Executive search firm websites that are expanding in overseas markets need to have their primary websites following best practices of website internationalization.
Website Internationalization for an executive search firm website is ensuring that business leaders from any market will have a culture-neutral, all-inclusive user experience, where they access general information about the company and its services. The website design at this stage is ready to communicate to a global audience. It can also be replicated at a later stage when the company is ready to create localized sites. Therefore, it can also be considered the ‘global template‘ which also has some flexibility to adapt to localized content.
Figure 1: Major, Lindsey and Africa have created an internationalized website experience.
Global templates can follow the source website format, or form a collection of templates. Based on the business direction in a specific key market, the company can choose to use a template that contains the ‘full-features ’ website design or a skinny, ‘brochure design ’ for lightweight websites.
Internationalized websites have to be structured and designed keeping in mind that the same or adapted design gets replicated in potential key markets. The more complex the design and structure, the more challenging it becomes to maintain design consistency and communicate web guidelines across potential in-house and outsourced teams.
Thinking further down the line, and starting with a well-thought out plan to scale the website, also contributes to how users interact with the website.
Consider this, if the website has been planned, additional website functions and design attributes required at a later time have a pre-allocated location on the site (thus, making the design intentional and sustaining website performance), and more importantly, visible and accessible just where the visitor expects them to be (thus, helping them spend less time looking for information and more time engaging and making decisions).
In our Global-Ready Websites Report, we have identified the most important design attributes and web functionalities expected by a diverse, global audience that helps them gauge the firm’s professionalism and depth of operation. We have also included additional web functionalities familiar to a global audience at large, that are equally important for the success of executive search websites. Click here to find out more.
