Factors of Usability Design for Multilingual and Multicultural Websites

Abstract

The availability and popularity of new informational mediums within the last ten to fifteen years has prompted a drastic change in the way businesses and institutions educate and interact with potential clients. The World Wide Web has made the biggest impact on clients and businesses by providing a means to create a world-wide presence. Web designers, as part of the global community, are now challenged with the task of making highly usable Websites for a world audience. This paper identifies problems regarding multilingual and multicultural usability, examines strategies for effective translation of content, and provides suggestions for designing highly usable Websites for a global audience