In the age of globalization, an online store must operate not only locally but also globally to significantly increase its sales. The digital economy knows no borders, and competition never sleeps. Therefore, companies should not hesitate to explore new international markets.
Abstaining from expanding into untapped markets could mean that other, perhaps more agile competitors, establish themselves there and grow significantly. This development could lead to companies losing market share, which they may find difficult to regain. A strategic and well-thought-out international orientation is therefore indispensable for sustainable business success.
Shop operators need various new options in their shop software to accomplish this. Functions must already be integrated here to ensure success.
Shop Software Without Language Barriers
One of the biggest challenges for globally operating online companies is overcoming the language barrier. While English is considered the most widespread business language, it cannot be effectively used in every region. This is mainly because many people prefer their native language and feel more comfortable in their own language, especially when it comes to online shopping.
Companies that want to be successful internationally must therefore ensure that their websites and offers are available in the respective national languages. Only then can they gain customers' trust and optimally meet their needs.
For shop operators, this means they need shop software that is already fully translated. This means they must provide hundreds of translations for each language that cover every single element of their platform. This ranges from simple references like the "Login" link to the crucial "Buy" button in the shopping cart. Comprehensive localization ensures that the customer can enjoy a seamless and local shopping experience, which in turn strengthens customer loyalty and increases the likelihood of completing a purchase.
Moreover, companies must also consider the diversity of writing systems that go beyond the Latin alphabet. For example, there is the Greek alphabet, the Cyrillic script, and numerous other language variants, all of which have their own syntactical and graphic characteristics. Companies face the complex task of adapting their content so that it is correctly displayed and understood in all these different systems. This challenge requires not only linguistic precision but also cultural understanding and technical competence to create a multilingual online experience that meets the expectations of international users.
Reading Direction and Shop Layout
Arabic languages, which include major and widely spoken languages such as Arabic, Hebrew, or Persian, use a completely different alphabet and are characterized by their right-to-left reading direction. This so-called RTL writing direction can lead to significant display and functional issues in an outdated online shop that is not designed for such language peculiarities.
To ensure the user experience remains smooth, the entire shop layout must be mirrored, which also means that all design elements and text content must be adjusted accordingly. The technical challenges that come with adapting to RTL languages include not only text display but also the user interface and navigation, which must be specifically configured to meet the needs of this large user group.
As with any other language, there is a specialized and extensive user base for "right-to-left languages." The proportion of people worldwide who use languages with this reading direction is considerable, thus representing a significant target group for online shops. These potential customers bring numerous market opportunities, which should not be left untapped.
Therefore, it is essential for shop operators to integrate linguistic flexibility into their online shops to meet the needs of these customers. Nowadays, there are solutions specifically designed to meet these requirements, such as Smartstore. By using such modern systems, which significantly reduce the complexity of integrating RTL languages, shop operators can not only facilitate entry into new markets but also increase the satisfaction and loyalty of their new customer groups.
As with any other language, there is a specialized and extensive user base for "right-to-left languages". The proportion of people worldwide who use languages with this reading direction is considerable, thus representing a significant target group for online shops. These potential customers bring numerous market opportunities, which should not be left untapped. Therefore, it is essential for shop operators to integrate linguistic flexibility into their online shops to meet the needs of these customers. Nowadays, there are solutions specifically designed to meet these requirements, such as Smartstore. Using such modern systems, which significantly reduce the complexity of integrating RTL languages, shop operators can not only facilitate entry into new markets but also increase the satisfaction and loyalty of their new customer groups.
Smartstore Free and Open Source
- RTL reading direction (right to left) built-in
- RTL multi-language for products
- RTL multi-language for menus
- RTL multi-language for content
- RTL design in the Open Source Theme "Flex"
- RTL alphabets through Unicode support
The Smartstore shop system offers you all these possibilities for free and directly embedded in every edition, starting from the Open Source Community Edition.
Also, without additional costs and firmly integrated into the system is multilingualism for the display of articles. Furthermore, information pages and other content important for the operation and presentation of the shop can easily be offered in multiple languages. This includes, among other things, blog posts, newsletters, and the news section, enabling shop operators to reach an international audience with individually tailored content.
RTL Theme Flex Open for Your Shop Project
Our free Smartstore theme "Flex" is our clean, modern, and flexible e-commerce HTML template for your RTL projects. This template can be used and modified for any type of online shop and business. Because "Flex," like the Smartstore Community Edition, is also free and open source.
Successful shops for fashion, digital, watch business, jewelry, accessories, or megastore with multiple categories and products have been developed with "Flex" in the Arab and Asian regions.
Here is an example from the Arab region:
https://www.choobiner.ir/
Further information on the Smartstore theme "Flex":
https://smartstore.com/de/smartstore-net-template-flexi
Download Tip: By the way, did you know that we offer you over 30 language packs for Smartstore completely free of charge? So you can start immediately and offer your products or services internationally in no time. https://translate.smartstore.com/
Do you have questions on this topic? Or would you like to send us your feedback? You can reach us via the contact form, by email at info@smartstore.com or by phone from Monday to Friday between 10 am and 4 pm at +4923153350