Going Global Gracefully: Strategies for Building the Global Gateway

The world speaks many languages, and so do an increasing number of Web sites. Yet with these languages and locales come a host of challenges for the Web teams who manage them, challenges that are not likely to go away. As companies 'localize' their Web sites for new markets and languages, they run into the navigational challenges of directing users to their localized Web sites. For instance, if your site offers a dozen localized Web sites, how do you ensure that users arrive at their intended sites without getting confused or lost along the way?  This article presents strategies for building a global gateway. A global gateway is much more than a 'select country' pull-down menu on the home page. It's an all-encompassing term for the devices you use to direct users to their locale- and language-specific sites. And, as you'll soon see, there are many ways to build a gateway.

Yunker, John E. WebWord (2003). Design>Web Design>International>Localization

A Hands-On Guide to Asia and the Internet  

Yunker explains how American and European companies can communicate with Asian markets by enabling their Web browsers to view Asian languages, send and receive an e-mail message in an Asian language, and input Asian text into Web forms. Yunker also poses ten questions to ask before localizing your Web site for Asian countries.

Yunker, John E. Intercom (2000). Design>Web Design>Regional>Asia

Web Globalization Strategies: Building the Global Gateway  

A 'Global Gateway' ensures that Web users from around the world quickly and easily find their localized Web sites. Too often, companies overlook the global gateway, resulting in lost users and decreased traffic to the localized sites. A global gateway is more than just a pull-down “select country” menu on the home page, it is a multi-layered strategy that relies on visuals, text, and technology. The best global gateways “degrade gracefully” to accommodate any user, regardless of browser, language or locale.

Yunker, John E. STC Proceedings (2003). Design>Web Design>Localization