Back in 2022, Wallpaper Direct made an enquiry with us and we have been working with them ever since. They wanted to localise their English eCommerce website for the French market and we have supported them through every step of the process. Their French website is now live and thriving and we even replicated the entire process for the Spanish market, read on to find out how we helped them make both sites a success.
The challenge
Wallpaper Direct is an eCommerce business selling wallpaper, as well as fabrics, curtains and bedding, online. With more than 18,000 wallpaper designs across their website and new collections regularly added, they wanted to make these products available to the French market in the target audience’s own language. Wallpaper Direct came to us without knowing how this process worked, where they needed to start and what to prioritise. Having such a large website to localise, while making sure that the site was fully optimised and competitive in the French market, appeared to be a challenge.
The process
By breaking down the project into a number of phases, the project became manageable and easier for Wallpaper Direct to understand when, how and why each step fit into the process. We started with an initial analysis of the French market. This included keyword research and competitor analysis conducted by one of our native French SEO translators. Wallpaper Direct was provided with a detailed document containing our insights and suggestions for the French site. After a back and forth discussion between us and the Wallpaper Direct team to map out the project, plan and prioritise the content, translation of the full website and the whole customer journey commenced.
Why LEaF?
Wallpaper Direct heard about LEaF Translations through word of mouth. We were recommended because of our expertise in SEO translation and website localisation, making us the perfect fit for this project. From the very beginning, we provided a personal service and worked closely with Wallpaper Direct’s marketing department to ensure a seamless process and iron out any issues without delay. Overall, it was a great team effort.
The specifics
It proved very important to us to keep track of the specifics of this project because, almost 2 years later, we would need to replicate the whole process for the Spanish market. Here is a breakdown:
- Began with a detailed initial analysis of the French market in August 2022
- Established the scope of the project, the priorities and the logistics (e.g. file transfers and file types)
- Translation commenced in May 2023
- Built up our team of French translators based on their expertise and encouraging a collaborative translation process
- CSV files were provided to us in batches using Sharepoint – we prepared, translated, proofread and checked the files before uploading them back to Sharepoint
- Collaborated with the marketing team to translate product and collection descriptions
- Repeated the process with the web development team to translate the web UI
- Translated other content on an ad hoc basis like T&Cs, leaflets, how-to guides (including video voiceover)
- By October 2023, around 500k words had been translated and the French website went live
I highly recommend LEaF for their friendly, responsive, and efficient service. If you’re looking for a translation company that will go above and beyond to meet your needs, look no further.
Suzie Carpenter, eCommerce Operations Analyst at Wallpaper Direct
The results
After the French website launched in October 2023, turnover in France increased by 71% despite the website only being online for the final quarter of the year. Turnover for France for the first full year after launch was 535% higher than prior to launch of the French website. While the statistics speak for themselves, it was also important to us that Wallpaper Direct were happy with the final product and their experience of the process from start to finish.
We didn’t stop there. Our focus then turned to new collections so we set up a monthly retainer to make sure that the French website would be kept up to date with all of the latest products. We are still taking on these translations today, ensuring that the process is as seamless as possible. In May 2024, we started the whole process again for the Spanish market. The site for Spain launched in October 2024 so we even managed to speed up the entire process the second time around.
Does this challenge sound familiar? If you want to reach new markets but you’re not sure where to start with the localisation process, get in touch with our team. Our expertise in website translation and keyword localisation means we’re perfectly placed to support this process and we will make sure it is completely personalised to your business’ needs.
