What does a website translation cost?

Obviously more and more people are surfing that more and more are surfing in the cyberspace. That’s why it’s necessary to translate the all the web pages. You might look for website in another language because you cannot find the information your looking for in your own language or you may want to boost your business by broadening horizons and breaking down geographical barriers. Anyways, you may be interested how to make the task easier, there are a number of values to consider which can give you a rough idea of how much a website translation might actually cost. Join us and we'll tell you all about it!
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How to calculate te costs for your website translation
The first thing you should know is that there is a magic formula with which you can approximately calculate what your translation will cost you:
- Count the number of words to be translated
- Multiply the word count by the rate for the language in question( each language has an assigned rate)
- Add the surcharges you may have.
- Subtract the discounts and voilà!!! You have calculated your translation costs.
Sounds easy, doesn't it? However, we should not forget to respect a number of factors that may affect your calculation. Let’s have a look at some of them.
Some things to consider before translating your website
Translating a website requires a number of things to be taken into account. Before sending a website for translation, it is essential to consider some questions such as the type of website you have and the languages into which you want to translate it. Having these two points clear, is the best way to save time and money. But above all, be careful not to put quantity over quality. It’s better to translate well into three languages than badly into eight. Don't forget that translating a website into a new language opens new doors to possibilities and potential customers.
Knowing this, here are 4 main factors to consider for an effective translation:
- Number of words. It’s very important that you know exactly how many words you need to translate. Try to find out the exact number that make up your site or those that you really want to translate. In some cases, it’s not necessary to translate the entire blog or website, but only the essential parts of it.
- Rate for the language you wish to translate into. Generally, each translator or translation agency has a price per word for each language combination. Less frequent combinations are usually more expensive, so a translation from Swedish into Spanish will be more expensive than one from English into Spanish. Obviously, the same rate does not apply for translating into English, French, Italian or Catalan as for Slavic languages or Chinese. The reason is very simple: there are more interpreters who fluently speak English, French or Italian than there are translators of Russian or Japanese. Please note that the price may differ from 0.08 to 0.20 cents, depending of course on the language.
- Surcharges. Surcharges may have to be added depending on urgency, specialisation degree of the text and the format. Some formats can slow down the work considerably.
- Discounts As well as surcharges, there may also be discounts to reduce or adjust the translation cost. Such discounts may be due to repetitions or descriptive text shared by several websites and the volume of work.
As you can see, there are several guidelines to take into account in order to estimate wallet-friendly translation costs without quality short cuts for your website. Let's have a look at the various ways to make your website multilingual.
Four options to make your website multilingual
As we mentioned at the beginning of this post, there are several reasons to consider the possibility of translating a website. You may be looking for information in other languages or to buy products in other countries. Regardless of your translation needs are, we would like provide you with a series of tools that will make your or your website visitor’s lives a lot easier, and will help you to build trust with your target audience.
- If you want you want a multilingual website, there are different options to achieve this goal. One interesting option is to activate automatic translation so every time you find a page in another language it will instantly appear in your own language. This solution will make your work a lot easier. Moreover, it is for free - at zero cost! But please note that there is no control over quality. It is certainly fast and cheap, but it does not imply correct lexical accuracy.
- Another option is translating manually, although it’s important to remember it’s not only time-consuming but also only practicable for small sites.
- As for the creation of several websites for content, it certainly has some advantages. However, most of the time it’s expensive and takes a long time.
- On the other hand, you can always outsource the work. This is undoubtedly an excellent option that offers comprehensive results and extraordinary benefits.
Why use an experienced professional to translate your documents?
Let’s start with talking about quality. Translation companies can guarantee high-quality. Thanks to expertise, the latest translation software and advice, the translator is able to deliver translations of the highest quality. In addition to that all translations undergo a proofreading process, in order to detect any spelling or grammatical errors.
Likewise, each language has its own cultural nuances which require great lexical and grammatical precision, something that only a professional translator can provide.
Likewise, for those working in specialised fields such as medicine, technology or law, it’s crucial to find a translator who is an expert in this field. Working with an expert ensures that your translations are accurate, easy to read and delivered on time.
Another great advantage of a professional translation service is the consistency . As a business, it’s important that your communication is consistent to keep your image and reputation as high as high as possible , from emails to marketing material. Both can be affected.
Although it always depends on the available budget, but it’s indispensable to invest a somewhat reasonable sum to guarantee a good translation. On the other hand, this investment can be very profitable, thanks higher website visitor numbers that a translation may provide.
The only thing left, is to remind you that the rate per word applies to the original text or translation source, not to the final text or target translation.
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Blog writer and Community Manager interested in multiculturality and linguistic diversity. From her native Venezuela, she has travelled and lived for many years in France, Germany, Cameroon and Spain, passing on her passion for writing and her intercultural experiences.
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