Adobe’s redesigned global gateway overlay
Adobe pioneered the use of geolocation and localized overlays to improve the global user experience. As shown here, a visitor to the Adobe.com home page from Japan was greeted with …
Flags
Krispy Kreme goes to France
Late last year Krispy Kreme entered its 39th foreign market: France. And it launched a localized website to match. The company plans to open 500 stores in France over the …
The 2024 Web Globalization Report Card is coming soon…
For those of you keeping count this is number 20. Yes, as in 20 years. I’ll have much more to share about that later this year. But for now let’s …
How to create a successful global gateway
If someone from outside the US lands on your US-centric .com home page, what is their first impression? And what if they don’t speak English? What visual and textual clues …
The top 25 global websites from the 2022 Web Globalization Report Card
I’m pleased to announce the publication of the 2022 Web Globalization Report Card. This is the 18th annual edition of the Report Card, and it reflects another difficult year. And yet …
Bookshop.org: The anti-Amazon is going global
As an author and small publisher, I’m excited to see the rapid growth — and globalization — of the online bookstore Bookshop.org. Bookshop.org positions itself as the anti-Amazon, by working …
Five reasons to avoid using maps on your website
Robert Frost wrote that good fences make good neighbors. Yet when it comes to virtual fences, visualized as maps, I’m not sure there is any way to create “good fences.” …
Expedia drops flags in its recent redesign
A common refrain in Global by Design are the many risks of using flags as part of your global navigation strategy. As I’ve noted over the years, many companies have …
The Global Evolution of Nike
Awhile back, I documented the evolution of Apple.com. Now let’s take a look at Nike.com. I hope you like it — and I welcome suggestions for future videos. PS: Nike …
Clubhouse fails the flag test
I recently joined Clubhouse — thanks to Lee Vann and to Kathrin Bussmann for inviting me to participate in one of her weekly chats. When I “onboarded” to the app …
COVID flattened the language curve, and that’s actually good news
I began the Web Globalization Report Card back in 2003. It became the first report of it kind to benchmark global websites and I’ve been publishing this report annually ever …
The most popular posts of 2020
Just before we wave good riddance to this year I wanted to share a list of those articles that were the most visited. I started this blog back in 2002, …
As Apple leaves flags behind, Amazon begins waving them
I noted in September that Apple had given up using flags as icons for navigation (know as the global gateway). This was a positive step — not because I dislike …
What’s new (and coming) from Duolingo…
With all events going virtual, I find I have so much less time these days. Previously, I would just pick a small number of events to travel to and ignore …
The top 10 global websites from the 2020 Web Globalization Report Card
I began the Report Card back in 2003 because, at the time, there was nothing out there that focused specifically on the globalization and localization of websites. And, to be …