Software Localization Services for SaaS, Desktop, and Enterprise Applications

Continuous Localization for SaaS — Integrating with Your CI/CD Pipeline

Modern SaaS products cannot use traditional batch localization — code deploys happen daily, new strings appear in every sprint, and international users cannot wait for a quarterly localization release cycle. Continuous localization integrates translation directly into the development pipeline.

The continuous localization workflow:

• Developer commits new strings. Developers push code containing new or updated UI strings to the repository (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket).
• TMS connector detects changes. A TMS integration (Crowdin GitHub Action, Lokalise GitHub integration, Phrase CI, Transifex CLI) automatically detects new or changed strings and pushes them to the TMS for translation.
• TheWordPoint translates new strings. String batches are translated by native-speaker linguists within the agreed SLA — typically 24–48 hours for small sprint batches, longer for larger releases.
• Translated strings return to the repository. The TMS automatically pulls translated strings back into the repository. The next build includes localized strings for all configured locales.
• TMS platforms TheWordPoint works with: Crowdin · Lokalise · Phrase (formerly Memsource) · Transifex · POEditor · Weblate · Smartling · XTM · Lionbridge TMS
• TheWordPoint integrates into your existing TMS — no workflow change required for your development team. If you do not have a TMS, we can advise on which platform is appropriate for your product's scale and tech stack.

How Software Localizing Process Works

Localizing software is not like translating and localizing a blog post. It is a complex process with many layers. It usually begins with a graphic user interface (aka GUI). These elements include such things as menus, links, visual and audio elements, dates, times, currencies, if applicable – all of those things that’ll make the user experience fast, efficient, enjoyable. When these elements include necessary changes in the back-end architecture, assigned developer makes those changes, working closely with a language expert.

The next stage of software localization and translation relates to all the content that the user experiences up-front, not related to GUI. For example, there will be a certain amount of text on each page, perhaps video script translations, maybe blog posts on a website, or interactive elements on an app. All of this text must be accurately and appropriately translated. Again, our services use only native translators and guarantee that all textual content will be perfect for your target audience.

We Use Two Processes – Agile and DevOps – Your Choice

Unlike other software localization and translation agencies, we want to give our clients as much control over software localization and localization process as possible. There are two processes our services use, someone stand-alone and sometimes in combination. We’ll usually make a recommendation based on the specifics of your software. Here’s a brief explanation:

• Agile: Agile development divides a project into smaller chunks, and sets deadlines for each of those chunks to be completed. The client receives each chunk as completed, with a full explanation of what was done. Client then approves of what was done before we move forward.
• DevOps: This approach is more comprehensive with developers, IT teams, and localization specialists all working in tandem. The beauty of this approach is that testing results occur all at once, bugs are identified, and fixes can be put into place for a perfect end product., as well as meeting client deadlines for the entire project. That entire project is delivered as a whole.

Again, our services have expertise to recommend either one or another or a combination, once we have evaluated scope of your project.

Locale Adaptation — Date, Number, Currency, and Address Formatting

A localized software product feels native to its users — and that means getting locale-specific formatting right, not just translating text. Users in different countries have strong expectations about how dates, numbers, and addresses appear. A SaaS product that displays "12/05/2025" without locale context is ambiguous to European users who expect DD/MM/YYYY — and reads as December 5 to US users but May 12 to German users.

Key locale formatting standards:

Date formats:

• US: MM/DD/YYYY (12/05/2025)
• Germany, France, most EU: DD.MM.YYYY or DD/MM/YYYY (05.12.2025)
• ISO 8601 international: YYYY-MM-DD (2025-12-05)
• Japan: YYYY年MM月DD日

Number formats:

• US/UK: 1,234.56 (comma thousands separator, period decimal)
• Germany, France, most EU: 1.234,56 (period thousands separator, comma decimal)
• Switzerland: 1'234.56 or 1 234,56 (space separator)

Currency display:

• US: $1,234.56 (symbol before, comma thousands)
• EU: 1.234,56 € (symbol after, comma decimal, period thousands)
• Japan: ¥1,234 (symbol before, no decimal)

Name order:

• Western convention: Given name → Family name (John Smith)
• East Asian convention: Family name → Given name (Smith John in Chinese: 史密斯·约翰)

Address formats: Street number and name order, postal code position, and region/state label differ significantly across countries — software address forms must adapt field labels and field order for each locale's postal conventions.

TheWordPoint uses the CLDR (Unicode Common Locale Data Repository) as the authoritative reference for locale-specific formatting standards — the same source used by most major software frameworks for i18n implementation.

RTL Software Localization — Arabic, Hebrew, and Farsi

Right-to-left (RTL) language localization requires more than translating strings — it requires adapting the entire UI layout to read in the opposite direction.

What RTL localization involves:

UI mirroring: The complete UI layout is mirrored — navigation panels move from left to right, breadcrumbs flow right to left, progress indicators advance from right to left, and icon placement is reversed. Modal dialogs, dropdown menus, and form layouts all reverse their spatial logic.

Bidirectionality (bidi) handling: Text that mixes RTL language content with LTR content — numbers, URLs, code snippets, English product names — requires Unicode bidi control characters to ensure correct rendering. Incorrect bidi implementation produces garbled text direction in mixed-content strings.

Text expansion: Arabic text is typically 20-30% shorter than equivalent English text; Hebrew is similar. UI containers designed for English text may appear with excessive whitespace in Arabic or Hebrew — the opposite of the text expansion problem for European languages, but equally requiring layout review.

Font and typography: RTL languages use different font families (Arabic Naskh, Arabic Kufi for Arabic; Hebrew typefaces). Font size calibration differs from Latin script fonts at equivalent point sizes.

Form and input fields: Input direction, placeholder text alignment, and text-alignment CSS properties must all be configured for RTL presentation.

TheWordPoint's RTL software localization includes translation by native-speaker linguists AND UI layout review — verifying that the localized interface renders correctly in the RTL context, not just that the strings are linguistically accurate.

Software Products We Localize

SaaS platforms (B2B and B2C) Web application UI strings, onboarding flows, feature copy, subscription and billing interface, settings and configuration screens, notification templates, and API documentation. Continuous localization via TMS integration for products with frequent release cycles.

Desktop and native applications. Windows (.resx, .NET resource files), macOS (iOS .strings and .stringsdict for Catalyst apps), Linux (GNU gettext .po files) application UI localization. Installation wizards, system tray menus, preferences panels, and keyboard shortcut naming conventions adapted for each locale.

Enterprise software. ERP, CRM, HRIS, SAP, Oracle, Salesforce, and custom enterprise platform localization. Complex workflow interface text, process documentation, report labels, and user role descriptions. Often involves coordination with enterprise software vendor localization programs.

Developer tools and cloud platforms. CLI tool help text, SDK documentation, API reference documentation, developer portal content, error messages and stack trace descriptions. Requires translators with software engineering background who understand technical documentation conventions.

E-commerce and retail software. Product catalog interface, checkout flow, payment method descriptions, shipping and returns copy, customer account interface, and transactional email templates. Market-specific payment method terminology (SEPA for EU, Pix for Brazil, UPI for India).

Fintech and financial software. Payment platform interface, investment and trading platform UI, banking software copy, regulatory disclosure text, and financial product descriptions. Translators with financial services domain knowledge for regulated financial software.

Healthcare software. Electronic health record (EHR) system UI, patient portal interface, clinical workflow text, and medical device software. Translators with healthcare/clinical background. Regulatory compliance awareness for FDA-regulated software (SaMD — Software as a Medical Device).

Help documentation and knowledge base. User guides, help center articles, release notes, in-app tooltips, FAQ content, and error message documentation — localized with consistent terminology matching the product UI. → Technical Manuals Translation

How Software Localization Works at TheWordPoint

• i18n readiness assessment (if needed). For products new to localization: assessment of string externalization, encoding, and locale-formatting implementation. Recommendations for any preparatory engineering before localization begins.
• Content audit and scope confirmation. All localizable content identified: UI strings, help docs, notifications, marketing copy, locale format values. Target locales confirmed.
• TMS setup or file submission. Configure TMS integration (Crowdin, Lokalise, Phrase, Transifex, or other) for continuous localization, or submit files directly at thewordpoint.com/business-free-quote.
• Product glossary and TM initialization. Product-specific termbase created. Existing TM from previous releases or related products integrated. Glossary enforced in CAT tool.
• Translation, locale formatting, and RTL review. UI strings translated by native-speaker software localization specialists. Locale format values adapted per CLDR. RTL UI layout reviewed for Arabic/Hebrew/Farsi.
• In-context QA and delivery. Linguistic QA in the actual UI. Translated files delivered in source format for direct repository integration. TM updated for all future releases.

Reviewed and updated  on September 1, 2026 by

Christakis Christodoulou