With the new LiveCode 7, we can finally "Think globally, Act Locally", which has been the catch phrase used to push businesses globally for years. Increase your revenue with a world-ready application that can be sold in more places thus potentially increasing the numbers of customers and profits. By adding native Unicode in version 7 of LiveCode, another goal of the KickStarter campaign has been fulfilled, opening the gateway to the world for your business. Here are a few ideas to think about as you start building new Apps with LiveCode:

1. Increase App Downloads
and Revenue with App
Localization and
LiveCode 7

2. Think globally, Act Locally
With the new LiveCode 7, we can finally "Think globally, Act
Locally", which has been the catch phrase used to push
businesses globally for years.

3. Increase Your Revenue
Increase your revenue with a
world-ready application that
can be sold in more places
thus potentially increasing
the numbers of customers
and profits.

4. Build For Your Global Audience
Unicode in version 7 of LiveCode, another goal of the
KickStarter campaign has been fulfilled, opening the
gateway to the world for your business. Here are a few ideas
to think about as you start building new Apps with
LiveCode:

5. Get more value out of your code
The ability to create a single code base that supports users
worldwide is a much more efficient and cost-effective way to gain a
return on your investment. With a single code base, it is easier and
less error-prone to update the product. As a result, code quality
improves. This allows for greater code reuse and can serve as the
foundation for the next version of the product.

6. Start small and grow one language at a time
There are hundreds of languages in the world – you
can't possibly cover them all. Instead of rushing to
several markets, smart developers grow organically by
using revenue growth to fund expansion into new
markets. Continue inching towards full global exposure,
adding language after language whenever prudent and
financially feasible to do so. But the goal is to think
about international users' needs up front and
incorporate them into your original designs. You will
not have to go back later and fix design issues to
enable globalization or localization after.

7. Localization is more than just language
App developers often assume that launching their product in
countries like China or Russia, just requires translating the dialog and
text into the local language. But while this is an important part of the
localization process, it's only just the start. In China and Russia, you
must also localize your product with the country's native social
network platforms. The Chinese overwhelmingly prefer local social
media products like Weibo, which are integrated into most apps in
China. The Russians prefer VKontakte, so research the local social
media market in addition to the language.

8. Gain a competitive advantage
Making your App world-ready allows your company to enter
markets more quickly and easily because it already supports
foreign languages and is primed for quick turnaround in
localization. Your company and product becomes more agile in
seizing emerging opportunities. Furthermore, by using the
savings realized from efficient development and reduced
localization and testing costs, you can gain even greater
advantage over your competition by expanding the language
footprint of your product(s). Also many global companies
ONLY use software that is multi language enabled because
their businesses demand it.

9. There is an App for that
There are several Apps that can help you manage
your translations. The most common format is PO
files (Portable Object files) , which are open
source gettext based files consisting of multiple
entries holding the relation between the original
untranslated strings and their corresponding
translations. You can download POEdit or even use
an online web service POEditor.

10. Never trust automatic translations
Think of taking a shortcut and using Google Translate? Translation
software makes instant understanding of any language possible, but
the quality of such text is often highly questionable, particularly
when larger chunks are entered into the translation module. While
automatic translations might be good enough for basic
understanding of web pages, your app interface will require a much
deeper understanding.

11. Never trust automatic translations cont..
It makes sense to hire a professional translator, preferably native or someone
with direct experience of the culture for the market you wish to target. Please
don't think about pinching pennies on app localization, you will just alienate
your potential customers and create negative buzz. Here are some resources to
get started:
Tethras
Applingua
GetLocalization.com
Babble-on
OneSky

12. Use Local Keywords in Marketing
If you know how to perform keyword research in general,
you follow pretty much the same process when optimizing
keywords in other languages. Remember merely
translating English keywords into the local language might
miss the cultural factor. Using a translation service agency
is recommended to have the cultural nuances figured out.
Also, use local search engines to advertise and not just
Google. Although Google is dominant in the US and many
other countries, it does not have a similar market share
across the
globe. Baidu [China], Naver [Korea], Yahoo![Japan]
and Yandex [Russia] are amongst the other top search
engines that are popular in their respective countries.

13. Many App Stores for Many Purposes
Western developers are accustomed to working with a handful of app stores,
but once again, things are different in markets like China. There are app stores
for specific cities and provinces and app stores for specific demographic
markets. A good place to start would be 10 App Stores in China You Really Ought
to Be On.

14. Say Hello To LiveCode 7