Localisation testing
We check that your software works in each language, region and culture you sell to: translations, date and currency formats, character sets and right-to-left layouts.
What we check per locale
- LanguageAccurate, natural, in context
- FormatsDates, numbers, currency
- LayoutLong text and RTL
- CultureImages, colours, symbols
What is localisation testing?
Localisation testing verifies that software has been correctly adapted for a specific locale, region or culture.
It goes beyond translation. It checks the whole experience: linguistic accuracy and cultural fit, date formats, currency symbols, number separators and text direction, so the application feels native to users wherever they are.
Testing types
| Testing type | Description | Focus area |
|---|---|---|
| Linguistic testing | Translation accuracy, grammar, spelling and meaning in context. Translated text should read naturally and keep the intended message. | Translation |
| Cultural testing | Content, images, colours and symbols suit the target market and nothing is offensive or confusing there. | Cultural fit |
| Functional testing | Every feature works with localised content: form validation, search, sorting, filtering and data processing across character sets. | Functionality |
| UI/UX testing | The interface adapts: text fits its buttons, right-to-left layouts display correctly, fonts render and navigation stays clear. | Interface |
Common localisation issues
Text truncation
German and Finnish text often runs much longer than English. Buttons and labels sized for English clip or overflow.
Character encoding
Diacritics and non-Latin scripts turn into garbled characters (mojibake) when encoding is handled wrongly somewhere between database and screen.
Date and currency formats
01/02/2024 is 2 January in the US and 1 February in Europe. Currency symbols, decimal separators and digit grouping also change by region.
RTL layout breaks
Arabic, Hebrew and Persian read right to left. Icons, navigation and layouts must mirror, and mixed LTR and RTL text adds its own problems.
Language coverage
What each language group tends to break, and what we test for. Linguistic review is done by native speakers of each language.
European
German, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese and the Nordic languages. Long compound words, gendered strings, and comma decimal separators.
Asian
Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai and Indonesian. Double-byte input, line breaking without spaces, and font fallback.
Middle Eastern
Arabic, Turkish, Persian (Farsi) and Hebrew. Right-to-left layouts, the Turkish dotted and dotless i, and local calendars.
RTL languages
Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, Urdu and Pashto. Mirrored layouts, bidirectional text, and numbers inside right-to-left sentences.
Tell us your target locales and we will agree how each one is covered before testing starts. Related: functional testing and usability testing.
How BetterQA does localisation testing
We test each target locale on the real build, log every truncated label, broken character and wrong format with a screenshot, and retest once the fixes land.
Engineers who test for a living
BetterQA, founded 2018, 50+ QA engineers. People plan and run the localisation testing and report what the results mean for your release.
Bugs you can act on
Every defect we find is written up in BugBoard, our own test management tool, or in your tracker, with steps to reproduce, the expected and actual result, and the environment.
A certified process
ISO 9001 for quality management and ISO 27001:2022 for information security. See our certifications.
How an engagement works
- €20-45 per hour
- First month is a trial
- First two weeks complimentary if you are not happy
- 30 days' notice after that
Localisation testing: common questions
What is localisation testing?
Testing that software has been correctly adapted to a locale: language, cultural fit, date, number and currency formats, character sets and text direction.
What is the difference between localisation and internationalisation testing?
Internationalisation testing checks the product can support many locales at all, such as Unicode and flexible layouts. Localisation testing checks one specific locale was adapted correctly.
What are common localisation bugs?
Truncated text, garbled characters, wrong date or currency formats, untranslated strings and right-to-left layouts that do not mirror.
Do you test right-to-left languages?
Yes. We test mirrored layouts, bidirectional text and number handling for right-to-left languages such as Arabic and Hebrew.
What does it cost?
The cost depends mostly on how many locales you launch in. Our rate is €20-45 per hour. For ongoing work the first month is a trial, the first two weeks are complimentary if you are not happy, and after that it is 30 days' notice.
Ready to go global?
Tell us which markets you are launching in. We will test the build in each locale and hand you a list of what breaks, with screenshots.