Streamlining Technical Documentation Localization with Paligo & Crowdin

Paligo is excited to feature a guest post from localization management platform, Crowdin. As a company that shares our passion for bringing content and technology together, Crowdin shares their insights and expertise on how a combined Paligo + Crowdin integration makes translating and localizing content a breeze.

If you’re a technology company, then you know how important technical documentation is. But what you may not know is how important localization is for your technical documentation.

Localization is the process of adapting content to a specific market or region. This is important for companies who want to expand their reach and enter new markets. But for those who have no experience, localization can be a challenge, especially when dealing with technical documentation. That’s where Paligo and Crowdin come in. Crowdin is a localization platform that helps you manage and streamline the localization process.

In this blog post, we’ll show you how to use Paligo and Crowdin to streamline the localization of your technical documentation. We’ll also provide a step-by-step guide to help you get started.

Technology companies rely on two things to succeed: great products and great documentation. By product, we don’t just mean the software or hardware that they sell, but also the services that they offer and the processes that they use internally. All of these need to be well-documented so that they can be understood and used by both customers and employees.

Technical documentation includes user manuals, how-to guides, installation instructions, and more. It’s essential for helping customers get the most out of your products and services, and it’s also critical for ensuring that your employees can do their jobs effectively.

There are several reasons technical documentation is so important for technology companies:

It helps you win customers

Good documentation can be the difference between a customer choosing your product or service over a competitor’s. If your documentation is clear, concise, and easy to follow, it will make a positive impression on potential customers and give them confidence in your company.

It improves customer satisfaction

Once a customer has purchased your product or service, good documentation can help them get the most out of it and ensure that they’re satisfied with their purchase. If they have a positive experience using your product or service, they’re more likely to become repeat customers or even brand advocates.

It reduces support costs

Well-written documentation can actually save you money by reducing the number of support calls or emails you receive. If customers can find answers to their questions in your documentation, they’re less likely to need to contact support. And if they do need to contact support, good documentation can help support agents resolve issues more quickly.

As you can see, technical documentation is essential for any technology company that wants to succeed. If you don’t already have a robust Documentation Management process in place, now is the time to start one.

When we talk about localization in the context of technical documentation, we are referring to the process of adapting content to a specific market or region. This can involve anything from translating text into another language to tailoring content to cultural preferences.

There are several reasons localization is important for companies who want to sell their products or services internationally.

• Firstly, it allows you to reach a wider audience by making your content accessible to non-native English speakers.
• Secondly, it can help you build trust with potential customers by showing that you are willing to go the extra mile to cater to their needs.
• Finally, localization can give you a competitive edge in certain markets where local knowledge is essential.

Technical documentation localization can present a number of challenges, which can be difficult to overcome without the right systems and processes in place. One challenge is ensuring that the translated content is accurate and up-to-date. Another challenge is dealing with different files manually and taking control of all multilingual versions of the documentation. Yet another challenge is managing the workflows of the multiple translators and reviewers involved.

Manual approach to localization of technical documentation

The manual approach to localization can be quite tedious and time-consuming. It often requires working with multiple translators and coordinating the efforts to guarantee accuracy and consistency across all versions of the documentation. This can be a challenge, especially if the documentation is constantly being updated, or you have more than 2 languages available. Let’s say a company wants to localize its user manual for a new product into 5 languages. Without any localization systems or automation, the process might look like this:

• Identify the content that needs to be translated
• Manually copy and paste the content into a file or spreadsheet
• Translate the content manually or hire a freelance translator
• Review and edit the translations
• Manually copy and paste the translations back into the original document
• Repeat the process for each language

This process is not only time-consuming but also increases the risk of errors and inconsistencies. It can also be difficult to manage and track the progress of each language version, making it hard to ensure timely delivery.

By contrast, using a system like Paligo and Crowdin can help streamline this process. The company can upload the source content into Paligo, install the integration with Crowdin localization software. Then these segments can then be pushed from Paligo to Crowdin for translation, where the translations can be completed by a professional translator from a vendor’s list or using machine translation (or even a combination of both). The translated content is then automatically pulled back into Paligo, where it can be published in the desired languages.

This approach saves time, reduces the risk of errors and inconsistencies, and provides better control over the localization process. It also allows the company to scale its localization efforts more easily and cost-effectively, which can be especially important as content volumes increase.

If you want to streamline the process of localizing your technical documentation, Paligo and Crowdin are two great systems to use.

Here is a step-by-step guide to using Paligo and Crowdin for technical documentation localization.

Using Paligo and Crowdin for technical documentation localization provides numerous benefits, including:

A streamlined localization process

The integration between Paligo and Crowdin enables a seamless localization process, automating tasks and reducing the need for manual intervention. The two platforms work together to simplify the localization process, from content translation to publishing, reducing the time and resources required.

Improved translation quality

Paligo and Crowdin offer a range of translation quality control features, including translation memory, terminology management, and machine translation. These features ensure that translated content is accurate, consistent, and high-quality, resulting in a better user experience and reduced localization costs.

Increased efficiency and productivity

By automating the localization process, Paligo and Crowdin increase the efficiency and productivity of localization teams, enabling them to complete projects faster and with fewer errors. This leads to reduced costs and faster time-to-market, giving companies a competitive edge.

Easy collaboration

Paligo and Crowdin enable easy collaboration among localization team members, content creators, and translators. They provide a single source for all localization-related activities, including file sharing, communication, and project management. This makes it easier to track progress, ensure consistency, and quickly identify and address any issues that arise.