By following a few recommendations, web site designers and software developers can ensure that their products are ready to be adapted to international markets, and thus guarantee a smooth, painless and cost-effective localization process.

Here are some examples.

• All user interface elements should be isolated from the source code.
• User interfaces and layouts must be flexible enough to accommodate text expansion. Text may expand by as much as 100% when translated. It's also a good practice to allocate text buffers dynamically, when possible.
• If the same string is used in different contexts, try to make multiple copies of it to allow for different translations.
• Word order varies with the language, so it's better not to create text messages dynamically at runtime, by using for instance multiple insertion parameters or concatenating strings. In general, no assumptions should be made about how each language combines words and interprets information.
• It's a safe practice to document non-obvious features and non-standard configurations that have to be tested at runtime.
• If information that must not be translated is grouped separately, it will be easier to leave out this information in the localized version.
• As for graphics, you might prefer to use generic icons and images that do not require localization. Translating text in bitmaps and icons can be time-consuming. If you use images with overlaid text, the workload will be less if you deliver layered files, details of fonts used and other specifications to your localization provider.