Adventures in web globalization, since 2002
For the 2019 Web Globalization Report Card, we studied the following 16 automotive websites: Audi BMW Chevrolet Ford Honda Hyundai Land Rover Lexus Mercedes Mini Nissan Subaru Tesla Toyota Volkswagen Volvo Cars This year, Volvo unseated BMW to emerge number …
According to the 2019 Web Globalization Report Card, 32 languages is the “average” number of languages supported by the leading global brands.
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. …
A few months ago, I wrote an essay for Multilingual in which I noted that the world’s most multilingual website isn’t Google or Facebook or even Wikipedia. It is the website of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. As I noted in the …
Globalia is the leading travel company in Spain, generating 3.5 billion euros in revenues across more than a dozen brands. I visited the global website recently and noticed something missing from the home page — my native language. Not surprisingly, …
For the 2018 Web Globalization Report Card, we studied the following 16 automotive websites: Audi BMW Chevrolet Ford Honda Hyundai Land Rover Lexus Mercedes Mini Nissan Subaru Tesla Toyota Volkswagen Volvo Cars This year, BMW unseated Nissan, reclaiming the top …
I’m excited to announce the publication of The 2018 Web Globalization Report Card. This is the most ambitious report I’ve written so far and it sheds light on a number of new and established best practices in website globalization. First, here are …
Here is an article I wrote that was recently published in tcworld magazine. In it, I define the “translation economy” and the opportunities (and challenges) it presents to all organizations. From the information economy to the translation economy The internet …
Amazon Crossing is the Amazon publishing imprint dedicated to translating non-English books into English. In just a few years it has grown to be a leading translator of literary novels. I noted earlier that Amazon.in doesn’t significantly support Indian languages. …
Historically, when a Western company planned its Asian expansion strategy, it primarily focused on three markets (or fewer): China, Japan and South Korea. Today, any company with eyes on Asian expansion should not limit itself to these three markets. There …
While I’ve closely studied travel websites for many years (such as airlines, hotels, travel agencies) as part of The Web Globalization Report Card, I’ve not spent much time looking closely at destination websites, such as for cities, regions and countries. That …
I want to thank Kathrin Bussmann of Verbaccino for including me on her podcast. You can listen to it here: https://www.verbaccino.com/podcasts/twm-059-successful-brands-invest-web-globalization-w-john-yunker/
I recently wrote an op-ed for the Seattle Times about the importance and value of thinking globally. Here’s an excerpt: Consider Starbucks. In 2003, this aspiring global company supported a mere three languages. Today, it supports 25, which may sound …
For the 2017 Web Globalization Report Card, I benchmarked the following 9 retail websites: H&M IKEA LUSH McDonald’s MUJI Starbucks UNIQLO Walmart Zara For the purposes of this report, the retail segment includes only those companies that support physical retail locations within the …
For the 2017 Web Globalization Report Card, I benchmarked the following 10 enterprise technology websites: Autodesk Cisco Systems HP Enterprise Huawei IBM Intel Oracle SAP Texas Instruments Xerox Intel emerged on top for the second year in a row, followed by …