We’ve long been led to believe that English is the king on the internet. Indeed, many companies believe that they don’t need their website in multiple languages. But actually, quite the opposite is true.

While English is the number one most-used language on the web right now, it is quickly losing its prominence. Last year English use accounted for 31% of online users. Today, it accounts for 26.8%, and that percentage will continue falling as foreign use language online keeps on growing.

And the English language will soon find its ‘most used online’ crown snatched away from it by Chinese, which has grown by 1,478% in the last ten years. It’s very quickly catching up to English, and we predict it’ll be top of the internet shop within the next two years.

But what does all of this mean for online businesses? Well, research by the Common Sense Advisory Panel found that a whopping 85% of people need information in their own language before making a purchase. So you could be missing out on vital overseas sales by not translating your website.

Here’s another juicy stat: A recent EU-wide survey discovered that 9 out of 10 European internet users, if given a choice, would browse a website in their native language. And of course, this can apply to those businesses who don’t export yet, just think of the domestic market. 

Domestic markets within the UK are largely ignored, yet there are vast numbers of foreign language speakers: Punjabi, Urdu, Somali, Polish, Mandarin... the list goes on!

For more details on translating your website into multiple languages, including localisation, foreign language internet marketing and more, get in touch with a friendly Lingo-ist!

tags: foreign language internet marketing, foreign language speakers, website in multiple languages