Localisation Testing
Ensuring your software works flawlessly across languages, regions, and cultures - from right-to-left scripts to date formats and currency symbols.
What is Localisation Testing?
Localisation testing verifies that software has been correctly adapted for a specific locale, region, or culture. Unlike simple translation, localisation testing validates the entire user experience: from linguistic accuracy and cultural appropriateness to date formats, currency symbols, number separators, and text direction. It ensures your application feels native to users regardless of their location or language preference.
Testing Types
| Testing Type | Description | Focus Area |
|---|---|---|
|
Linguistic Testing
|
Validates translation accuracy, grammar, spelling, and contextual meaning. Ensures translated content reads naturally and maintains the intended message without literal translation errors. | TRANSLATION |
|
Cultural Testing
|
Verifies that content, images, colors, and symbols are culturally appropriate. Identifies potentially offensive or confusing elements for specific target markets. | CULTURAL FIT |
|
Functional Testing
|
Confirms that all features work correctly with localised content - form validation, search, sorting, filtering, and data processing across different character sets. | FUNCTIONALITY |
|
UI/UX Testing
|
Checks that the interface adapts properly: text fits within buttons, RTL layouts display correctly, fonts render properly, and navigation remains intuitive. | INTERFACE |
Common Localisation Issues
Text Truncation
German and Finnish text can be 30-40% longer than English. UI elements designed for English often clip or overflow when displaying translated content, breaking layouts.
Character Encoding
Special characters, diacritics, and non-Latin scripts display incorrectly when encoding is mishandled. UTF-8 issues cause mojibake - garbled characters that confuse users.
Date and Currency Formats
01/02/2024 means January 2nd in the US but February 1st in Europe. Currency symbols, decimal separators, and number grouping vary by region and must be tested.
RTL Layout Breaks
Arabic, Hebrew, and Persian require right-to-left text direction. Icons, navigation, and layouts must mirror correctly. Mixed LTR/RTL content creates additional complexity.
Language Coverage
European
German, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, and Nordic languages
Asian
Chinese (Simplified/Traditional), Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, Indonesian
Middle Eastern
Arabic, Turkish, Persian (Farsi), Hebrew with full RTL support
RTL Languages
Comprehensive testing for Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, Urdu, and Pashto scripts
Ready to Go Global?
Our localisation testing team ensures your software delivers a native experience in every market you target.