An Ultimate Guide for Thai Website Translation
As being the second-largest economy in Southeast Asia and the world’s 19th largest manufacturer, Thailand is a desirable target market for many global companies. In this day and age, the opportunity to penetrate the Thai market is more equal and wide-open than ever before. Especially, the transformation into Thailand 4.0 makes it possible to approach this potential market via a website.
In this article, we will provide you with some useful advice for a successful Thai Website Translation project.
Why is Website Translation Important in The Thai Market?
As the saying “when in Rome, do as the Romans do”, to familiarize your website with the market, there will need to adjust the content to the local language and culture. And that’s exactly what website translation can do to help you achieve success in the Thai market.
When it comes to website translation, it’s better to know the reasons why it is important in the Thai market.
#1. The Thai Population has Low English Proficiency
Although being famous for the tourism industry, Thai people do not have a good command of foreign languages. Their low English proficiency has been proven by the 100th position in The 2021 edition of the EF English Proficiency Index. This paradox is due to the unbalanced and inappropriate policies in teaching foreign languages, which lead to the need for website translation if you want to communicate with Thai audiences.
Thailand is in the group of very low proficiency countries
#2. Thailand is a Mobile-First Country
A great number of Internet and mobile users in Thailand make this country a mobile-first market and give rise to the use of mobile phones and Internet applications including websites. According to Statista, by 2020, 53.62 million people in Thailand have access to the internet and this number is estimated to increase in the future.
Thailand is a mobile-first country (Report carried by Hootsuitewearesocial)
#3. Thailand is the Multi-Culture Kingdom
For all of its geographical features and the booming tourism industry, Thailand is not only a multi-ethnic country with more than 70 living languages but also a cosmopolitan place full of people from so many different countries and cultures. Needless to say, cultural diversity is creating a promising environment for global websites to develop.
Thailand is a multi-culture kingdom
Key Things to Consider When Translating Your Website into Thai
Here are some key factors that can affect the success of a website translation project into the Thai language.
#1. Do Market Research
Over the past few years, Thailand has always ranked in the top positions in the global digital ranking. Mobile, internet apps, and websites are very popular and affect customer behavior in this market. As a matter of fact, the Thai people have a positive attitude toward websites, especially the ones translated into their language.
At the same time, the Thai government promotes support and facilitation for global companies in order to build a Thailand 4.0.
Despite so many advantages, careful study of the market is still essential because this market has its own particular unpredictable issues in politics and religion.
The Thai market is promising but unpredictable and complex
#2. Don’t Forget to Optimize Your Website for Mobile Phones
The technological and digital race in Thailand is highly competitive than ever with the participation of so many tech giants.
Everything is just beginning and there is still room for those who are keeping up with the times, but the key point is how to make the product – your website – become outstanding amongst others. The answer is to design a mobile-friendly website that not only is translated into the Thai language but also customizes Thai users’ preferences in mobile UI (user interface) and UX (user experience).
Thailand is considered a mobile-first market
#3. Adapt Website Plan for Thai Audiences
Website design adaption is another fundamental step in launching a translated website in the Thai market.
In view of the unique and special characteristics, when building a Thai website translation, adapting your website design requires more concerted effort and a profound understanding of this language along with the culture to make an easy-to-use website for Thai clients.
The Thai language uses specific rules to define words instead of using spaces. Strange as it may sound, but obviously, following the rules of language is a prerequisite for translating a website. Regarding Thai no-space rules, GTE Localize has written an article with some interesting information about this beautiful language and its country.
Another factor to consider is aesthetic factors, which also hold the leading influences. Thai people love beauty and they have good taste in arrangements. Therefore, a design with a visual or creative background or image for websites could improve the website design in some ways.
Qatar Airways’s website in the Thai-language version
#4. Take Advantage of Popular Social Media
The social media ecosystem is like a huge wave and Thailand can not stand out from its route. Thanks to enormous users and expansive influence, social media can become a shortcut to promote the website along with approaching more users.
Remember to make the best use of social influencers and influencer trends as well.
Top popular social media in Thailand (Report carried by Hootsuitewearesocial)
#5. Choose the Right Payment Methods
Besides providing high-quality services, a convenient payment method is also an all-important that needs to satisfy the customer.
Although the population has a high acceptance of bank accounts and card access, e-wallets and bank transfers still rank top in the consumer poll of the most popular online payment methods in Thailand, which shows the role of mobile-related payment forms for Thais. Of all these payments, PromptPay along with Paynow is well-liked and allows fast payments with only a Citizen ID or mobile phone number.
PromptPay along with Paynow allows fast payments
#6. Solely Focus on Google
For so many years, Google has always taken first in the list of most visited websites in Thailand. This situation repeated in 2020 to claim the strong position of Google with approximately 864 million monthly visits.
As a result, to boost the traffic of the website and make customers come to your website, you need to focus on making SEO efforts on Google.
To Sum Up
Obviously, Thailand is an emerging market that has enormous potential for foreign enterprises. To gain the key to success in this market, one of the most important strategies to reach local clients is to have a Thai-language website. We strongly believe that by following our advice, you will be able to complete a successful Thai website.
GTE Localize is willing to assist you if you need a skilled Thai website translation partner to support you deploy localization into the Thai market. With qualified language and translation skills as well as knowledge of the Thai culture and market, GTE Localize provides you with the ability to translate and customize your website’s content to fit the social standards of your target market. We understand the difficulties in doing website translation and help you out with them!
Talk to our Thai website translation experts and get your project started with GTE Localize’s high-quality website translation services right now!
