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Globalization

Globalization and Localization
  Globalization
Are you getting the world out of your wide web efforts?

Download our free white paper "How Do You Globalize a Web Site."
  Onlinefocus offers both globalization and localization services. We have helped our clients plan and build an effective worldwide web presence, engineered to support efficient maintenance. The key to this efficiency is planning the system upfront to meet the specific needs of your company. The resulting plan takes into account a wide range of business, technology, and human factors - crafting a strategy that meets not only your current needs, but also your ongoing maintenance needs and your objectives for future growth.
 
Key Benefits
More effective international presence
Raise the visibility of your company in international markets and better position your company to capture international business.
Greater consistency across country websites
Keep your international websites in synch so your company speaks with a single, effective voice - while maintaining the unique aspects of each country's website.
Easier and less expensive maintenance
Keep your international websites current and relevant - and consistent with one another - without spending a fortune on maintenance.
Faster response to changes in international needs
With our international maintenance system, you get rapid response to needed updates. Most maintenance changes are completed in less than 48 hours - and sooner in the case of an emergency.

How does it work?
Before we propose any solutions for your situation, we carefully study the exact needs and circumstances of your company and your international marketing operations. Based on that analysis, we propose a collection of approaches and technologies tailored specifically to your company's needs.

Some of the components of your specific solution may include:

Globalization and location strategies
Our analysis will help you refine your existing strategy for globalization and localization - or create a strategy if you don't already have one. (See the sidebar for the difference between globalization and localization.)

SmartContentTM content management system
If you need to maintain substantial quantities of web copy that are similar from country to county, then our SmartContent system may be just the answer. This system allows similar content to be stored in a single location, embedded with tags to flag the details that differ from country to country. With our SmartContent system we currently maintain more than 200 country websites for FedEx, providing incredible efficiencies when a single content update affects dozens or even hundreds of sites at once. The SmartContent system can work either with static sites - by generating finished pages for storing on the web server - or it can serve the finished pages in real time.

SiteWorksTM maintenance services
For fast, reliable, high-quality website maintenance, our SiteWorks service provides unparalleled benefits.
More about SiteWorks

SiteManageTM self-maintenance tools
If you need a simple, easy-to-use tool for self-maintenance of key pages on your website, one of our SiteManage tools may be exactly what you need. At a price that is orders of magnitude cheaper than a TeamSite installation - and much easier to learn and use - SiteManage allows your website to respond immediately to changing world circumstances.

International ad graphics
To effectively promote your offerings across multiple geographic markets we tailor your communications to the sensibilities of the local audience with context accurate translation. We apply the advertising principles of attraction, information, motivation and action while maintaining the integrity of your global brand.
More about Advertising
 
Globalization Vs. Localization
 
How is globalization different from localization? Suppose you work for a company that, until now, has operated exclusively in the U.S. However, your company is now opening a major office in Germany, and you need a website to go with it. You'll be offering pretty much the same products and services in both countries, with only some minor differences. In this case, you'll focus on localization issues - to localize your U.S. website to Germany.
 
Now suppose instead that your company has major offices in a dozen countries, and you need a web presence in each of these 12 countries. Before you decide how to localize for any given country, you'll want to create an overall strategy. And you'll want to put into place a framework that codifies and supports this global strategy. The creation of this strategy and this framework is globalization. These two initiatives - your globalization strategy and your globalization framework - will provide uniform guidance for your 12 separate localization efforts.
 
For more details on this topic, see our white paper on globalization.