How to prepare your app for a global audience.

Reach more users around the world by taking a phased approach to internationalization and localization.

1. Localize your metadata in the App Store.

The easiest place to start is translating your app description for each of the countries in which you offer apps. Customers are more likely to read about your app if it’s in their native language. It just makes it easier for more people to learn about your app.

2. Internationalize your app.

Structure your app to support localized content, taking steps like:

  • Creating separate user-visible text and images from your executable code and translating them into desired languages.
  • Integrating the content back into your app as separate localized resource files stored within your app’s bundle.
  • Using system provided APIs to express and manage user-visible or dynamically generated values properly across different locales (e.g. dates, lengths, weights, price and currency symbols).
  • Ensuring your app accepts user-generated text in any language and in multiple languages at once, independent of the language of the user interface.
3. Translate the User Interface.

Translate or customize user-visible content for people from different cultures. Create or modify language-specific versions of nib files, text, icons and graphics (especially those containing culture-specific images), audio, and video for each locale. This process typically doesn’t require modifications to your source code making it easier to work on translations in-house or with an outside localization service.

4. Promote your app in local markets.

We offer promotional badges that are localized in many languages, which you can use to promote your iOS and Mac apps in the App Store. It’s another simple thing you can do to make your app stand out to a broader audience. iOS and Mac Developer Program members can download these badges from the App Store Resource Center.

Developer Success Stories

Pop Cap

“We were amazed by how much support we got from our fans in China after we localized Plants vs. Zombies on iPhone into Chinese. The comment boards were flooded with positive comments, and in only three days, the Chinese version reached the number one paid application spot on the China App Store. We’re selling twice as many copies now, in Chinese, than we ever sold in English.”- Leo Liu, PopCap Country Manager Greater China

Eurosport

“In only two years, Eurosport.com’s apps for iPhone and iPad have been downloaded over 4.7 million times. This success is partly thanks to their content and interface being available in 10 languages versions, for this allows our apps to transcend national boundaries and to engage a truly global sports fanbase.”- Arnaud Maillard, Eurosport’s New Media Director.

Also Read: Think Globally, App Locally

TomTom

“We have now a strong presence in key – in development – markets such as Brazil, Russia, Turkey, Mexico and Eastern Europe. We are able to communicate to our customers directly, by speaking their language and celebrating their local holidays. Furthermore, the availability of all these locales has increased our revenue opportunity by 25%.”- Alain Pakiry, VP Marketing

source: https://developer.apple.com/internationalization/