Why should you immediately decide on language versions?
Even at the planning stage of developing a mobile application, it is important to consider which countries’ residents will use it. Even if you want to first launch your service in one country, and only then expand the geography of your activities, you should still think through all language versions in advance.
The fact is that in some cases it is enough to simply translate the application. To do this, it is enough to hire professional translators who localize applications. But there are languages that may require code changes. That is why all the nuances need to be considered at the early stages, even before the application itself is developed.
Which languages should be chosen for the application?
Your choice can be based on several factors:
- From the application's goals. If it is related to a specific local business, then the ambitions of the business itself are taken into account. For example, if this is a company that operates in Ukraine, but in the future plans to expand to Europe, then naturally it is worth choosing the European languages.
- The most popular languages. This option is relevant for those who plan to develop the application all over the world and want to reach as many people as possible. The three most common ones are Chinese, English, and Hindi.
- Internet languages. Not everyone in the world has access to the Internet. English is quite popular not only in those countries where it is the official language. Many people are fluent in it but have another language as their mother tongue. Therefore, consider which languages are included in the top 5 Internet languages: English, Spanish, Chinese, German, Russian.
- Application sales rating. Consider in which countries Android and iOS are popular and what the sales ratings are.
- Local specifics. For example, apps from Play Market are not so popular in China. If you plan to develop in this market, then analyse the popularity of different operating systems in the region. On the other hand, the growing economy of South America is worthy of attention - also an interesting market for applications.
Popular and promising destinations include regions where French and Arabic are spoken. Don't forget about Japan. It is one of the countries' leaders in the development of various industries.
Please note that the choice of languages for the Android and iOS operating systems will be slightly different.
What else do you need to know when choosing future language versions of the application?
Assess what market share you are interested in. For example, if you have big plans and are ready to reach more than 90% of mobile phone users, then make a list of at least 40 languages of the world. At the same time, 10 languages can cover up to 80% of the Internet market share.
Think about who your target audience is and how comfortable it will be for them to use the application in a non-native language. For example, children may not yet know a second language or choose menus intuitively. Adults prefer to perform some tasks in their native language, for example, planning their day, meetings, trips.
Therefore, the choice of language versions is an individual story for each application, in which you need to take into account not only the prevalence of the language, but also the characteristics of your audience.
