Blog - CB Web Solutions

From our early days in Spain, I cannot remember one site that was written in both English and Spanish. Not one. It is true that the overwhelming majority were sites designed to market property either for sale or to rent on the Costas as was the nature of the local economy before our President set about the economy to disastrous effect. In addition, was true that our clients were, on the whole English speaking. However, these days, it is increasingly rare to design just in English and if anything the trend is heading towards sites that are at least bi-lingual i.e. English and Spanish. So why the change?

Quite possibly a leading cause of the change is Zetaparos Economic Crisis and the recognition here amongst Spanish based companies whether they are English speaking or Spanish that ignoring what could potentially be a new customer (marginal) merely because of language is no longer possible. Every Euro counts. Indeed opening up new markets even in the same geographical location by merely the addition of a language and not a change of product is potentially one of the most cost-effective business decisions one can make especially if the strategy includes the internet.

In our experience, Spanish companies moved quicker than the English speaking ones to include another language (usually English) on their sites although frequently this was done by a Spaniard and not a native English speaker which sometimes leads to unpredictable results. In the case of the English speaking companies there was a real reticence due to the unbridled fear that they may actually get an enquiry in Spanish which would require communication in Spanish.

It is widely known that the majority of the Brits here have not had the best of results grappling with the language and so they have incorporated into their businesses the British Company British Clients market targeting thus implicitly excluding Spanish clients. Worry about handling the enquiry when it comes if you do not already have access to a native speaker.

So, when you consider that surveys have suggested that in the region of 750,000 are residents (registered) in Spain within a population of about 45million who of course on the whole do speak Spanish, you can see why a website being limited to just one language can be a drag on business. Alternatively, if you are a Spanish business, the addition of English to your site is easily justifiable given the second-language level of English, English residents and tourists here as well as the high levels of English-speaking net users across the world. Furthermore, they are usually already reasonably accustomed to buying etc on line so and still have higher income levels than the average in Spain.

In terms of the Internet, Spanish usage is rising exponentially from about 5th place in European terms in 2006 (AIMC) and it is increasingly moving away from just the booking of flights into more general areas common in countries such as Germany, USA and UK. So, you are ignoring a vast market on your doorstep if you are running a business in Spain and you limit yourself to just one language.

So, what do you do now you have decided to have your site in English and Spanish? Well here at CB Web Solutions, we are native English and Spanish speakers and so we will be able to ensure quality content for your site. For other languages such as German or Swedish for example, we have an excellent working relationship with a professional translation company. As such it is worth while ensuring that it is written as a native would write and not as you were taught in language school. Also, avoid the automated translators such as the Google translator or Babelfish unless you want gibberish.

Why? Because first impressions count on the internet when your competition is only a click away. Again we return to content and websites but I knew we would.