Mirela
How do you localize without draining your budget? Cost-effective localization is about being smart with your money. It’s about using the right tools, knowing what content actually needs localizing, and crafting the best localization strategies. In this guide, you’ll learn how to streamline your localization process without overspending.
Write like you’re already translating
We understand that you can’t always anticipate the need for localization. However, localization has to be on you mind even before a single word gets translated. Because if your original content is messy, filled with idioms, or any similar stuff, your translators are going to have a bad time. You’ll likely end up paying more for edits and rewrites later.
Try to write in clear language from the start, and keep sentences short. It’s best to avoid cultural references (unless they’re absolutely necessary, of course). Clean writing is easier to translate and also easier for everyone to understand, including your domestic users.
Not everything needs to be translated
Speaking of translation, here’s a secret: you don’t have to localize everything. Try to figure out what really matters to your users in each market. To be more efficient with your budget, you can use professional human translators for high-stakes content, machine translation for low-priority stuff, and skip translation altogether when the ROI isn’t there. In short, focus your resources where they actually move the needle.
Automate the boring stuff, not the important stuff
AI is cool and all, and yes, machine translation has gotten better. However, it won’t fully replace human translators. Automation can be a total game-changer if you use it wisely, but you don’t have to automate everything just because you can.
Automate the delivery, the file management, the boring tasks that don’t need a human brain. However, when it comes to translating what makes your brand special (we’re talking about your voice, your story, your value prop), let a real person take the lead. If you’re using machine translation plus human post-editing, that’s totally fine too. Just make sure someone’s reviewing the final output.
Use tools that actually save you money
Great tools save you great money. If you’re not using a translation memory tool yet, it’s time. TM works like your personal localization time machine; it remembers everything you’ve already translated and reuses it where it makes sense. So if you’re constantly translating certain words or phrases, you’re not paying for them again and again.
Pair that with a terminology database (sometimes called a glossary), and you’ve got a system that keeps your brand voice consistent across languages and markets. Translation management systems like POEditor have these features built in. These systems also play nice with your CMS, marketing stack, or app repo. No more emailing files back and forth or copy-pasting hundreds of strings into Google Sheets!
Go agile with continuous localization
Continuous localization is an agile, always-on approach that treats localization as part of your regular content or product development cycle. Here’s how it works: every time you make an update, it gets flagged and sent to translation automatically. And once that translation is ready, it gets published right alongside the original.
Translation management systems like POEditor make continuous localization a breeze. We offer integrations with GitHub, Bitbucket, Figma, WordPress, and other platforms you probably already use. Once you set up all integrations, continuous localization is a win for everyone, from your team to your international users.
Bottom line
Cost-effective localization is totally within reach… as long as you have the right strategy, tools, and people. You don’t need a huge budget to create global content. Start small. Prioritize what matters. And most importantly, don’t be afraid to ask for local input.