The Negative Effects of Incorrect Company Website Translations

Organizations conduct various trades and deal online. The digital revolution is leading to more consumers and users accessing company profiles and product information online. When such content is translated for access from other countries, there could be various problems with miscommunication. Organizations could take the help of a translation company to avoid these problems and their adverse effects. One company in Sweden that provides translation services is Novoterm.

With the advent of the digital age, a large number of organizations and individuals engage in business deals across borders. The access and opportunities offered by business and trade in other countries also bring with it problems of cultural misunderstandings and miscommunications.

Organizations can face various hurdles particularly where any kind of owned or created content has to be translated into another language. There can be various issues with translation such as grammatical and contextual errors (abouttranslation.com, 2016). Apart from this, practices and usages in the source language (the original language of the content) may not have exact matching phrases in the target language (language content is to be translated to). The following are a few effects of such instances of mistranslation:

Credibility:

Consumers are increasingly using the web to shop for products and services. An organization’s website is the most trusted official source of information regarding that organization and its various products. On translated versions of websites, errors in mistranslation can negatively impact the credibility of the organization. Consumers may question the competence and integrity of a company when they come across grammatical errors or usage of outdated phrases. Some translation mishaps can also cause consumers from different languages and cultures to be very seriously offended by what they might consider inappropriate (CareersBusiness.co.uk, "POOR TRANSLATION AND HOW IT AFFECTS YOUR BOTTOM LINE", 2014). However, these mishaps could be avoided if organizations ensure that proffesionella översättningar are provided on websites and brochures.

Misinformation:

If vital product or service information is lost in translation, consumers might not be able to correctly assess purchases. Misinformed consumers might end up with unwanted products or services, which might leave them dissatisfied and irritated. These misunderstandings and miscommunications can again affect the reputation of the organization as well as lead to a dip in online traffic and sales (CareersBusiness.co.uk, "POOR TRANSLATION AND HOW IT AFFECTS YOUR BOTTOM LINE", 2014).

Legalities:

One of the most important parts of an organization’s website is the page that hosts information regarding terms and conditions (Oliver Herzfeld, Forbes, "ARE WEBSITE TERMS OF USE ENFORCEABLE?", 2013). Mistranslation in these pages could result in consumers and businesses agreeing to a different set of legal rules. Especially for international trade, following all the relevant legalities is vital to protecting the interests of both businesses and clients. Organizations could orient their textöversättning företag to keep the specifics of the legal language in mind when translating content. This is vital as legal language can be technical and filled with jargon that might have different phrases or usages in other languages.

Thus, organizations should pay attention to translated content that is uploaded or hosted on their websites. Having nonsensical sentences, inappropriate content or unsound legal information on websites and other platforms can very seriously damage a company’s reputation and profits. Organizations could hire the services of a translation company in order to ensure that translated content is just as effective and informative as the original content. One braöversättarbyrå i Stockholm that provides various types of translation services to organizations is Novoterm. More information can be found on their website.