The internet has billions of users worldwide with an even bigger capacity to expand. If you are designing for your client, you must make sure that it will appeal the global audience. If your website has a global appeal then it means that there will be volumes of traffic directed to it.
So, you need to ensure that the website optimization is done in such a way that is tailored for a specific country or region. You could start by the common languages accepted across the globe. Doing so will automatically lead to a surge in profits.
In order to realize the dream of cross-cultural design, you need to create content that is specifically for a given culture. This is only possible if you know aesthetic values of the cultures in question. The content on the website could be portraying a specific culture in a negative light. There are basic rules that could help you when determining the content for a given region or location.
Traveling content
Despite the geographical or cultural differences, good content will always travel as long as it is in a language that people can understand. The global language today is English and so, your content should be in this language. It should be well researched, relevant and targeted to a specific audience. However, English is not the native language of most of world’s population and that is why getting your content across can be a major challenge. To address this challenge, you website will need the help of translation services to make it available in multiple languages.
A professional translator should be engaged in this process so as to ensure that the translation is accurate and is as original as the initial content. The professionals also put into consideration such things as abbreviations and slang which if not used properly could change the whole meaning of the content.
Your budget may not allow you to hire the services of a professional translator. However, there are services like Google Translate that could assist you in translation of the content. The services are good but not as perfect as compared to professional translators.
Keywords that bridge
They keyword is a common denominator regardless of the language that is used in. Keyword is very important when it comes to search engine optimization.
That is why it is important that you emphasize to your translator on the importance of correct translation of the keywords. There are translators that are specialized in web content and they can come in handy during the translation period.
Captivating design
This is where your skills as a web designer come to light. You should be creative in order to capture the reflections of different cultures around the globe. A good way of doing this is by imposing different colors. Colors light up the world and if aesthetically combine, can bring out even the deepest feelings. Colors have different cultural attributes and connotations that the designer should put into perspective.
Red in most cultures symbolizes passion, drive and power. In India, it represents purity, and good luck in China. Green is a representation of the environment in almost all the cultures in the worlds but it is for religious purpose in Islamic countries. In order to be a good designer, you will need to be aware of all these diversities.
Most importantly, you will need to know the biggest population that visit your website. By doing so, you will be establishing content for majority usage.
The layout
The content should be separated from the design as much as possible. This can be facilitated by the use of CSS. This makes it easier to swap the content from English to your preferred language. The usage of UTF-8 characters could also aid in the process. Some languages may require more space than others and thus alter the layout of your website. This is a tricky for designers because of the complexity involved in designing the layout. It should also be clear to you that there are some languages that read right to left. So, a left hand navigation tool menu can be an additional feature.
Conclusion
You should be aware of the cultural diversities that exist among the website audience. By doing so, you are likely to generate content that is tailored to your audience. This will also ensure that your website receives traffic from various countries across the globe. Appreciating the cultural differences is one way of unifying warring factions and this can also be achieved through design.
