As readers of this blog know, I’ve long advocated for Apple to abandon its use of flags on its global gateway. I first began saying so publicly in 2004. In 2010 I thought Apple was getting close to giving up …
Tesla was benchmarked in the 2019 Web Globalization Report Card. Of the 16 companies studied, Tesla finished in the lower half (higher scoring than Honda and Subaru, but still with a number of recommended improvements). Sadly, based on a recent …
I’m pleased to say that, based on the websites I study regularly, we’ve reached “peak flag.” In other words, at a high level, companies are now beginning to move away from using flags on their websites within their global gateways. …
Read morePeak flag: The decline of flags on websites has begun
If you are flying the Taiwan flag on your website, consider yourself warned. By China. As I’ve written many times over the past year, China is paying close attention to how multinationals refer to Taiwan on their websites, not just …
I visited the home page of the Chinese online travel agency website Ctrip recently and came across this odd flag: Just because the UK voted to separate from the EU doesn’t mean that it’s considering a merger with the United States (the …
Read moreThe one “flag” you should never use on your website
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 in English. The purpose of the gateway is to communicate with …
I wrote an article for UX Magazine (based on my research for Lionbridge) that highlights global best practices in the travel industry. Travelers want websites that travel with them In the travel industry, your customers are mobile. If you greet …
Apple has been using flags as part of its global gateway for many years. In 2006, Apple’s global gateway was positioned in the footer and featured a different flag for each country web site: Today, Apple has done away with …
I’m pleased to announce that The Art of the Global Gateway is now available in paperback via Amazon. The one caveat with the print edition is that the interior is in black and white — while the PDF edition offers …