For organizations that have a culturally diverse use base, being able to provide a website that is accessible to users by language can become a daunting task. Translating sites for one or many languages can be very time-consuming, especially if a manual translation is required.

Luckily, there are some tools out there that can help simplify this process. One tool we’ve used on previous projects is ConveyThis. This tool is a 3rd party tool can be added to any website using any platform or content management system.

When you add the tool to your website, the plugin will provide a small language switcher tab, allowing your users to select the language they want the website translated to. 

How ConveyThis Works:

ConveyThis primarily offers word-for-word translations. It scans a page for words and translates them into the desired language. The ConveyThis administrative panel provides the flexibility to modify translations if needed.

Adding ConveyThis to Your Website:

Adding ConveyThis to your website is straightforward. The tool provides a small snippet of code that you will add to your website to render the widget on the page. 

We recommend adding ConveyThis to your website with Google Tag Manager in most implementations. This is a great place to implement 3rd party integrations and requires no code or modifications to your website. 

Implementing the tool on your website is also possible by pasting the code into your website header. If you are using DNN, you can add this through the Persona Bar under Settings > Site Settings > Site Behavior > "HTML Page Header Tags".

Costs & Pricing for ConveyThis:

ConveyThis costs are based on the number of words detected on your website and the required translations. For instance, if your English website has 100,000 words, and you need translations for Spanish and French, the total would be 200,000 words (detected_word_count x number_of_translations). It's essential to be mindful of potential cost increases as your website grows, leading to a higher word count and subscription level.

Things to be Aware of:

1. Translations for ConveyThis are word-for-word translations. The tool may not always produce a perfect translation. With the use of the admin panel, you can customize translations of words.
2. As your website grows, your word count will continue to grow, increasing your total word count translated and possibly your cost for the service.
   1. Do note that it is possible to exclude the translation tool from various pages on your website. If you had an administrative panel only used by your staff, you could exclude this from the translation tool. If you only want to offer the translation service on high-priority sections of the website, like your home page and Newsroom.
3. The more languages you provide translations to will quickly scale up the total number of words translated and likely the subscription level required. 

Getting Started

Getting set up with ConveyThis is a quick process and something most users can do by visiting their website (https://www.conveythis.com/) and creating an account. As of writing this, ConveyThis offers a few starter plans that allow you to get set up and explore the program. It is worth noting that it is very limited in the number of words it will translate for free, but it is nice to be able to get started. 

If you would like assistance setting up your website with a website translation tool, feel free to contact one of our experts today, and we can help you find an excellent solution.