Program by Day

In our current economy, your enterprise may become more dependent on World Trade than ever before. How do you get the world to come to your doorstep to do business? That was the challenge facing the Montana World Trade Center (MWTC). They needed a web site that non-technical staff could update via CMS and also have content translated and globalized for international customers. Target languages included Chinese, Arabic and Spanish.

In such a project, there are locale and cultural issues to consider, as well as content translation. What colors and images are considered lucky or unlucky in China or many Arabic speaking nations? What are some of the seemingly innocent images that could alienate the specific international partners or customers you are seeking?

The primary requirements for MWTC’s site included:

Multilingual
Better lead generation
Better SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
Ability for non-technical staff to easily add and edit content
Automated approval processes for content contributors
Automated translation workflow for language versions
Subscriptions, Web alerts & memberships
Schedule content to go live and expire
Internal search of content and library assets

Although there are many ways to organize a multilingual website project, there are some specific fundamental Phases, Steps and Tasks which should be integrated into every Web Design, Development and Deployment (W3D) plan.

Services in creation of this website included:

Website Design and Development
Glossary Development
Translation and Copy Writing
Localization of Graphics and Multimedia
CMS deployment, training and support
Global Search Engine Marketing (country-specific SEO)
Website training

This presentation shares lessons learned from a colorful case history and covers the proven ten-phase W3D process to ensure project success on a global basis. Processes will be explained in detail, including which process can occur concurrently:

Phase I: Discovery, analysis and Project Proposal
Phase II: Project Planning and Kick Off
Phase III: Information Architecture (IA): Content, Creative, Technologies aligned with Business Processes
Phase IV: Production: Content, Creative, Technologies
Phase V: QA and Testing
Phase VI: Globalization
Phase VII: QA and Testing
Phase VIII: Launch
Phase IX: Search Engine Optimization
Phase X: Updates and Content Management

“Information architecture is the science of figuring out what you want your site to do and then constructing a blueprint before you dive in and put the thing together. Information architecture (also known as IA) is the foundation for great Web design. It is the blueprint of the site upon which all other aspects are built—form, function, metaphor, navigation and interface, interaction and visual design. Initiating the IA process is the first thing you should do when designing a site.”