Working in multilanguages projects brings many challenges, and good lessons can be learned. Among them is the correct selection of tools that are used, that can convert a challenge into a nightmare or into a great experience. And this is where PoEdit comes to the show, proving, after many years, that it still has no rival.

With it’s extremely simple UI and workflow, it’s very easy for translators to directly enter the text there, and also they can get suggestions immediately, without any delay, and they can even pre populate all the entries in advance with proposed translations.

But then there is an extra challenge with some languages, when further localization is needed and a deep rework on the whole UI should be done to adapt it to RTL (right to left) languages, or could be even more difficult for Japanese, Chinese or Korean.

• When working with arabic or hebrew projects, the rule of thumb is just to mirror everything. Yes, some images and icons as well.
• Japanese and Chinese markets may imply a different layout, as they are used to extremelly populated sites, with very little negative space.
• Correct font selection is very important as well, but bear in mind that bold or italic may sometimes not possible in the asian markets, as it may affect legilibility.

When working in such projects, it’s also extremelly important to choose conveniently a translator that understands the product, and is willing to run an extra mile by providing good input on cultural things that may also affect the final product, leaving aside obvious examples such as certain colors, icons, etc that may represent different values or transmit wrong messages.