When launching a mobile app in a new region, businesses must go beyond translating their app from one language to another. Users’ search behavior varies depending on the region, and so they are influenced by different marketing messages, payment methods, and user experiences.
In order to tackle these challenges, localization of the app in question is crucial, as this service will allow us to adapt it to the in-app and app store practices applied by target markets.
The Complete App Store Localization Checklist
Choose Priority Markets and Locales
Initially, you should find out which countries and languages you are going to target. You can start with some specific regions instead of expanding the app into many markets at once.
Pay attention to the number of downloads, visits to your website, requests by users, behavior of your competitors, etc. You have to check whether your application can solve concrete problems in the selected country and whether there are enough resources of your company to satisfy users from the new market.
Research Local App Store Keywords
The process of keyword investigation helps people in finding the application in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
One has to analyze the terms individuals use to explain the features, advantages, etc. One should research the competing applications, browsing suggestions, etc.
For instance, users in different countries may use different terms for the same service. The application related to fitness might require different keyword research related to training, workout plans, and monitoring. Keyword choices like these should come from your wider app localization strategy rather than a direct translation of your English terms.
Check Metadata Fields and Character Limits
App stores have designated areas for the application name, subtitle, and short and long descriptions. The criteria and number of characters allowed in those areas can differ depending on the platform.
Make sure to verify the requirements of a particular store in a certain country before composing the final version. Do not presume that the content satisfying one language will do for another one. For example, the German translation may be longer than the original version in English.
Localize App Name, Subtitle, Short Description, and Full Description
It is necessary to describe the application in the App Store in terms of its functionality and advantages to the users. Please keep in mind that you should not translate the initial text word-for-word.
Confirm that the application title is appropriate and aligned with the target market. Think carefully about adjusting the subtitle of the app appropriately to make it more interesting for the local audience. The description of the application should include the main features of the application and its benefits to its users.
Localize Screenshots and App Preview Videos
The different types of screenshots and demonstration videos help people understand what they can anticipate when they install the application. The pictures must demonstrate the app’s features in a fraction of seconds.
One should translate all the text that is visible on the screen, namely, headings, etc. Make sure that the text is suitable for the design and does not make it too small or even crowded.
One should check that the screenshots do not contain references to culture, currency symbols, etc, that may not work in any country. If a function is presented in a different way within each country, the story must support the correct image.
Review App Category, Tags, and Discoverability Settings
Before finally submitting the app, it is necessary to check the category, available tags, and discoverability settings, as these components will determine how the app will be featured on the platform.
Select the category that best describes the main use of the app and examine the categories available for specific platforms.
Complete Age Ratings and Regional Compliance Checks
Age classifications provide guidance for parents and users on whether the application is appropriate for different age groups. Review the aspects of the application, including elements of the app, how it interacts with users, and any international explanatory forms, before submission.
Make sure to check the specific platform and local law requirements. Laws may include data privacy, data usage, subscription, and others.
Review App Icon and Graphic Assets for Local Fit
Your app icon shall remain identifiable across countries, but the overall visual design may need some changes. Take a look at the colors, icons, and images and check if they have any meaning or are culturally involved.
Avoid making changes in branding unless you can provide proper justification for it.
Prepare Localized Review Response Workflow
Reviews in the app help us understand the challenges associated with localization, UX, payments, etc, and the needs of our target audience. Create a system that allows us to read the reviews and find answers for all of them.
Identify a person who will monitor the reviews, translate them when needed, and pass through bugs and customer support issues. Develop a guideline to respond to the reviews according to the brand tone of voice while allowing for spontaneity and naturalness in all languages.
Use Custom Product Pages or Custom Store Listings for Priority Markets
Custom store listing features allow you to convey different information to various target groups, campaigns, and markets. The features and their availability depend on the store.
For example, if you have a language-learning application, you can highlight the travel language in one campaign and the language for workplace communication in another. Custom listings help you show screenshots and info that meet users’ needs. Use custom listings if you have a strong reason to create a different experience.
App Build Localization Checklist Before Release
Localize In-App UI Strings and Onboarding
Store listing localization provides the first impression; however, the quality of the app itself should meet the expectations. Ensure that all menus, buttons, error messages, forms, settings, announcements, and onboarding screens are translated correctly. Verify the entire user journey from the initial usage of the app until the performance of the required activity. App localization services can cover these in-app strings alongside the store listing, so the experience stays consistent after download.
Localize Pricing, Currency, Dates, Units, and Legal Text
One should confirm that pricing, currencies, date formats, and time formats are compliant with the local requirements. For example, if the date is formatted in a certain way in one country, it may be confusing in another one.
Double-check the subscription prices, taxes, payment methods, and billing notifications. Make sure the subscription prices are presented in compliance with the relevant rules.
Prepare Glossary, Style Guide, and Translator Context
A glossary is an explanation of the essential terms, product characteristics, and brands. The style guide provides guidelines on whom to appeal to and how to write. These two instruments enable translators to produce identical texts, making it possible to create unified content for stores, applications, emails, and updates. Pairing them with translation memory keeps approved strings consistent from one release to the next.
Localize Push Notifications, Emails, and In-App Messages
Users experience your app not only when opening core screens, but also through push notifications, password reset mailings, onboarding emails, special offers, and in-app messages that should be localized as well.
Adapt UX, Visuals, and Cultural References
Localization may require changes to more than just text. Colors, signs, body movements, pictures, anecdotes, and site navigation may be interpreted in other ways by different cultures.
Have local users or specialists check out the app whenever feasible. They can find any unclear instructions and other technical decisions that may look evident to the creators.
Testing Your Localized App and Store Listings
Preview Each Localized Store Listing Before Publishing
It is mandatory to review every version of the application before launching it on the appropriate app store. You need to check the title of the application, description, keywords, illustrative screenshots, video previews, and ad messages.
You should not trust only your tables and visuals. What you see in the store may differ completely from what’s shown in your files.
Check Metadata Truncation and Character Limits
Make sure that each field adheres to the platform’s existing limits and that the information appears properly. Check if the name of the app, its subtitles, and the app’s description appear in full in all relevant views.
Verify Category, Rating, Icon, Screenshots, and Legal Links
Review the complete final listing. Check to see if the category, the age rating, the icon, the screenshots, and the legal links selected are all correct for the intended release.
Test Text Expansion and UI Layout
Keep in mind that the translated text can occupy either more or less space than the source text. This is important when testing screens with longer translations to find signs of text clipping and overlapping buttons, etc. Dedicated localization testing services can run these checks across devices and languages before release.
Check Untranslated and Hard-Coded Text
Look for text that still remains in the source language in the app. Error messages, loading messages, empty states, help texts, and confirmation messages are among the most common examples.
The hardcoded text might also be ignored when you carry out the localization of the main user interface strings. It is important to test border user scenarios as well as the main features.
Test Date, Time, Currency, Number, and Address Formats
Ensure that localized formats appear correctly throughout the application. Verify the decimal and thousand separators, location of the currency, calendar traditions, timezone, and address fields.
Test RTL Languages and Special Characters
For languages written the other way around, such as Hebrew or Arabic, changes in layout may be needed. Make sure to verify text orientation, positioning, navigation, icons, and mixed language use.
Common App Store Localization Mistakes to Avoid
There are some pitfalls that can hinder a successful global launch, although the core translation may be correct anyway. This list of app localization mistakes to avoid covers further issues that teams often find only after launch.
- Translating without proper local research: Just translating words does not always imply the inclusion of local search terms and expectations.
- Neglecting the app itself: A localized description may attract users, but if the app interface has not been localized, it can push them away.
- Overreliance on machine translation: Machines may miss the right wording and provide some awkward wording or meaning.
- Not taking into account character limits: If the text is too long, it can be cut off.
How to Measure App Store Localization Success After Release
To measure localization effectively, it is important to examine results rather than only count the number of languages available. Monitor performance in various locations and keep track of improvements after updates are made. Results like these explain why SaaS companies invest in app localization for growth rather than treating it as a one-time task.
Some useful metrics to consider include impressions generated by the shop, visits to the product page, and download totals, among others. In addition, you must check which keywords are important and whether the app gets any feedback.
Conclusion
Localization of mobile applications is important for effective marketing. App store localization does not merely involve translating the application description. Thus, the checklist plays an important role in product development and in the work of ASO and localization teams. Once the app is launched, performance statistics and users’ feedback will indicate what needs further improvement.
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Frequently Asked Questions:
Yes. You can rely on a local listing in case you have a clear understanding of the experience in-app. Just do not make promises about the usability of features that can’t be used in the specified language.
There is no number. Choose languages your team can research, translate, and maintain.
Machine translation could be beneficial as a draft, but should not be the only quality control for important store materials.
Not really. Store screenshots are usually common assets of listing and editing texts, and the design in them does not require a new app creation.
The localization department oversees the quality and consistency of language, the ASO department takes care of the metadata of the store and its discoverability, product departments verify the features’ fidelity, and the technical department facilitates implementation and testing.
A translated listing is the version of the app store text that has been translated into another language/locale. Custom store listings or custom product pages enable the conversion of the listed elements according to the audience, campaign, or case scenario, depending on the platform.
Any new updates of the localized pages should be carried out if relevant changes take place that influence the app’s functionalities, prices, positioning, screenshots, and/or store metadata.
Analyze the comments to find proof of the issues. Determine if they are related to the store listings, the in-app views, or features.
All updates need to undergo localization checks due to the changes.
Pay attention to patterns such as bad conversions while having good traffic in the stores, low retention rates, faq queries on the same translation, etc.
