Today, the company website is one of the most important means of communication for successful businesses. With the internet being accessible worldwide and many even small companies acting beyond the borders of their HQ country, an English version of the company website is a must.
Over the last 12 something months I have investigated the international English-language websites of 100 Austrian B2B companies.
For those who do not know: the official language in Austria is German. Therefore, most English website versions are translations.
The results are scary but no surprise:
For a non-German speaking visitor, more than half of the English websites are completely useless. Unless the visitor is already familiar with the company, it is hard to find information on the company, on the product and on how to get in touch.
Often, the translations are simply insufficient from a language point of view. The English version is unimaginative, of a low quality, and lacks the spirit of a message beneath. But the translators are not the only ones to blame, because there is a relation between the German source version and the English-language version.
The study covers 20 test criteria on 74 pages. It is available as PDF for a small compensation of EUR 75. Please note that the study is available in German only. Contact me at karoline.mrazek@dokuconsult.at to order.
Karoline
