Buying translation services

Buying website design services

How to buy the most appropriate translation service?

A word about the translation business

  • How fast can translators work?

    A good translator produces a page an hour on average—sometimes less, rarely more. One page in translation terms is 250 words. This time includes the translation itself, checking terminology, re-reading, editing and consulting experts if necessary. Going any faster will have a detrimental effect on quality. Translation agencies that claim to translate in record time tend to farm out their translations to several translators which means the style and terminology of the finished product may not be uniform.

    Before requesting an estimate, check the number of words in your source document and divide by 250. This will give you some idea of how long your translation will take and what it will cost.

  • What about computer-aided translation?

    Computer-aided translation isn't suited to most translation requirements simply because a machine can't handle the sort of ambiguities that regularly occur in natural language. Take "Front door stop" for example. This could mean "the stop of the front door" or "the front stop of the door" which translate differently in French. Machines simply can't make this distinction. Here is an example of what machine translation can do - or can't.

  • Why do good literary translators make poor technical translators?

    Firstly, because the style of writing is completely different. Secondly, because they may not understand what they're translating. Not understanding the context can easily lead to mistranslation. The French word "prise" for example could have several translations depending on the technology concerned: "tap" (telecommunications), "take-off point" (mechanical transmission systems), "setting" (concrete construction) or "plug/socket" (electricity).

  • Why are some translation services more expensive than others?

    As with most products and services, you get what you pay for. Some translators are happy to translate literally and not bother to find out what anything means... Others would much rather spend time getting it technically and stylistically perfect. The price difference can vary from one to ten.

  • How do I choose then?

    Good translators...

    • give a firm price before they start work
    • meet deadlines
    • translate into their mother tongue
    • are qualified in the technical field they translate
    • ask questions when they don't understand
    • re-read the final document on paper
    • guarantee the technical accuracy of their translation

A word about Web site design techniques

The experts all agree: 99% of Web sites are obsolete. Why is that? Because they were designed, and still are, using outdated methods that are declared obsolete by standards bodies and the W3C, an international body governing the Internet.

As a result, these sites have various problems:

  • They may not operate correctly in all browsers,
  • They will not operate at all as the Web evolves,
  • Their maintenance and update is costly,
  • A sometimes large proportion of visitors cannot enter the site, etc.

Of course, we design web sites that are exactly the opposite. Why? Because our work methodology is based on strict compliance with W3C standards, and uses new languages, namely XHTML and CSS. HTML is now the language of the past and it must not be used any more. We can thus guarantee that our sites:

  • Are designed and updated cost effectively,
  • Are compatible with a large number of browsers and viewing devices (computers, screen readers, Palm Pilots®, web-enabled cell phones, etc.),
  • Accommodate an increasingly large percentage of users (such as people with disabilities),
  • Can be up to 50% quicker to download compared to Web sites designed using outdated methods, etc.