Location Testing: When Do You Need It?

With the increasing reach of software and apps today, the significance of conducting location-based tests is on the rise. This type of testing is crucial for confirming that an app or website performs across geographical areas, taking into consideration differences in network connections, language preferences, time zones, and regulatory standards. Such testing plays a role in enhancing customer satisfaction and fostering brand loyalty.

This article guides you through the basics of location testing—what it is, when you need to perform it, and some key parameters you need to consider like languages, cultural differences, emojis, standards, and more.

What is location testing?

Location testing involves checking a product, an application, or a website to ensure it meets the cultural standards of a particular country or region. The goal of localization is to ensure the product appears as if it was initially developed in the language of the target audience and aligns with their norms and regional distinctions. Some countries even require this as a measure. For instance, in Canada localization is compulsory in English and French, as both are the country’s official languages.

For your product to thrive on the market, it's essential to customize it for different audiences. This practice is known as globalization, often abbreviated as G11N. The abbreviation G11N represents globalization, with "11" signifying the number of letters between "G" and "N." Within globalization, internationalization (abbreviated as i18n) focuses on enhancing your products for an audience, ensuring they are versatile enough to be customized for any language, region, or culture. Localization (abbreviated as l10n), on the other hand, adapts the product for specific target markets with minimal alterations to its core features.

These days, location testing plays a critical role in helping businesses enter new markets smoothly while also improving customer satisfaction and strengthening brand loyalty—all of which lead to increased profitability. 

When should you perform location testing?

Location testing is essential whenever your software or application targets users across different geographical regions or relies on location-based functionalities. It’s best to perform location testing during the later stages of development, once core functionalities are stable, but before launch. This ensures your app performs seamlessly under diverse conditions, such as varying network speeds, regional compliance standards, and location-specific content or features. By catching issues like geolocation errors, language mismatches, or region-specific bugs early, you can deliver a reliable user experience, no matter where your audience is.

The key parameters of location testing

To perform location testing, you must consider some factors to ensure the product is culturally and functionally appropriate for the target audience. The specific needs depend on the product's domain and the localization region. Before you start, consider these parameters:

• Languages
• Units of measurement
• Payment types
• Geolocation
• Cultural differences
• Calendars
• Audio, video, and images
• Devices
• Formatting
• Emojis and smileys
• Laws and standards

A CSA Research survey of 8,709 consumers across 29 countries in Europe, Asia, North America, and South America revealed that 76% of online shoppers prefer purchasing products with information in their native language. Furthermore, 40% stated they would never buy from websites presented in other languages.

Linguistic testing

Linguistic testing is an essential part of localization. Linguistic testing identifies common translation issues, including untranslated text, grammar mistakes, and mistranslations. Additionally, it tackles localization challenges, such as inappropriate cultural references, incorrect formatting, and conversion errors in the user interface. This specialized field demands advanced expertise in translation, localization, and technology.

QA teams don't handle translation accuracy but ensure correct display on the user interface. Localization affects the UI layout, since translated text often expands, requiring adjustments in UI elements. Developers should design interfaces to accommodate these changes, while localization teams should minimize unnecessary alterations.

Additionally, font sizes can vary by language, especially in East Asian languages, leading to larger vertical spacing. Bidirectional languages like Arabic and Hebrew need mirrored layouts to match right-to-left reading order, affecting menus, text, dialogs, and input fields.

Here are four key language parameters to consider during testing:

• Writing direction. Be aware of different writing directions: left-to-right (LTR), right-to-left (RTL) for languages like Arabic and Hebrew, and vertical for Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.
• Line break rules. Different languages have unique line-break rules. Some languages don't allow breaks, requiring text to fit within a line without splitting.
• Text expansion. Languages vary in text length. For example, Scandinavian languages often have longer words. This can affect UI design, making adaptability crucial.
• National symbols and sorting. Ensure national symbols, or Umlaut (diaeresis mark), are correctly sorted according to the alphabet, not placed at the end.

Localization is more than just translation

Ideally, translation and its testing are handled by a translator, not a tester. Translators, especially native speakers, ensure the translation is accurate and culturally appropriate. Testers should still be aware of translation details. Translation is crucial in software localization. It must be clear, natural, and culturally relevant. This includes symbols, punctuation, formatting, and typography. Common UI elements like headings, menus, dialogs, buttons, messages, and tooltips, as well as help files and user manuals, require careful translation.

Translations can vary based on context. For example, some English words may have only one translation in another language. Adjectives and articles may change based on the noun's gender, which can be challenging when interpolating nouns in strings. Different countries may use different words for the same object. For example, "mobile phone" is "móvil" in Spain and "celular" in Mexico, Colombia, and Argentina. If one translation is acceptable for all locales, it should be used.

To avoid inconsistencies, localized text and graphics should not reflect geopolitical views.  If the product's views offend the target market, it may affect sales or have legal consequences, requiring changes. For politically sensitive topics, it is better to consult a geopolitical expert. By considering these parameters, you can ensure your application is well-prepared for localization.

Variety and complexity of formats

Measurement units, currencies, postal addresses, and phone numbers vary by country. Localizing software for an international audience requires using the correct format for each region.

• Measurement systems. Most countries use the metric system, but the US, Myanmar, and Liberia use traditional units. The UK uses both metric and imperial units.
• Currencies. There are about 150 different currencies worldwide. Each country uses its own for transactions and includes regional formatting for currency (e.g., $1,000.00 in the U.S., but 1.000,00 € in Germany). It’s essential to use culturally familiar separators for large numbers, such as commas or periods, to ensure clarity and alignment with local practices.
• Postal codes. Formats differ globally. For example, the US uses a five-digit format (e.g. 90210), while the UK uses a combination of letters and numbers (e.g. SW1A 1AA). Canada also uses a mix of letters and numbers (e.g. K1A 0B1), whereas Japan uses a seven-digit numeric format (e.g. 100-0001)
• Phone numbers. These vary by country, not only in national codes and digit counts but also in separators. For example:
  • United States: (123) 456-7890
  • United Kingdom: 020 1234 5678
  • Germany: 030 1234567
  • Japan: 03-1234-5678
  • France: 01 23 45 67 89

Understanding these variations is crucial for effective location testing.

Calendar types

National calendars are another area that varies between countries. Let's dive into what they are and how they differ. There are three main types: solar, lunar, and lunisolar calendars, each with its subtypes.

• Solar calendar. The length of one tropical year, so the calendar year is about 355/356 days. For example, the Gregorian and Julian calendars that we're familiar with are solar.
• Lunar calendar (Islamic). A month lasts about 29.5 days. So, a calendar month is 29/30 days, and a calendar year is 354 days.
• Lunisolar calendar. Combines lunar and solar elements. This means the dates in lunisolar calendars show both the phase of the Moon and the time of the solar year, indicating the Sun's position in the sky. For example, Modern lunisolar calendars include the Chinese, Vietnamese, Hindu, Hebrew, and Thai calendars.

Date & time formats

Date and time formats are another element of location testing that vary between countries.

Time is indicated in two main ways: the 12-hour and 24-hour formats.

• The 12-hour format splits the 24 hours of the day into two 12-hour periods — from midnight to noon and from noon to midnight, marked as a.m. and p.m. The common usage is in such countries as Australia, Canada (except Quebec), New Zealand, the USA, and the Philippines. For example: 02:30 PM.
• The 24-hour format represents the time from 00:00 to 23:59. It is used in most countries in Europe and around the world, like Albania, Brazil, the UK, Greece, Ireland, Quebec, and France. This format is known as "military time" in the USA. For example: 14:30.

Below is a table of the most common date formats and the countries where they are used:

Format	Example	Countries
DMY	18/11/2024	UK, Europe, and many other countries
MDY	11/18/2024	USA
YMD	2024/11/18	Japan, China, Korea, ISO 8601

Emojis and smileys

Users often incorporate emojis and smileys into their daily conversations, viewing them as appropriate expressions. However, what is considered suitable in one cultural context may offend the cultural or religious beliefs of others. For example, using pig or alcohol-related imagery could be deemed inappropriate in Islamic regions. As well as hand gesture icons, such as the "thumbs-up" or "OK" gesture, as they may carry offensive meanings in certain cultures like the Middle East and West Africa.

The bottom line

Effective localization requires a clear QA strategy, deep cultural insights, and high-quality translations. It is also crucial to allocate time for research to understand the target audience and local market conditions. Ensure compliance with local regulations, adapt design elements, and conduct thorough testing. Collect user feedback, manage projects efficiently, and maintain consistency in terminology. Treat localization as an ongoing process to keep content relevant. By following these best practices, QA teams can ensure products meet the needs of global audiences and achieve market success.

Ready to take your product global? Reach out to discover how our location testing services can help you deliver a seamless user experience to your target markets.