In order to effectively establish and maintain your online presence in Thailand, you must have your Web site fully "globalized." While the term "globalization" has many definitions outside of the translation services industry, inside the industry it refers to the basic process of creating a Web site that functions in any market in the world.

Not every translation company is equipped to perform Thai Web site translation, with its many complexities. Specifically, when searching for a company to translate your Web site into Thai, you should investigate their capabilities in the following areas:

1. Thai Web Site Translators

Thai Web site translation projects should be executed by professional, native-speaking Web site translators who specialize in the specific professional and technical areas of your company. They should be experienced with issues related to Web site translation in particular, such as proper translation of text in links, graphics, and optimizing text for search engines.

2. Thai Web Site File Formats

Depending on their complexity, Thai Web site translation projects may involve many different file formats. Your Web site translation company should have the capability to translate text from such source files as HTML/XML, Web-driven application files, applets, database servers, CGI scripts, Java scripts, graphic files, ASP files, or FLASH files. You may be required to supply these files for translation by email or on a CD-ROM, by uploading to an FTP server, or by giving the translation company access to your Web site via login and password.

3. Thai Web Site Terminology Management

Thai Web site translators should utilize translation memory tools such as Trados to translate the text strings that have been externalized from the various file formats, resulting in client-specific glossaries and terminology databases. The valuable data contained in the translation memories, which becomes the proprietary property of the client, ensures consistent translations and efficient updates to Thai Web sites.