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 next five years. France is attracting a number of American…
As I prep for two classes on best practices in global navigation, I came across the Spanish-language website for GEICO and I noticed a small but non-trivial error. See if you notice it as well. GEICO does a number of…
I know it appears that I’m out to punish Mailchimp — as I first started calling out its rookie mistakes back in 2021. I am a paid subscriber so I feel as if I’ve at least earned the right. What…
A little more than a year ago I wrote about Mailchimp’s improved global gateway. Here is what you would have seen in the header back then: And here is the header today: Much has clearly changed, but I’d like you…
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 will they look for when searching for a localized websites…
First of all, this device looks really cool. The ocean also looks inviting right about now. But while visiting the Flite website I couldn’t help but notice the US flag in the upper right corner. Perfect placement, by the way,…
I’ve announced the top 25 global websites from the 2023 Web Globalization Report Card. But that only tells part of the story. To better understand how companies compete against their peers, I grouped the websites into 13 categories — from…
When I see NA I generally think “not applicable.” Which was why I gave the Corpay global gateway a second look when I visited recently: Naturally, I clicked on the globe icon — which, by the way, is the perfect…
Awhile back I mentioned the missing scrollbar from the Delta Airlines global gateway. It seems that Delta is not alone in making this rookie mistake. Even the folks at Google are not immune, as seen below on the Google Firebase…
Scrollbars are one of those UI elements that you don’t realize you miss until they’re gone. Of course their prime role is to allow you to scroll up and down. But they also provide an equally important role — in…
Last year, I noted that Mailchimp had begun its global expansion with a few rookie mistakes. Mailchimp was using its super-header to announce support for multiple languages: The globe icon was (and is) perfect. But the location was not sustainable;…
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 there is much to be optimistic about as we look…
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 with independent bookstores to share revenues more generously. There referral…
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.” So many regions around the world are under dispute. And…
Did you know that World Usability Day is November 11th? There is an impressive virtual event planned for this day and hosted by the Cleveland User Experience Professionals Association. Here is a list of speakers including yours truly: Colin C.…