New Website Translation Package Designed to Encourage SMEs into Multilingual Websites

London, UK 16th January 2006:

The internet is changing. Of the 1 billion people who used it in 2005 a large portion were from non-English speaking countries. Forecasters predict that future growth lies solely in non-English speaking nations such as China, India, Brazil, Russia and Indonesia. If businesses from English speaking countries want to retain their competitive edge in the future, it is key that they give serious consideration to multilingual websites. Kwintessential, a UK company at the forefront of a movement to encourage the development of a multilingual cyberspace, is now offering simple packages for SME’s (small and medium enterprises) looking to display websites in foreign languages.

The internet is no longer the English speaker’s domain. Statistics from industry analysts eTForecasts show that in 2005, four of the top five internet using nations in the world, four were non-English speaking (China, Japan, India and Germany). Growth in traditional strongholds such as the US and Britain have flat-lined. Future growth is predicted in China, India, Brazil, Russia and Indonesia.

For businesses in English speaking countries this change in dynamics presents a challenge. With a web presence only in English they are now only tapping a small online audience. However, this change also presents a great opportunity. With minimal investment and effort through a website translation there are endless prospects in terms of expansion and increased revenue.

Kwintessential Ltd, a cross cultural communication consultancy providing intercultural awareness training, translation, interpreting and other cross cultural solutions, have long been at the forefront of a movement to help companies maximise their global potential through websites in foreign languages. Working with a range of companies from Blue Chips to SMEs, they we have assisted in both the translation and design of multilingual websites.

In a move to help SME’s capitalize upon the potential the multilingual internet holds, the specialists have now launched a new simple, hassle-free website design/translation package. The package has been designed to both address the general reluctance within SMEs to go multilingual plus minimise their costs.

“We have many enquiries from smaller companies who like the idea of a website in Spanish, French or Chinese. However, many shy away from it due to the cost, need for technical knowledge or simply lack of awareness as to what they need,” explains Managing Director Neil Payne. “What we are doing is taking everything off their hands and giving them back a finished product with minimal effort from the client.”

The package is based on a very simple principle. Kwintessential provide their clients with a “microsite”, which is a small five page site that captures the key information about a company and/or product. All they need from the client is the text for the microsite. Then for a one-off price Kwintessential translate the text, design the five pages, upload them to the web and integrate them with the rest of the site. The client is then the owner of a brand new multilingual website with the potential to attract millions of new customers and/or readers.

“Our aim is to try and get English speaking businesses to realise that if they want to successfully compete on the international stage, a multilingual site is imperative. Those that take the initiative and invest in a foreign language website now will see future benefits, whilst those that don’t will only be playing catch up in a few years time,” added Payne.

For more information on Kwintessential and their cross cultural communication services please visit http://www.kwintessential.co.uk.

Details of the new package can be found at http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/multilingual/website-SMEs.html