Almost 50,000 words and a tight deadline

Translating a website for VDL De Meeuw

The latest website translation for VDL De Meeuw proved that no assignment is too big or too complex for KDV – Language & More. The company, which specialises in modular construction in sectors including education, healthcare and housing, has been a client of ours for several years. Whereas previous projects were mainly small-scale, this one was of a completely different calibre.

A different workflow

Almost 50,000 words. That was the translation task awaiting us to translate the entire VDL De Meeuw website into French. How do you even begin? Well, we usually start by carrying out an analysis in the SDL Trados translation programme. Among other things, this tool allows you to analyse which words are repeated in a text, making the translator’s work much more efficient.

The challenge with this assignment was that the translation had to be delivered quickly, which meant the translator had to work directly in the CMS. As a result, we couldn’t conduct an analysis in Trados beforehand. That meant a slightly different workflow, but we came up with our own creative solutions.

Maintaining consistency

The translator created a glossary alongside the website translation, which ensured that – even without using Trados – we could still maintain consistency in the vocabulary. Partly because of this, the project ran very smoothly, and the translation was delivered in full in just under a month. This included revision of the translation and copywriting of the French metadata.

Smooth communication

It wasn’t just the practical approach that ensured a quick and high-quality end result; communication also went like clockwork. The project manager and translator were perfectly in sync. And once the job was fully completed, we immediately addressed any additions or amendments requested by VDL De Meeuw. For example, a few words were translated more freely to better convey the meaning and/or to improve SEO rankings, making it easier for French-speaking customers to find them.

Ever since VDL De Meeuw became a client of KDV, the collaboration has run very smoothly. The swift and high-quality completion of this project further emphasises the strength of that partnership. The French-language website has recently gone live.

With this translation into French, VDL De Meeuw is much easier for French-speaking customers to find online. Would you also like to have your website translated to expand your target audience? Let’s talk!