Your Website Just Launched in Germany. Will Anyone Buy?
You connected your website to a translation platform. AI translated everything overnight. Your German site is live.
But conversions aren’t happening. Traffic from Germany stays flat. Users browse and leave.
Here’s what went wrong. Your website got translated, but it didn’t get localized.
Website Localization Tools vs. Outcomes
Translation platforms handle workflow. Automated syncs, file management, version control. They can’t handle outcomes. They won’t catch that your German CTA button cuts off at “Jetzt kau-” because German expands 30-40% longer than English. They won’t tell you when your checkout flow breaks because German addresses don’t follow English patterns.
Website localization isn’t just making your site available in other languages. It’s making it work in other markets. Different languages, different user behaviors, different expectations.
That gap between translation and localization? That’s where conversions die quietly. No error messages. No obvious failures. Just users who browse but don’t buy.
Native fills that gap. We consult on which translation platform fits your tech stack, then execute with managed linguistic teams who know the difference between translating a website and making it convert.
What Actually Breaks in Website Localization?
Most companies discover these problems after they’ve launched:
Buttons and CTAs that don’t fit: German expands 30-40% longer than English. “Buy now” becomes “Jetzt kaufen” and suddenly your carefully designed button breaks. Finnish does the opposite. One Finnish word replaces what English needs five words to say. Your navigation, which looked perfect in English now has massive gaps.
Forms that fail validation: Swedish address fields differ from American or British English ones. Your form expects a six character combination of letters and numbers for English ZIP codes, but Sweden uses a five numeral character codes. Users can’t complete checkout because your form wasn’t built for their address structure.
Checkout flows that confuse: French users expect different payment methods than Americans. Germans want SEPA transfers. Swedes use Swish. Your “credit card only” checkout loses sales in markets where credit cards aren’t the default.
Content that sounds translated: AI translation is accurate but robotic. “Add to cart” translates fine because it’s a button. But your brand voice, the personality that performs in English, gets neglected by AI in other languages. Users can tell it’s translated, and they are not impressed.
What Gets Localized
When Not to Localize Your Website?
Localization is a multiplier, not an initiator. Zero traffic from Germany? Localizing your website won’t create German customers. It multiplies existing interest. And you can’t multiply zero.
We’ve seen companies spend €15,000 localizing a website that had 12 monthly visits from Germany. The result? 12 visits in German instead of English. Same bounce rate. Same zero conversions. The website wasn’t the bottleneck. Demand was.
Not ready to localize? Don't.
- You have no traffic from the target market
- No one's asking for it in that language
- You're still finding product-market fit at home
- You're localizing "because competitors are"
- Run ads in German and see if anyone clicks
- Localize one landing page, not your entire site
- Use AI translation to gauge interest cheaply
- Watch your analytics for organic signals
Once you see traction in the form of inquiries, traffic, and users asking for other languages, then invest in professional website localization.
About 50% of the internet doesn’t prioritize English. If you already have global traffic, you’re leaving money on the table. But don’t localize blindly. Localize strategically. Start with one market showing real signals, prove the ROI, then expand.
How Website Localization Actually Fits Together
Translation platforms are genuinely good at what they do. Crowdin, Bureau Works, Phrase, Lokalise, they handle workflow brilliantly. Automated syncs with your website. Version control across languages. File management that doesn’t require your dev team to babysit exports. That’s real value.
Workflow isn’t the same as outcomes.
The platform syncs your content and runs it through AI translation. Fast, affordable, consistent. What it can’t do is tell you that you are about to translate “Tonic Water” as “Acqua del Gabinetto” in Italian, which means “toilet water.”
That’s where professional linguists come in. They handle the outcomes—the part where translated content actually works in market.
Most companies buy one thinking it does both.
They invest in a platform, connect it to their website, and expect localized content that converts. When it doesn’t, they blame the platform. But the platform did exactly what it was designed to do. It moved content efficiently. It just wasn’t designed to guarantee that content performs.
Native bridges the website localization gap.
We’re tech-agnostic. We consult on which platform integrates with your tech stack—there are 700+ integrations across the major players. Then we execute the localization with managed teams who understand the difference between translated and converted.
We’re recognized as experts by Crowdin and Bureau Works. Not because we compete with them. Because we make their platforms work better by handling the part they were never built to handle.
Workflow plus outcomes.
That’s how you actually put website localization to work. Here’s what Native does differently:
Tech-agnostic consulting
We don’t sell software. We consult on which translation platform fits your tech stack, then handle the localization. Crowdin, Bureau Works, Phrase, Lokalise, we work with all of them. You get honest recommendations, not referral-driven ones.
Managed teams, not marketplaces
Translation platforms come with freelancer marketplaces. Thousands of translators, zero consistency. We build dedicated teams, 3-5 linguists per language, who learn your brand, your terminology, your voice. One point of contact. Same people every time.
Workflow plus outcomes
Platforms automate the workflow. We handle the outcomes. Your content syncs automatically, gets localized by professionals who understand conversion, and ships on your schedule. You’re not managing freelancers or chasing translations. You’re launching in new markets.
We’re not a translation vendor you manage. We’re the localization team you don’t have to build.
How Website Localization Works
Here’s what working with Native looks like:
Step 1: Five-minute setup We connect your website to our translation management system. One meeting. Done.
Step 2: You update your website normally Change a product description? Update a landing page? We get automatic notifications. No manual exports. No email chains.
Step 3: 24-hour turnaround We localize updates across all languages within 24 hours (for updates under 500 words). Larger updates sync with your release schedule.
Step 4: Billed for new content only 70% of your product descriptions share the same template text (size, color, materials)? You’re not paying to translate “100% cotton” 200 times. You pay for what’s actually new.
Website Localization Pricing
Every website is different. Pricing depends on your word count, how much content is unique versus template, and how often you push updates. A Shopify store with 50 products costs less than a SaaS site in 5 languages. We quote based on what you actually need, not a one-size-fits-all package.
Shopify Store
Marketing Site
Product Catalog
Ongoing Maintenance
You're billed for new or changed content only. Update 10 products monthly? Pay for 10 products, not your entire catalog. Maintenance runs 20–40% of initial cost per quarter, depending on how often you update.
Template content (size, color, materials) gets reused across products. You're not paying to translate "100% cotton" 200 times.
Ready to Localize Your Website?
Website localization works when you combine the right translation platform with professional teams who understand the difference between translation and conversion.
Contact us: hello@nativelocalization.com
Call us: +371 29 148 870
Schedule a consultation: Get in touch
FAQ
Website localization is not a one-size-fits-all project. Requirements, turnaround times and budget differ case to case. If you don’t find your answers here, we’re always happy to talk to you!
Translation converts your website text from English to Spanish. Localization adapts everything, content, checkout flows, forms, cultural references, payment methods,so your website actually works in Germany.
Translation is part of localization. But localization includes technical, visual, and cultural adaptation that translation alone doesn’t cover.
No. Start with what drives revenue: homepage and key landing pages, your best-selling products, checkout flow. Localize high-impact pages first. Expand based on results.
Localize when you see traction: traffic from target markets, customers asking for other languages, competitors succeeding there, product-market fit established. Don’t localize to create demand. Localize to multiply existing interest.
Depends on your tech stack. We consult on fit: Crowdin (developer and user friendly, 600+ integrations), Bureau Works (enterprise-grade workflows), Smartling (marketing-focused), Phrase (developer-focused). We’re tech-agnostic. We recommend based on your website’s needs.
We connect to your website platform (Shopify, WordPress, custom CMS) through native integrations or APIs.
Then you update your website normally, we receive automatic notifications, we deliver translations within 24 hours (under 500 words), translations sync back automatically.
No manual exports. No email chains.
With continuous localization you change a product or page, our system detects the change, translation teams localize it, translations ready in 24 hours, you deploy when ready. You are billed only for new or changed content.
No. Your dev team handles technical SEO for website localization. We handle content localization, translation workflow integration, cultural adaptation, QA for user flows.
For hreflang and URLs, work with your developers or our SEO specialist.
Human translation: high-traffic pages, conversion-critical content (checkout, CTAs, product pages), brand messaging.
AI + human review: blog posts (AI first, polish top performers), FAQs, support docs.
AI only for low-traffic pages, internal docs, technical specs.
Native will help you analyze your website data to decide.
Yes. Custom websites integrate via APIs.
Options: direct API integration (if supported), manual content transfer (more hands-on), custom integration development (paid).
We evaluate your website setup and recommend the most efficient approach.
E-commerce: Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, BigCommerce
CMS: WordPress, Contentful, Strapi, Drupal, Webflow
Frameworks: React, Vue, Angular, Next.js
Docs: Notion, Confluence, GitBook
We avoid platforms with poor localization support or no integration options.
We work around it: manual export/import, CSV/JSON exchange, direct database access (if you’re comfortable), custom API integration (paid).
If your platform makes website localization unnecessarily complex, we’ll tell you honestly.
You are billed only for new or changed content. Maintenance typically 20–40% of initial cost per quarter, depending on update frequency.
Update 10 products monthly? Pay for 10 products, not your entire website.