Setting up a Personalized, Time-Saving Localization Process
In 2018, over 70 million shoppers from 120 countries started their hunt for the latest fashion on Lyst. From their startup beginnings in the UK, the company rapidly expanded into 14 markets and is now available in 8 languages (English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Russian, and Japanese).
This growth was feasible only with a localization solution that integrated perfectly with their platform that is built on Python and React. Thanks to Phrase Strings—the all-in-one, web-based localization system—Lyst sets new content in all 8 languages live in just 1 minute, saving 48 hours of engineering time for each new feature release.
Results
- 48 hours of developer’s time saved for every feature release
- Content in 8 languages is live within 1 minute
- Streamlined organization and collaboration of 14 freelance translators
Lyst by the numbers
Challenge
Supporting a large localization task
After initial success in the UK market, Lyst launched an ambitious strategy for international expansion. They shortlisted markets and languages that promised to be the most profitable and started localization. However, their first attempts at deploying new content in new languages took 72 hours, which was far too long for the team reach their bold expansion goals.
With such a large localization task in front of them, Lyst finally decided to increase their chances of success by utilizing a software localization platform right from the get-go. They scouted for an agile platform that was quick to implement and would adapt perfectly to their existing processes. Perhaps most importantly, the tool had to be easy to use for their 14 freelance translators. The team saw a huge opportunity to speed up their release cycles and streamline their workflow with the right localization solution.
Solution
Localization in an agile environment
Phrase Strings quickly became Lyst’s first choice to set up their localization process. It’s just the right tool to support their agile work environment. Subsequently, Lyst set up a localization team of two engineers and a localization manager who also acts as a product manager for all their international sites.
Every two weeks, the team meets to set the tasks and priorities to deliver the most impactful features on the international sites. With the help of Phrase Strings, their sprints have transformed into a highly personalized localization workflow that uses their resources in the best way.
Furthermore, working with 14 freelance translators became a breeze thanks to Phrase Strings’ powerful collaboration features. The translators now even proofread each others’ translations throughout the process to make sure that the copy is the best possible at the end of the workflow.
Lyst has now designed a process where Phrase allows us to have the content ready on our sites within 1 minute since the translators add or update their translations. We are saving an average of 48 hours on engineering time, each time we deploy a new feature.
Benefits
Time-savings for the localization team
Phrase Strings’ all-in-one solution has set up Lyst’s localization process for success right from the start. On average, the team translates and deploys 500 keys per language per month, a total of 70,000 words, at lightning speed.
In addition to a highly personalized localization workflow, Lyst benefits from the best translation quality. Their translators can now improve each others’ translations easily within Phrase Strings and act as the final quality control.
Thanks to Phrase Strings, Lyst can react quickly to changing customer demands, stay agile, and be highly efficient with its resources. As they expand to more markets, they are doing so with a perfectly bespoke setup that works best for them.
Features used