere to before going any further with their marketing strategies.

Anticipating and Highlighting potential pitfalls
By anticipating and highlighting potential pitfalls that are based on cultural difference, it allows businesses to carefully select messages to communicate what the brand stands for in the context of the target markets.

Conducting Cultural Analysis
A cross cultural analysis allows businesses to examine essential cultural elements such as values, norms and artefacts of the target markets.

Ensure that the product is properly localized for the target market
Last but not least; businesses should ensure that their products are properly localized to suit the target markets before officially releasing the products itself.

“To develop any content for today’s global multicultural audience requires accounting for linguistic and cultural difference from the very inception of the product to the very end of distribution”
- Tom Edward of Multilingual

With consumer demands becoming more diversified with a wider variety of choices, it is thus essential for businesses to implement effective brand localization strategies based on the different markets to cater to their target audiences; this would in turn enable businesses to acquire the competitive advantage in their target markets, ensuring that consumer experience is consistent across all languages and most importantly achieving global success for their brands and services.

This article brings you up to speed with 8 excellent reasons.

1 ‐ Foreign markets are golden gooses in the making
Research carried out by Nielsen Netratings  described  foreign  internet  markets  as  “low-hanging fruit,” that is, with foresight and willpower, one can generate considerable revenue with relatively little effort.

The studies revealed that internet use in the traditional strong holds of the USA, Germany, the UK and Sweden has reached a plateau. On the other hand, in  countries  where English is not the native language such as  France,  Hong Kong,  Italy  and   Japan,  internet use is increasing exponentially.

As Kaizad Gotla, senior analyst at Nielsen Netratings states, “The  easiest opportunities  are in countries where internet usage patterns and user/site relationships are less  established. Acquiring users in markets that are currently in their growth stages  will  lead to a loyal user base that will pay dividends for internet companies in the future.”

2 ‐ Be the leader of the pack
Think outside the box if you want to get ahead in today’s competitive environment. Differentiate  your business from your competitors’. If they do not have multilingual websites, step up and take the lead. Establish your company or brand abroad before they do so. Eventually, companies without multilingual websites will have to contend with competitors who do. It is hardly surprising that customers would choose the website of the competitor that literally “speaks their language”.

3 ‐ Your website is your window to the world
The cost of localizing your website into another language is nominal compared with the returns you could gain. A multilingual website will bring an influx of new customers. By having your site accessible to potentially hundreds of thousands of people, you are showcasing your company across the world. For non‐English speaking users looking for your product or service, you automatically capture their attention.

4 ‐ Give your brand international presence
Having the ability to communicate to a whole new international audience in their own language will deliver results not only in the financial sense but also in terms of marketing and creating awareness of your brand, your range of services and products. A multilingual website is certainly one of the most cost effective ways of marketing your company, capturing new users, building relationships with new clients and giving your brand an international presence. Image is everything. A multilingual website demonstrates you think, work and deal across cultures and across borders.

5 ‐ Put in the personal touch
A multilingual website, if designed properly, overcomes potential cultural barriers through
allowing access in the local language. This immediately puts the user into a ‘cultural comfort zone’ as they are able to navigate, understand and interact with the website. This gives you bonus points as consumers who feel at home will be more willing to  engage your services or purchase your product.

6 ‐ Gain the trust of consumers
For many cultures there is an issue of trust when it comes to buying over the Internet, especially if the website is in a language they have trouble understanding fully. Offering your products or services in their local language allows customers to feel secure in the fact that they know what they are buying, the procedures they have to undertake and the people they are buying from.

7 ‐ Appeal to the popular search engines
Search engines lead people to your site. In China, Japan and France, Google, Yahoo and MSN are not the default search engines. Home-grown search engines are emerging and they are proving successful because they operate in their native languages and are focused on the habits and needs of their users. Such search engines are a key to tapping those markets and having pages of your site available in those languages ensure maximum potential for your site being picked up in searches.

8 – Test the waters with your website
Still unconvinced about the advantages of having a multilingual website? Well, a multilingual website is actually the perfect platform to test the response of a foreign market before you pump in more resources. With a multilingual website, you can communicate with a large audience and yet avoid the need to deal with the printing and distribution costs of having printed collaterals. Frequent updates to your website can be done with the click of a mouse, without incurring reprinting costs.

With the far-reaching advantages having a multilingual website brings, what else is holding you back?