Best Online Translation Services

The language barrier is everywhere. Despite the presence of a universal language, there are still instances where communication fails because of it. Luckily, translation services allow people to convey their messages easily; may it be for personal or business purposes. Online translation services allow you to conveniently convert information from one language to another over the internet, allowing people to communicate efficiently. When getting these services, you can choose between a software or you may hire a professional to get the most accurate translation.

Translation services are essential; may it be for personal or business use. Thanks to the emergence of the internet, you can immediately get your documents translated in just a few clicks. Aside from that, here are the other reasons why you need to get the best translation services online:

Accurate and Precise

Online translation companies use innovative tools so that they can guarantee you top-notch services. You can rest assured that whatever your material is, whether it’s a legal document or a website, online professional translators can give you accurate and precise assistance.

Convenient

If you’re a busy person, and you have no time to jump from one office to another to look for a translator, these online translation services can help you. Transacting through these platforms is convenient since you can send and receive your document anytime and anywhere.

Affordable

Online translation services are generally cheaper than traditional translation services. The best translation companies online can offer you several options based on your budget. Some would also provide tools that can let you monitor their progress while they work. There are also free translation services online, although they have limited services than paid ones. When choosing this option, you need to look for the service provider that would best fit your needs.

Helps in Expanding Businesses

Online translation services play a significant role in expanding businesses across the globe. For instance, some companies have websites and software that require translation so it can cater to the needs of people of all languages, and the best online translation services can make this possible.

Improves Communication

Translation services can remove the language barrier between people, like in the case of business partners. Communication between companies is greatly enhanced with the best online translation services. May it be business documents, letters, or messages; these services can ensure you quality services that can ease the communication difficulties between you and your partners.

Looking for the right translation services can be overwhelming because of the sheer number of companies doing their business online today. Therefore, it’s essential to know the core features of the best online translation services so you can easily choose the one that will meet your needs.

High-Quality Translation

The most important feature to consider when it comes to online translation services is that it should have a high-quality translation. Commonly, people use these services to improve communication. Therefore, your material, may it be printed or automated, should be translated naturally, accurately, and precisely.

Professional Translators

To ensure that you’ll get a high-quality translation, your service provider should have professional translators to do the job for you. However, they should not only have a good command of the languages involved. But also, they should be knowledgeable about the field or industry they’re working in. For instance, you need to translate a medical document. You would want a translator with medical translation expertise to guarantee that their work is accurate. Therefore, it’s essential to ask your service provider regarding your translator’s skills and credentials.

24/7 Translation Services

One of the reasons why you’re opting for an online translation service is because you want to have your material translated anytime you want. Fortunately, the best online translation service providers open their services to their clients 24/7, which also increases their chances of rendering their services at a faster rate.

Translation Tools

If you want top-notch services, opt for a translation company that provides translation tools for their translators. The best translation services companies online use tools, such as computer-assisted translation (CAT) tools, to help their translators work efficiently, so you can rest assured that their translations are of high-quality.

Fast Turnaround Time

The best translation services online have a fast turnaround time, meaning they can have your material translated as soon as possible. To make sure that they fulfill their promises, you can read reviews regarding your prospective translation company and see if their former clients were satisfied with their services.

Multi-Language Services

Whether you’re looking for the best Afrikaans, Arabic, Georgian, or Danish to English translation services, you need to have a wide range of options. Therefore, your translation service provider should be able to offer multi-language services, from common languages to rare ones. This feature is essential, especially for expanding businesses that plan to cater to people of different languages from all parts of the globe.

Reasonable Price

Of course, you would want to opt for the service provider who can offer you top-notch services that are worth the price. Some of the best translation service companies online can provide services at a price within your means. You can also go for the best free online translation services. However, these services usually offer less accurate translations making them not suitable for professional use.

There are several types of translation services found online, but they can be categorized into three main types. Knowing the differences between each would help you determine which type of service would best fit your needs.

Industry-Specific Translation Services

Businesses, as well as other professions, need translation services for their expansion. However, their documents or materials usually involve technical content, which makes translation for these clients challenging. Industry-specific translators, as the name suggests, offer translation services focusing on a particular professional field or industry, and they allow these businesses to keep their technical content intact even after translation. Examples of services under this type include legal translation, business translation, and medical translation.

Certified Translation Services

Legal documents, especially those that are for immigration purposes, usually need a certification after translation because they hold a legal record. As the name implies, this type of service does these things for you. These translation service providers render your documents and provide you a certificate proving that the translation performed is precise and accurate. However, a translator doesn't have to be certified to deliver this service. Therefore, they can render your document’s proof of accuracy themselves regardless of their credentials. Other documents that need this service include business contracts, birth, death, or marriage certificates, passports, court transcripts, and adoption agreements.

Notarized Translation Services

Notarized translation services are typically for school documents, such as a foreign diploma and school transcripts. They are similar to a certified translation, except that it focuses more on fulfilling legal formalities than verifying the accuracy of your document. In notarized translation services, your translator is responsible for translating and having your document notarized by a notary public. They swear an oath and sign an affidavit to prove their identity and state that their translation is accurate, and the material is valid. However, take note that the notary public doesn’t assess accuracy. Instead, they only assure the identity of your translator.

Private Individuals

Private individuals need online translation services for their personal correspondence, such as letters and resumes. If you want to travel or immigrate to another country, you may also need your legal documents translated online for more convenient transactions. If you’re a blogger or you have a personal website as well, you can ask for professional help so that readers from different parts of the world can read your content.

Professionals

Professionals from different industries, especially those in the medical and legal field, need online translation services for their professional documents. Usually, these documents include a lot of technical content. So these people certainly need the best online translation services available in the market to make sure everything’s translated accurately and precisely.

Business Owners

Business owners, especially those who own e-commerce companies, need translation services for their software and website. Online translation services allow these companies to expand globally, so customers of different languages can use their services comfortably. Website and software localization also enables business owners to target more market potential across the globe, which leads to their growth.

Writers and Authors

Writers and authors also need online translation services. Writers, especially those in the entertainment industry, need to have their work translated in case they cater to audiences of different cultures. Authors, on the other hand, also need to have their literary work rendered so readers can comfortably read through their work.

Manufacturers

Manufacturing companies are expanding their services overseas. Unfortunately, the language barrier prevents them from having effective communication with their potential investors, partners, and customers. However, online translation services allow these companies to translate their materials, proposals, manuals, etc. Also, some products need to have their packaging translated, and online translation services are responsible for rendering these services to manufacturers.

Step 1 : Prepare your document for translation

Ready your document that you’re planning to submit for translation. Take note of your source language, your target language, as well as your target turnaround date. Also, consider your budget you’re planning to allot for this service.

Step 2 : Choose your online translation service company

Consider the features that you need to look for when choosing an online translation service provider. Check the reviews if needed, especially the comments regarding the quality of their work, and if they comply with the demanded turnaround time.

Step 3 : Ask for a price quotation

Price quotations are usually free. Ask your chosen service provider for the estimated costs for their service. Take note of the information that you need to see in a quotation.

Step 4 : Give your service provider your document

Once you’ve decided to get the services of your chosen provider, submit an order, and upload your file so they can start working on your document.

Step 5 : Pay for your chosen service

Some companies have conditions that they will only start working on your order once you have paid. So after submitting your request, pay for it immediately so they can hand your document to their translator.

Step 6 : Check for errors upon translator's completion

After completion, your translator will immediately render your document to you, which you can download instantly. Check for errors and if your order has been fulfilled with no errors.

Step 7 : Have your document delivered in any format

If there are no revisions needed for your document, then translation service is rendered successfully. Have your document delivered in any format you wish.

A language service provider (LSP), also known as a language service company (LSC), refers to companies that offer language-related services. These services may include but are not limited to translation and localization, proofreading services, interpreting services, language instruction services, language testing, and cultural consultation.

Translation and interpretation differ from one another, although both are linguistic disciplines. Translation comes in written forms. It is a process wherein you convert a text from its source language into another target language while keeping its sense. Interpretation, on the other hand, is a translation in oral form. It’s usually involved in real-time communication situations, like in conferences or phone conversations.

Online translation companies can translate almost any type of language to cater to most needs of their clients. Some of the languages that are in-demand in the online market today include Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese, Malay, Japanese, Russian, French, German, Italian, and Indonesian.

A certified translator, as the name implies, refers to a professional translator who has received a certification from an organization, such as the American Translators Association, after passing an examination. Certified translation services, on the other hand, don’t have to be rendered by a certified translator. Any qualified translator can provide a certification of accuracy to your translated document, regardless of their credentials.

The process for translating your material differs from company-to-company. However, more often than not, online translation services work this way. Your interaction with your translation company starts when you ask them for a quotation, which is usually free. When you’ve finally decided to get the translation service, you upload the file on your provider’s website and tell them your order. Your order should include your instructions, such as the language that your document should be translated to, the document type, and your target delivery date. Some translation companies allow their clients to monitor the translation processes on separate software for more accurate rendering. After the translation, your document or material is uploaded back to you. All you need to do is download the file, or you can have them delivered if you need a hard copy, like in the cases of notarized translations.

Yes, websites and software can be translated. However, these two usually require more than just a translation. They need localization processes as well to adapt their interfaces to the culture of their end-users so that linguistic issues can be avoided.

For businesses who wish to have their website or service translated, more often than not, they need more than just translation. They need localization, a process wherein a website, software, or product is adapted to the specific needs of a market. It doesn’t only include language conversion, but it also considers cultural differences to avoid conflicts.

A quotation indicates the estimated cost of a service, and, yes, most online translation service companies offer free price quotations. Aside from the estimated price of your translation service, here are the other necessary information that a quotation should include:

Criteria where the prices were based:

Of course, when asking for a price quotation, it’s essential to know where the estimated costs come from. The criteria would also indicate the pricing arrangement that would best suit your document or material. It can either be a price per word, per page, per hour, etc.

Turnaround time demanded:

Sometimes, the turnaround time you’re requesting can affect the pricing of your service, especially when you have it rushed. So your turnaround time should also be indicated in your price quotation. Also, make sure that your LSP can comply with your demands.

Additional services included:

If you want your translated document to be edited or proofread, chances are translation companies would ask for separate fees for those services. Therefore, if you’re going to get those, your price quotation should include that as well.

Payment methods:

Payment methods available should also be included in quotations to know whether or not they are convenient for you. Some ways may not be accessible for you, so you must know this information before submitting your order.

Translation services are usually quoted based on the difficulty of the document or material to be translated. It also considers the expertise of the professional translator. Here are the most common payment arrangements that you can encounter when getting translation services.

Per-Word Pricing

Per-word pricing is the most common payment arrangement for translation services. Per-word rate can also vary greatly, depending on the technicality of the document or material’s content, as well as the language difficulty. Base price rates can start from $0.13 per word for standard content. Technical content can cost as high as $0.40 per word.

Per-Line Pricing

In some countries, especially those in Central Europe, translation service prices are usually based on the number of lines in a document. It also considers the difficulty of the target language. Rates for this kind of pricing arrangement may range from 1.50 € to 2.50 €.

Per-Page Pricing

Per-page pricing arrangement is rare compared with other pricing arrangements. This arrangement is usually for documents wherein an electronic word count is not available, such as in the case of a scanned medical record or court documents. In such cases, translation companies usually ask for $100 per page.

Per-Hour or Flat-Fee Pricing

Per-hour or flat-fee pricing is much rarer than per-page arrangements. It may be considered disadvantageous for the translator since it’s difficult to estimate the amount of effort she’s going to exert in a project. Also, for Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese (CJKV) languages, companies usually settle for flat-fee rates. Other payment arrangements won’t be fair for these languages for both you and your translator. An hourly or flat fee arrangement would depend on the volume of the text, as well as the difficulty and technical challenges of translation. Hourly rates are usually suitable for content that requires creativity, such as copywriting, as well as materials that depend on the volume of text. Per-hour or flat fee rates can range from $35 to $60.

Minimum Price

Some language service providers settle for minimum fee arrangements for projects with low volume content or any document with a maximum of 250 words. Companies prefer this type of agreement since management fees would surpass the translation fee. Rates for this arrangement is usually $25.

Customized Pricing

For projects that are too complex, and no other payment arrangement is applicable, customized pricing rates can be applied. Many factors are put into consideration when you opt for this arrangement: the content’s complexity, the source and target languages involved, the turnaround time demanded by the client, and additional services, such as proofreading and editing.

Translation services can also be classified according to the method of translation involved, and they can either be a human translation or machine translation.

Human Translation

Human translation entirely relies on human skills to translate one language to another. Human translation is far more accurate and flexible than machine translation. It also serves as the gold standard of translation services. However, this type of conversion can’t provide faster turnaround time as machine translation does. But if you’re aiming for quality, rather than the speed of service, choosing human translation services may be a better choice for you.

Machine Translation

Machine translation, on the other hand, makes use of software to convert one language to another. For people who need quick translations, this form of translation is suitable for them. However, despite having technological advancements, no machine can match the skills of a human translator. Therefore, these translations can’t be as accurate as human translation services, making these services not suitable for the content of utmost importance.

Turnaround times for online translation services may vary. It depends on the length of the document, as well as the complexity of its content. The longer and more complex it is, the longer it will take for your translator to finish. However, usually, a standard content with two pages can be finished by a translator in approximately two hours. Meanwhile, medical or legal documents, which are usually longer than standard documents, can take up to 24 to 48 hours.

Honing your skills to be a professional translator can help you find more job opportunities. Especially now that online translation services are becoming more and more in-demand nowadays, and it’s easier to be qualified for the work because of the internet. If you want to be a translator, the first thing that you must consider is to study the languages you want to work on. There are many online courses available on the internet today. It’s just a matter of choosing which you think would provide more opportunities for you, and which matches your interests. Also, you would have to consider if you’d prefer rendering services for standard content, or would you go for industry-specific translation services instead. However, learning doesn’t stop here. After filling up your credentials, you also need to update your knowledge once in a while so you can meet your clients’ needs. After educating yourself, you can start working directly as a translator. However, to get yourself more chances of landing a job, you may want to get certified. In the United States, aspiring translators can get certified by passing an exam given by the American Translators Association. This certification allows you to work on more projects since it provides your skills with the validation it needs. In choosing a company to work for, you can read employer reviews to help you choose a company. Also, you can ask your friends to refer you. Or you can put up your gig on freelancing websites if you want to work independently.

For documents that aren’t of utmost importance, such as personal letters, you can choose to get free online translation services instead. Or you can opt for free machine translators that can be found online. However, these service providers may not be able to meet all of your needs. If you have a tight budget and these free services can’t provide you your needs, there are also other options on how you can get your document or material translated. You can learn the language and translate your materials yourself. You can also ask a friend who’s knowledgeable about the language that you need and have them translate for you.

Since online translation services can’t accept cash payments, companies accept payments through debit or credit card transactions. They also accept payments via online payment platforms, where all you have to do is transfer money to your LSP.

Some LSPs allow you to cancel your orders, while others don’t. For companies who accept cancellation of orders, they would only provide you a refund, provided that your document hasn’t been handed to a translator yet. If a translator has already accepted your work, then your order can be cancelled, but no payment refund will take place.

Yes, you can always ask for revisions for your translations. However, revisions and proofreading services usually cost additional fees. Most basic translation services only provide first-hand translation with no proofreading services included. So if you want to have your translation revised, you can always do so, provided that you pay for its additional fees.