Global expansion is a product problem.
Supporting multiple languages and regions affects everything from product design and content systems to release workflows and user experience. But in many companies, localization is introduced late, leading to rework, technical debt, and slower product velocity.
Most localization problems are created upstream in product decisions, not in translation. Like infrastructure, localization needs to be built into how products are designed and shipped, not added after the fact.
I’ve built localization systems at companies including Lyft, Medium, and Notion, helping product teams scale from a single language to global products.
In most cases, localization starts with little prior experience and quickly becomes a complex, cross-functional problem involving product, engineering, and external vendors.
We help product teams avoid the most common pitfalls in building globally ready products.
Product Strategy & Scope
Designing Products That Work Across Languages – how to design products that allow users to interact and create content in their own language from the start.
If you don’t read anything else in this knowledge base, be sure to read and share this with your teammates.
Which Languages Should We Target – how to prioritize languages based on user demand, market size, and product readiness.
Spanish As A Prelude To International Expansion – a fast, high-impact way to expand into international markets by supporting Spanish for US and Latin American users.
Systems & Architecture
Choosing The Right Content Management System – product, marketing and customer success all have a stake in this decision, one that is often made reactively with global accessibility as an after-thought.
Localizing AI Based Services – most services are being built on top of AI platforms. These platforms are language based and often underperform outside of English, which makes them difficult to localize compared to static assets like the UI, website and lifecycle comms.
Localizing Legacy Websites & Services – almost every company has legacy websites and services that were never developed with localization in mind. Learn how to use translation proxies and client side Javascript tools to deal with these edge cases.
Teams & Execution
Building Out A Localization Team – localization is often owned by product, especially after the initial engineering push to support it is completed. Since you probably haven’t had to manage localization before, this article explains how localization teams are typically structured and led.
Hiring Bilingual & Multilingual Staff As Leverage – while you don’t want EPD staff to be proofreading translations, they are a key resource in assessing how well your service is perceived by users. Details matter, and they will notice subtle details, quirks and other things that make the difference between a lazily translated service and something that was built with craft.
Reach Out
If localization is slowing your product roadmap or global expansion, we should talk. brian@loctechpartners.com or book an appointment for a meeting.