France is known for its strong cultural background of art, literature and architecture. But beyond that it’s also known as one of the more romantic countries and for its attitude to free-living and love. France is one of the central-western European countries and shares borders with Spain, Germany, Italy and Belgium, among others. The country’s population is around 67 million making it a great reason to translate English to French on your website.
What’s even more important to note is that French is not just spoken here. France has a number of overseas territories such as French Guiana in South America as well as islands in the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic oceans. French is also widely spoken in the country’s old colonies mainly in Africa as well as in some regions of Canada. Although most of the people living in these areas can understand some English, the French are very proud of their own language. This is why it’s important to read on to see why you should team up with Topcontent to translate your site.
The Online and E-Commerce market of France
Before we continue on to our translation services, let’s take a look at France itself. Here are a few important facts about this romantic country:
- Capital: Paris
- Official languages: French
- Population: 67,022,000
- Area: 640, 679 km2
- Currency: Euro
- Date format: dd/mm/yyyy
- GDP (PPP) per capita: $47,223
- Weather: Four seasons with warm summers, mild spring and autumn and cold winters. Seasons are roughly equal.
- Culture and interests: France has been the centre of cultural development in the West for centuries with art, architecture and literature being its top focuses. To this day the French are proud of their cultural tradition.
From the above information we can see some very important things. France has a relatively high GDP per capita, which is spread across a wide area, but also a large population. It’s important to note too that French is the official language in 29 countries, with 73 million people considering themselves to be native speakers and an additional 338 million speaking it as a second language. If you are looking to create properly localised content, then French translation is a must-have.
Why you should translate from English to French
Although many French speakers can speak English, a large number prefer not to. French is actually the tenth most widely spoken language, so if you want to really reach a larger French market, translating your content to French is almost a necessity.
Being visible to the local audience
When it comes to being successful online, part of the magic comes from knowing what Google wants. And Google wants to keep its users happy. They do this by showing search results that users want to see. This includes putting local results in that user’s native language high up on the successful search results. If you want your website to be found on the local Google, google.fr, then you need to have search terms and content in French. It’s that simple. If you test this out yourself using Google.co.uk, you won’t find results in French no matter how far you scroll. Essentially, your English site is invisible to French users.
Get traffic from French keywords
Following on from this, French users are not going to be typing in English search terms, they will be using French keywords. If you translate your site from English to French you are then likely to rank higher on Google’s search engines, putting you in the view of those French users you’re looking for. With an English site, you’re missing out on millions of French users who all use French keywords and search terms. An easy translation from English to French will mean that your traffic will increase dramatically as you are now suddenly visible to French internet users when they search.
Acquire natural links from France
When it comes to SEO, one thing that you need is natural links – this is how things will get better for your site and its traffic. Backlinks from other known and relevant websites to your site can result in better search engine rankings. However, French webmasters are generally more likely to link only to other sites in French language – so not translating your site might cost you a lot of crucial backlinks.
Increased trust translating to increased conversion
As you will know from working in the marketing industry, getting traffic is just the first step, keeping it and encouraging loyal customers is the hard part. By translating your site from English to French, you can convert visiting customers into paying ones. This is because trust is very important when it comes to a customer choosing whether or not they will buy something from your site. Having selling content in French on your site is much more likely to make a French consumer trust your site over a website just in English. In this way you will get higher conversion rates on any traffic that you get from France or other French speaking countries.
Better ROI for your French advertising
However, even just getting organic traffic through your SEO is not the final word in online marketing. There are a number of additional aspects you need to consider. These include things like having a good marketing and advertising campaign, which most of you probably already have. By translating your site from English to French you will be able to increase those all-important conversion rates and therefore improve your return on investment (ROI). Subsequently, your advertising success will improve. What does this mean? Well, you’ll be getting more money back from the investments you’ve made in advertising and that’s something you don’t want to pass up.
Better Adwords Quality Score
One of the features Google’s plethora for search engine functionality, is their Google Adwords auction system. This feature looks at the quality of Adwords on your site and determines how much you should be paying for that ad to be displayed. By improving the Quality Score (essentially you use better words), you will have to pay Google less in the long run. Basically there is a bounce rate that is factored into the quality score you are given. What is really great is that your bounce rate is lowered when you translate your site from English into French.
Fewer than 40% of French speakers speak English
As we have already mentioned, French is the only nationally recognised language in France. With 29 French-speaking countries in total, there are a fair few millions who speak French as their mother tongue, and an even larger proportion of people who speak French as a second language. Despite this, in France it appears that around 39% of the population can actually speak English. This goes a long way to demonstrate that even if your English site was available to French searches, most people wouldn’t stick around on it as they wouldn’t be able to understand it. By translating your site, you can reach the vast majority of French speakers.
Reach a wider audience
Of course we know that setting up a business is a hard, time-consuming process. There is also the issue of needing to have a product you can sell. Be it banking, marketing, websites, software, suppliers and employees, getting all of this together in a functioning platform can be tiring. Adding translation to what appears to be a never-ending list of things to do can be daunting, but it can really help to give you higher returns on all the effort you have put in to creating your platform. By translating your site from English to French through Topcontent, we do all the work for you to be able to reach a larger audience.
How a translation from English to French is done with Topcontent
With all those important benefits for translating your website into French, it’s now time to see exactly how easy it is to do so.
Step 1: Preparing the original text
The first part of getting your translation from English to French completed with us is to have your source text in a single file format. By having this file as a separate document, it’s a simple process to send it on to us as is. If you have web-based text, all you need to do is export it in a document or connect your site to our system using our integration tools.
Integration options
We have a total of three different ways you can connect your website to our translation service:
- WPML which needs WordPress
- Polylang and our WordPress plugin
- Connecting via API
For those of you that do not have a WordPress website, it will then be necessary to put some of your technical skills into action! You will need to connect via API so that we can help export the content. Simply contact us for help on this.
Step 2: Translators perform phase one
Once we have the English text that you would like us to translate, we will then upload the content into our web-based translation system. We have a large pool of French translators who will then access the text and start translating it from English into French. It’s really that easy. All you have to do is sit back and wait for us to do our magic.
Step 3: Proofread and quality check
Once parts of the text have been translated, the work is then sent on to a group of proofreaders who are also native French speakers. In some cases we will take the checking stage to a third level – this is for quality checking. At any of these stages, if there are any mistakes found, the text will get sent back to the translator for them to make any necessary corrections.
Step 4: Delivery
Once the proofreaders complete their checking, the translation is sent to you. For anyone using our integration software, the translations will arrive on a continuous basis as they are completed. For those who sent files for translation, you will receive the translated document in the same file format, just in French not English. Feedback is always appreciated so we can improve.
How much does it cost to translate from English to French?
The way we calculate our English to French translation rate is based on the number of words you wish to have translated, so you will be charged a fixed price per word. This is considered standard practice when translating between western languages where both are using Latin character sets, which is the case for both French and English. The final price per word can vary depending on a number of different factors which include:
- How complicated the topic is
- Number of words (discounts given for larger volumes)
- Project urgency
For instance, if your translation request is urgent and needs a faster than usual turnaround, the cost will be higher per word. Similarly, if the content and topic is rather more difficult or specialised, the price can be higher too. However, large orders such as those over 100,000 words are subject to discounted rates.
Example of a translation cost from English to French
In order to keep it totally clear and transparent on how much an English to French translation request would cost you, we have set up a number of examples for both small and larger translation requests with details of the cost per word. This example demonstrates how much it would cost for standard quality. As you can see here, the final price is based only on the number of words, so the more text you order, the more you pay. The price per word however, stays exactly the same.
| Quality: Standard Quality | Quality: Standard Quality | |
| Deadline: No urgency, 1-2 weeks | Deadline: No urgency, 1-2 weeks | |
| Amount of words: 1600 | Amount of words: 22 000 | |
| Price per word: 0.10 euros | Price per word: 0.10 euros | |
| Calculation: 1600 * 0.10 = 160 euros | Calculation: 22 000 * 0.10 = 2200 euros |
How do you count words in French?
As we’ve mentioned, all Topcontent prices are based on the word count of the original English document. This word count will include everything in the text that needs to be translated, and includes things such as:
- Headings
- Tables
- Quotes
- Citations
- Lists and so on
In addition, we can translate HTML documents and programming codes. However, the code aspects of the document will not be counted as words as they will not actually be translated and will be left as they were. In terms of counting, one word is deemed to be a set of characters, numbers or symbols that are separated from each other by a single space within the document. Prior to sending any translation task through our translation system to our native French speaking translators, the specific word count of the document will be counted. When you send us this document, you can send it in any format from .doc or .xslx. Don’t forget that the word count is based on the original language, in this instance, English. Therefore you will always know the cost before starting the translation project.
Formal differences between English and French
Although English has borrowed many words from the French language, they are not really that similar. The languages do stem from different influences with French being a romantic language with elements of English, and English being of Germanic origin but with French influence. This leads to different grammar rules:
- English and French have hundreds of false cognates – words that look the same but mean different things
- French uses a lot of accents/English only accents foreign words
- French has different conjunctions for each grammatical person/in English it’s only different from third person singular
- Articles are more common in French than English
Why you should use a native speaker to translate English to French
As we touched upon, there are a number of bilingual French people. There are French speakers around the world who live in countries where English is also a necessity. Therefore, when translating English to French, we have found it imperative to ensure that we use native French speakers. The translation quality is always higher if the translator speaks the target language as their first language. This is because they will be able to put a more nuanced, and colloquial, spin on things. During our translation process, we ensure that our translations from English to French are only done by French translators that speak French as a first language.
Common mistakes translating from English to French
One of the most common mistakes in English to French translation is the word order. While some sentence structure is similar between the two languages, not all of it is. French has a much more regulated word order specifically when it comes to things such as adjectives. In English, the adjectives come before the noun, in French the adjectives are placed after. Because of this, direct translations sound unnatural and read non-native. This is a common error made by non-professional translators who are more likely to keep the same word order as the English text. Professional or native speakers, will change the word order so that it fits French grammatical structures and therefore reads naturally.
How length of text differs between English and French
The words and length of text that comes out after an English to French translation can vary a lot. In general, French is a longer language than English. In fact it can be as much as 15-20% longer. With this in mind, again this is a reason to have a professional translator as they will be able to create a shorter text (especially if this is for SEO content) while prioritising the important message that you want to get across. Part of the reason for this added length is in the number of pronouns and articles used in the French language compared to their minimal use in English.
| English – 24 words | French – 29 words |
| The casino offers over 1000 different games, including a big selection of mobile supported versions, so finding your favorite game is easier than ever. | Le casino propose plus de 1000 jeux différents, y compris une grande sélection de jeux compatibles sur smartphone. Trouver votre jeu favori est devenu encore plus simple que jamais. |
Most common terms translated from English to French
We’ve now provided you with a lot of information about how we translate English to French. Hopefully the benefits of having this translation completed by a native French freelance translator at Topcontent are clear. To start you on your way with your translations, here are some of the most common English terms used in online businesses and their French translation:
| EN | FR | EN | FR |
| About us | A propos de nous | Online casino | Casino en ligne |
| Add to cart | Ajouter au panier | Privacy policy | Politique de confidentialité |
| Book now | Réservez maintenant | Read more | Lire la suite |
| Campaigns | Promotions | Register | Enregistrement |
| Contact us | Nous contacter | Sale | Solde |
| Customer service | Service client | Create an account | Créer un compte |
| Free spin | Jeux gratuits | Slot games | Jeux des fentes |
| Homepage | Accueil | Table game | Jeux de table |
| Limited time only! | Temps limité | Terms and conditions | Conditions générales |
| Live casino | Casino live | Unsubscribe | Se désabonner |
How to calculate ROI on translations from English to French
Deciding whether or not to translate your website from English to French is purely a business decision. The only reason for translation is when it makes financial sense. We’ve listed numerous reasons above as to the many benefits to translating, not to mention that getting ROI for translating from English to French is incredibly easy. If you would like help in calculating the exact ROI for your business, we can assist you. Contact us now to find out more about calculating ROI.
Translate English to French now!
Translating your site from English to French can help dramatically grow your online business. Doing so will help you get ahead of your competitors and provide a much better user experience for any customers that come to your site. As a result you will get more traffic to your site and therefore more conversions and a better standing on Google. This is especially important as the French language is spoken by so many and on such a global scale.
When you decide to translate your website into French, look to Topcontent as your translation partner. We understand the business aspects of translating, the need for ROI, and, to top it off, we’re experts at translating. We offer professional native translators, an efficient working process and an easy-to-use pricing system. All of this ensures you get top quality English to French translations and can make an impact on the French market. Don’t hesitate to read more about our translation services.