Translate Content Right From Your CMS Using Sitefinity

Sitefinity is preparing to release the latest version of their CMS system, Sitefinity CMS 8.1, in July 2015 which aims to make it easier to automate the content translation process when working with a translation agency.

Nowadays, companies engage with their diverse audience by using multilingual content - it helps businesses grow and break into new markets, meaning they're no longer hindered by a language difference. Sitefinity already makes it easy for businesses to manage multilingual websites and the imminent update will help to simplify the content translation process. The new translation module will allow you to integrate your website with third-party translation services as well as export/import content using the XLIFF file format which is favoured by most translation agencies). Prototype's Sitefinity consultant Jochem Bokkers is excited about these new features:

Even though the system fully supports content translation currently with an easy to understand friendly UI, it still remains a manual process to actually translate the content and put it back into the CMS. In short, with content editors often maintaining the website, but not necessarily being the ones doing the translation, no matter how friendly the UI - it remains a copy/paste process.

With the new automated translation features, this content can be automatically exported and imported, avoiding copy/paste mistakes, saving time and have the whole process of translation become part of a workflow process as well.

The time saving factor will be especially beneficial for larger enterprises who continuously update their content and have multiple languages, where batches and workflows will take over manual labor, freeing up content-editors to focus on creating content.

Integration with Translation Services

Sitefinity CMS 8.1 has partnered with translations.com and the Clay Tablet Technologies platform to help streamline the translation process. Clay Tablet aids the process by acting as a service broker between the Sitefinity CMS and the translation agency. This can save you up to 60% in turn around time by removing the manual process. If you still need to integrate with another translation service, you can still do this with an API provided by Sitefinity.

Industry standard file-formats can be used with this new feature, however Clay Tablet has also created a seamless integration process for this automated translation process. This already exists for current major CMS systems like SDL, Sitecore and now soon-to-be released Sitefinity (version 8.1 is to be expected end of summer).

The Clay Tablet product offering allows for a unified (automated) integration and introduces various user features as status dashboard and so on to help bridge the gap between content editors and translation agencies. This gives business and marketing stakeholders the insights necessary to plan campaigns.

XLIFF Support

Included in this updated CMS from Sitefinity is the ability to export content in XLIFF files. This is the file format preferred by most translation agencies and it can be sent to them for translation and then imported back into the CMS after translation.

On Page Translation

Sitefinity enables you to effortlessly translate content from one language to another as well as maintain control of the process. There are three steps that help to do this:

• Approval Workflows
• Versioning
• Revision History per Language

The CMS platform makes it really easy to perform content translations side-by-side, as well as send any webpage or content for translation with the click of a button.

Within the Sitefinity CMS, workflows (either simple one-step verification, or complex Windows Workflow Foundation workflows) are configurable for all types of content that exist within the system, allowing various stakeholders to approve content before being published live on the website. Sitefinity will allow for content being imported through automated translation to fall under the same or different workflow logic, ensuring that also this content will get approved by business stake-holders prior to becoming part of the system.

For each edit, whether it is a manual entry or automated translation Sitefinity will also apply full versioning logic, ensuring that each change within the system will be stored (per language) as a different version. This allows content editors and business stake-holders to quickly roll-back to specific previous versions of live content or work on various draft versions within the system that would not be published on the live website.

Get started with Sitefinity

Prototype has chosen Sitefinity as a partner due to their commitment to consistently improve the user experience of their program. This new feature helps to eliminate time-consuming and tedious processes, ultimately improving the experience of the user. If you want to get in touch with a Sitefinity consultant or hold a training session at your office, get in touch to get started.