Six tips to handle multiple-language and different currencies

Having a multi-lingual or multi-currency website is very useful for ecommerce businesses who are willing to expand their reach cross borders. It naturally increases their audience reach to a huge extent. Handling of such a multi-lingual website must be done with expertise. Any error in translations on the store could indirectly cost you a lot.

Out of all the approaches for multiple languages & currencies on a website, the most versatile & common approach is to detect the IP address of the user & auto select the language & currency. The language of the store will be simply set by detecting the location of the user (i.e. IP address).

Facts for multi-language & multi-currency support on ecommerce websites:

1. Higher rank on search engines:

Multi-lingual support helps your website rank better on search engines by implementing localized keywords in your SEO strategy. With multiple languages on your store, it becomes quite easy to rank for local keywords and a higher search volume can be targeted. Hence, multi-lingual support will ultimately be helpful in getting the local keywords added on the website and better CTR will also assist in improving the search ranking and traffic. 

2. Expanded reach:

Websites that have just a single language (say English) would naturally have less number of subscribers/ customers/ visitors when compared to websites that not only support a default language (English) but also support other languages. As the latter caters to a wider range of audiences, it naturally gets the advantage of expanded reach across borders.

3. Boost engagement & satisfaction:

Because your website would cater to every specific audience in their preferred language & currency, the users would interact more with your website. It has been already proven that user prefers to shop online with their native/preferred language due to better understanding and trust factor. Hence, having a multi-lingual website will boost the engagement & user satisfaction.

4. Multi-lingual marketplace:

If you have a multi-vendor marketplace, try to provide the vendor panels in multiple languages. Vendors from different currencies would find it more convenient if they can access their merchant panel in their own language. The sellers from worldwide can connect with your marketplace and will eventually help in growth of business.

5. Provide a selection button:

Although the language can initially be automatically selected by scanning the IP address of the user, still it is a good practice to provide a language selection button easily visible to the user. When your ecommerce store is translated to multiple languages, the users deserves the freedom to choose their preferred language. Same can be carried out for currency selection.

6. Maintain the selected language:

Through the time, try to keep the same language on your website or mobile app, especially when the users navigate to different pages. Similar approach must be applied to the currency as well. Until the user doesn’t change his/her preferred currency, maintain the same currency till infinity.

Conclusion:

The proper handling of a multi-lingual or multi-currency e-store can prove to be a game changer for ecommerce businesses. Remember the above mentioned above so it can help you the best out of your store with less effort.