A customer types "certified Spanish translation" into their phone one evening. Tomorrow morning they have to hand a diploma and a birth certificate to an office. Three agencies show up. One website doesn't say which languages it covers. Another doesn't explain how to send a document. The third is little more than a phone number. The customer picks whichever one is clearest.
You have probably done good work for years, but your website may not show it. In this article I explain what a translation agency website needs to say plainly, what earns a client's trust, and what to ask for from whoever builds the site. I don't cover legal details here; for those, check with the relevant professional association or the authorities in your country.
What does a visitor look for first?
People who order translations are usually in a hurry. They know they need a document translated and roughly who it is for, but they don't know how the process works. So in the first ten seconds they want answers to three questions:
- Do you work in my language and with my type of document?
- How do I send the document, and when will I get it back?
- Is it safe to hand my document to this agency?
At the top of your home page, skip a vague line like "professional language solutions." Write something concrete, such as "Document and text translation between English, German, Arabic and Russian, including certified translation." When visitors see their own language there, they stay.
State languages and subject areas clearly
Translation websites tend to make one of two mistakes. Some never list their languages. Others list hundreds and lose credibility. It works better to name the languages you really cover and to be honest about the ones you don't.
There are two angles: language and subject area. Describe the language pair (for example English to German and back) together with the field (legal, medical, technical, academic, marketing). Giving each major language pair its own page helps match you to what customers type. Someone searching for "German translation" lands on a page meant for them instead of getting lost on one page titled "Languages."
A small table keeps things tidy:
| Language pair | Fields I work in | Certified translation |
|---|---|---|
| English and Spanish | Legal, medical, academic, general | Yes |
| English and German | Technical, business, official documents | Yes |
| Other languages | On request | Depends |
Fill in the table with your real situation. Listing work you can't deliver only brings complaints later.
Explain certified translation in plain words
Most customers don't know the difference between a certified, sworn or notarized translation. They shouldn't have to. But your site should explain it in a few calm sentences: which documents usually need it, what is needed to get it done, and whether you need the original or a copy.
There is one limit. Which authority asks for which document, and in what form, can change. A fixed statement on your site may be wrong next year. A better and more honest approach is to say: "Please ask the office that requested the document what they need; send it to me and we will work out the right type of translation together." For binding answers, the receiving authority and a legal professional are the source.
Make sending documents and getting a quote easy
This is where agencies lose the most customers. Someone who wants a document translated doesn't want to play phone tag to get a quote. Many people simply want to snap a photo of the document and send it at once.
A good quote request form asks these questions and no more:
- Which language into which language?
- What kind of document is it (diploma, contract, report, brochure)?
- Is a certified translation needed?
- What is the deadline?
- A place to upload a photo or file of the document.
You can work out page counts and word counts yourself once you see the document. Every extra field makes more people give up halfway. Add a phone number and a messaging app link next to the form; some customers prefer a message to a form. The key is to keep the form short and clear.
Privacy and turnaround build confidence
Translated documents often contain identity details, medical records, court papers or business contracts. Customers wonder who will see their files. A short, plain section called "How your documents are protected" helps: who sees the documents, what happens to them after the job, and the confidentiality obligations of your translators. Check your legal obligations around personal data with a lawyer and write the text on your site accordingly.
For turnaround, instead of quoting numbers, explain what decides it: page count, language pair, difficulty, and whether certification is required. The most honest answer to "how many days?" comes with the quote, after you have seen the document. If you offer a rush option, say so clearly.
If your site has several languages, it must be flawless
On a translation agency's website, even one typo stands out. The customer thinks: if they slip on their own site, they will slip on my document. If your site is published in more than one language, a native speaker of each language should read that text. A page produced by machine translation is the biggest reputation risk in this trade.
Pages in other languages are also the way to reach customers who search in those languages. Someone living abroad who needs something done in your country will contact you if they find a page written in their own language. So treat each language as an independent page written for its readers, not as a translated copy. Offer the language choice by name, in a visible spot, not just with a flag icon.
Frequently asked questions
Should I list prices on the site?
Translation prices depend on the language pair, document type and page count, so a fixed list is often misleading. Keep the path to "send the document for a quote" clear and quick instead. Whether to show prices is your call; what matters is not making it hard to get a quote.
Should I show client names or references?
Because of confidentiality, naming clients is usually not appropriate. Describe the sectors you work with and how your process runs instead. If you use testimonials, you need the author's clear permission.
Should my site be available in other languages?
If you work with international clients, yes. But a half-finished, error-filled or machine-translated page is worse than none. A few languages done well beat many done badly.
Conclusion
A translation agency's website is its first writing sample: clear, free of errors and trustworthy. List languages and subject areas plainly, make sending documents easy, and be honest about privacy and timing. If you would like to plan a site like this for your agency, you can reach me through my website design page.