#FRENCHTRANSLATIONTIPS - N°11

French-speaking shoppers expect e-commerce sites to be in their native language. In an ideal world, your whole content should be fully translated and localised before launching your brand on the French market.

However this is not always possible and can even feel overwhelming when you are starting from scratch.

Where do you even start? 😣
 
Whether you are a small or medium-size brand wanting to test the (French) waters with a gradual launch or a larger brand prioritising what to get translated first, you will have to make choices.

It might seem obvious, but I've learnt from experience that a lot of brands are unsure on where to start.

Here are different strategies you might want to adopt:

💡 Translating your website in stages:

Landing page, terms & conditions, about us page
⬇
Category descriptions
⬇
Product titles
⬇
Products descriptions
⬇
Digital marketing (Google shopping feed, Amazon advertising campaigns…)
⬇
Everything else! (blog posts, employee interviews, videos and images...).

💡 Prioritising your French Amazon listings and brand store, as a way to test the market before translating your whole website.

💡 Prioritising your best-selling products (bearing in mind that your best-sellers in the UK might not turn out to be your best-sellers in France).

💡 Prioritising your seasonal products: if your product range is varied, it makes sense to focus on the best products for the time of year.

Planning the translation of your content shouldn't be an afterthought!

If you're unsure about the best place to start, talk to your translator. They will be able to guide and advise you based on your strategy, timing and budget.