Adventures in web globalization, since 2002
News and updates on the Web globalization newsletter Global By Design
Examine the Boeing global gateway below and see if you can see a problem: I did not realize the Middle East had an official flag but, according to this gateway, it does. …
As life sciences companies broaden their global sights to include new and emerging markets, their global (and mobile) websites have not always kept pace. SDL recently commissioned a report in …
I often point to Wikipedia as one of the most multilingual websites on the Internet. Which is a major reason why Wikipedia finished in third place in the 2016 Web Globalization Report …
UPDATE: The 2017 Web Globalization Report Card is now available. I’m pleased to announce the publication of the 2016 Web Globalization Report Card and, with it, the top 25 …
Apple can’t seem to rid itself of using flags on its global gateway. And, yes, I’ve been writing about this for awhile now.
Every time Apple launches a redesign I get my hopes up.
But this latest design merely offered up newly “flattened” map icons, as shown here:
Current Apple Global Gateway:
Previous Apple Global Gateway:
A few years ago I wrote about the translation icon and its many variations at that point in time. I thought now would be a good time to revisit this icon. Let’s …
Qualcomm supports a mobile-friendly website but doesn’t (yet) support a global-friendly website. Particularly if you’re a visitor who does not speak English. The home page, shown here, includes no evidence of a …
DeWalt greets visitors with a pull-down global gateway shown here: This type of landing page is not ideal in this day and age. Using geolocation (see Geolocation for Global Success), DeWalt …
UPDATE: The 2017 Web Globalization Report Card is now available. I’m pleased to announce the publication of The 2015 Web Globalization Report Card. Here are the top-scoring websites from the …
According to Verisign’s domain name industry brief, TLD registrations hit 280 million in the second quarter of 2014. Here’s a list of the leading domains overall: Note that the .TK …
Looking over traffic logs, here are some of the most-visited blog posts of 2014: Wikipedia and the Internet language chasm The top 25 global websites from the 2014 Web Globalization …
When you welcome visitors into your home, you probably don’t usher them directly to the basement. Yet when it comes to websites, this is exactly how many companies treat visitors from around the …
A few things. First, using flags to indicate language is almost always a mistake. Second, why are the language names all in English? Only the “English language” text needs to be …
When talking about language diversity across the Internet, I like to include a visual that illustrates the language leaders of the Internet: This chart is based on data from the …
You can be a wildly successful global company and still have a poorly localized website. A number of factors determine global success and the website is only one of these …