Website translation checklist: pages, interface copy, and pre-publication review

Inventorying content for website translation

A website-translation project starts with a clear inventory. Alongside core pages, include navigation, form fields, email templates, cookie notices, file-upload copy, and automated error messages.

Prioritise content by business impact: pages that help visitors buy a service or submit an enquiry should come first, followed by secondary information. This puts the most important part of the site in front of visitors sooner.

Create a concise glossary and brand-voice guide. Agreeing product names, service names, forms of address, and abbreviations in advance keeps the writing consistent from page to page.

• Include every page and hidden interface string
• Choose high-priority pages first
• Prepare a glossary for terms and brand names

Quality checks before publishing

Before release, check that longer translations fit in buttons and on mobile screens. Dates, currency, phone formats, and contact details should make sense for the intended audience.

Test links, forms, and calls to action in every language version. A localized page should lead to its matching locale, not to an error page or a page in another language.

• Review text layout on desktop and mobile
• Test forms and messages in every locale
• Review SEO metadata and internal links