Android app localization: Everything you need for global success

When you put your Android app out into the world, thinking about how you’re going to localize Android app content will pay big dividends.

Most app downloads in Google Play take place in countries where English isn’t the first language. Talk about a global opportunity for Android internationalization!

But if millions of Android users see a language they don’t speak when they try to use your app, a global opportunity can quickly turn into a global flop.

That’s why it pays to invest in mobile app localization. Read on to find out how to prepare your app for global success using the best practices in software localization.

Android localization means getting your Android application ready for mobile users in a new culture.

Some developers make the mistake of thinking that app localization is as simple as getting Android translations after the app has gone to market. But the internationalization process starts long before people download your mobile application.

Before the translation stage, you must make a series of engineering, design, and content-related decisions to set your app up for success in a new market.

Localization encompasses more than just the Android language choice. You have to consider images, number formats, currencies, and other cultural expectations associated with the new locale compared with your original locale.

An application locale is a set of parameters that define the user’s default language, region, and any special preferences (like date formats or currency).

Locales help you tailor content and user interfaces to suit specific cultural contexts, e.g., a US locale would set the date format month/day/year, while a UK locale would be set to day/month/year.

Just in case you aren’t already convinced of the power of localization, here are a few very good reasons to include localization in your software development project.

If your app is only available in English, you’re seriously limiting your potential market.

A study by Distomo found that localized apps had 128% more downloads from the Google app store than apps that weren’t localized. Not only that, but localized apps brought in 26% more revenue.

User experience will always be best in the user’s first language.

If you let the user interact in their own language, with cultural references they recognize, you’ll make them feel at home. They’ll be more likely to stick around in your app and come back for more.

Most developers won’t bother to invest in proper localization. If you do, then you’ll be ready to knock your competitors out of the ring.

And once you’ve mastered localization, the next time will be even faster and easier.

If you combine an end-to-end translation management system like Smartcat with an expert team, then you’ll have everything you need for profitable app localization.

To help make your life much easier and your localization project a resounding success, Smartcat offers these app localization tools:

Below is a simple guide to help you get your app localization right the first time.

1. When? At the start.

2. What? Engineering, design, and content decisions to make localization easier.

3. Who? The heads of each department should work together with the guidance of a localization specialist.

4. Examples: Decision to use Unicode; UI elements that will adapt to different languages, e.g. variations in sentence length; use of plain English that avoids jargon for easier translation.

1. When? Coding stage.

2. What? Take actions to make the code as adaptable as possible for international use.

3. Who? Programmers.

4. Examples: Use resource files (e.g..json, .xml) for strings; avoid hardcoding text; support multiple locales (e.g. date/time formats); use translation libraries or frameworks; externalize all culturally specific data; organize default text strings, images, and layouts in specific directories like res/values/strings.xml.

1. When? Once the original content has been written or in stages (continuous localization).

2. What? AI and/or human translation produced in the Smartcat translation management system.

3. Who? Expert translators review the AI translation for perfect adaptation to the new culture.

See the section below for a step-by-step guide that will show you how simple it is to translate in Smartcat.

1. When? After translation, normally in stages.

2. What? Adapt user interface, user experience, and metadata to the new language.

3. Who? Localization experts in cooperation with developers.

4. Examples: Making sure everything got translated, i.e., currency symbols or date formats haven’t been hardcoded, checking layout of the user interface makes sense in the new culture, checking metadata.

1. When? Normally in stages.

2. What? Text, graphics, and audio content changed to resonate with the local audience.

3. Who? Localization experts and translators.

4. Examples: Name changes, making sure nothing could be perceived as offensive, changes to images, icons, and other visuals.

1. When? At the end.

2. What? Check all functionality, settings, and translations on the actual Android device.

3. Who? Software engineers and native speakers of the target language.

4. Examples: UI layout test, error message checks.

Get more details on how to translate software.

Publish your app on Google Play and actively monitor its success. When you identify improvements, Smartcat will make it easy for you to make changes.

Here are some ideas to help you leverage feedback loops to monitor the success of your app:

1. Encourage reviews.

2. Use in-app surveys or feedback forms.

3. Monitor social media and forums.

4. Analyze your app analytics.

5. Engage with users where possible to get more information, e.g., user emails or support tickets.

Once you get to the translation stage, Smartcat will make life very easy for you. Just sign up for a Smartcat account and follow these simple steps:

In your Smartcat dashboard, create a software localization project. Enter the project name and choose the language preferences. Next, create your project.

Import the keys manually in the Smartcat interface or set up automated integrations with the Smartcat REST API. Once you’ve imported your translation keys or strings, your translators will be able to easily find and translate the corresponding text.

Set your desired project workflows, (we recommend AI translation and human review for maximum efficiency) and select “translate” for a fast, high-quality AI translation. Then assign human reviewers to assure quality.

Once the translation strings have been translated, export them from your collections overview page or the Smartcat Editor into a format suitable for integration back into the software (e.g.,.json, .po, or .xml).

If you need to make updates or corrections, you can edit the keys and then export them again at any time.

You can also delete obsolete or unused keys that are no longer relevant.

For more technical information on setting up integration automation, please see our developer documentation.

These localization best practices will help you get as much as possible right first time. This will save you time and money later on.

If localization is an afterthought, it may be a costly one. Plan it from the start by deciding the languages and countries you want to target, consulting localization professionals, and mapping out your localization workflow. That way, you’ll get to a quality end product faster and on budget.

This ensures that if specific localized resources are unavailable for a user’s locale, the app will revert to the default language. This prevents app failures and errors that would ruin the user experience in unsupported locales.

Your localized app will have resources specific to each language. Keep these resources separate from the rest of your app. This will make it easier for you to manage and test your app. It’ll also reduce errors and ensure better performance.

Avoid hardcoding text and resources to reduce development time and keep your app language flexible.

If you have hardcoded a string, change the app code to replace them with translated string keys. This ensures dynamic text changes based on user preference.

Android resource qualifiers will enable customization for locales and let the app support multiple languages. They’ll enhance performance because the app will load the most relevant resources based on the device’s locale.

Put your text and each string resource in the default strings.xml file. This way, you’ll be able to easily make changes to translations without altering code. You’ll also be able to add new languages or locales without extensive code changes.

It’s crucial to ensure that all necessary default strings are defined in the res/values/strings.xml file to prevent app crashes.

When a translator sees a random string resource, it may be difficult for them to understand the context.

Help translators by giving your strings meaningful names, adding comments about context if necessary, and using an tag in strings.xml to mark text strings that don't need translating.

If layout is a concern, state the character limit in the.xml file.

Use the id attribute to provide context and explain the purpose of placeholder texts within strings.xml files. This will make sure that translators understand what these placeholders represent.

Consider making a translation style guide to give general rules for your translators to follow.

This small initial time investment will enable you to ensure consistency across your app and save time on edits.

Once you’re ready to launch, remember to have specialist marketing translators optimize the translations of the app sales content. You might need localized versions of keywords, product descriptions, and visuals.

Here are some common challenges that most developers encounter when they localize their apps:

Different languages use different numbers of characters in their sentences. So, the possibility of longer or shorter sentences in the new language must be taken into account in design. A standard rule of thumb is to allow for up to 35% expansion and contraction across languages.

Languages like Japanese and Korean incorporate characters with multiple strokes and varying forms. This can lead to unexpected issues such as display errors, larger resource files, and input difficulties. Once again, take this into account at the design stage.

If you’re used to working exclusively in English, you’d be forgiven for forgetting that languages like Arabic and Urdu are read from right to left. Make sure you anticipate the possible impact of this on layout and formatting during design.

Perhaps you know that dates are formatted differently in US and UK English. But did you know that all the Romance languages, including Spanish, French, and Portuguese, have a different way of formatting numbers? Avoid hardcoded strings to enable your translators to localize all elements of your app.

Some languages have multiple plural forms based on gender and number. This can give rise to translation errors and complicate life for developers, who have to manage different plural forms in resource files. Consult a localization expert to make sure you plan for this.

Smartcat is an end-to-end translation management system. It’s much easier than working in Android studio when it comes to translating different file formats, audio files, xml files, and string resources.

You get high-accuracy AI translations in seconds and can then easily outsource quality assurance to an army of linguists from inside the app without the hassle of vendor onboarding.

The time needed to localize an Android application depends on the app size and complexity, the number of languages and locales, how well the string resources and documentation have been designed for localization, the amount of cultural adaptation needed, and how much testing is required.

To speed up your time to market, use a translation management system like Smartcat and follow a continuous localization process rather than using waterfall localization.

The cost of localizing Android apps varies depending on complexity, number of locales, quality of initial planning, extent of cultural difference, and extent of testing. Reduce translation costs while maintaining quality by using Smartcat AI translation combined with human reviewers.

The more languages you localize into, the more potential ROI you’ll have. But from a time and budgetary perspective, it’s probably best to start with one.

To help you choose, consider which target market best fits your app. Assess demand and competition in that country. Think about how many changes will be needed and how far your budget will stretch to cover them.

You can normally use high-quality AI translation to start the translation process. Smartcat offers 95%+ quality in its AI translations, which makes it more cost-effective than having humans translate from scratch.

However, AI translations aren’t perfect. It’s essential to have professional translators review the translation in a process called post-editing.

Yes, you can localize your app without changing its code by using string resources. Store all your text in resource files (like XML for Android). When you work with a cloud-based translation management system like Smartcat, each string resource can be easily updated for different languages without altering code. You can fetch translatable content from our server, which allows updates without code modifications.

Discover Smartcat's features for yourself with your 14-day, no-commitment free trial, or book a demo with our sales team.