Just like what we see in testing in the United States, people were put off by typos and by login walls. They were frustrated when sites didn’t show samples of prices and required them to request a quote. People liked sites that were straightforward and transparent about pricing. There really were no huge differences in how people in Singapore behaved on websites compared with people in the US and Western Europe.

Arrange to spend a few days in your main markets abroad. Start small, run a usability study in your key countries. If you see something notable, more testing will reveal if it’s a characteristic of the individual, or a larger cultural characteristic. If you’re just launching, start out by testing competitors’ sites. Interviews and focus groups can help you gain insights into people’s expectations, fears (ahem, in-laws), and mental models that you otherwise wouldn’t have been able to predict.
Even if after all your research the big stuff stays the same, your organization (and your customers) will benefit if your site gets the small details right. If you can get the local nuances, you’ll have a better chance at persuading and satisfying your users and at gaining their trust

For digital products with crosscultural audiences speaking different languages, there are two adaptation approaches:

1. Translation means that the interface language changes depending on the target audience. The look and feel of the product stays the same; the only difference is the language.
2. Localization refers to making the design of the digital product culturally relevant to the target audience. This type of change is often more dramatic: visual presentation and content strategy can be totally different.

Still, sometimes it’s not feasible, worthwhile, or even necessary to have local designs for every culture, especially for smaller businesses. In this case, products or services rely mostly on translation and simply offer multiple language options.

Here are some factors to consider:

• The heterogeneity level of your target audiences
• General cultural differences between your target audience and domestic users
• How much cultural factors impact user behavior and the tasks supported by your product
• The brand image that you want to establish
• The potential value of your target market

There are many possible approaches to this analysis. One is based on Hofstede’s cultural-dimensions theory, which defines 6 dimensions on which different national and cultural groups differentiate most. They are:

• Power distance: The extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organizations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally.
• Individualism vs. collectivism: Whether people put more weight on the interests of the individual (individualists) or on the the interests of the group (collectivists).
• Masculinity vs. femininity: Whether strong, very different emotion stereotypes are associated with traditional genders (masculine societies) or emotions are allowed to overlap across genders (feminine societies).
• Uncertainty avoidance: The extent to which the members of a culture feel threatened by ambiguous or unknown situations.
• Long-term vs. short-term orientation: Whether the society fosters virtues such as perseverance or thrift, oriented towards future rewards (long-term orientation) or virtues related to the past and the present.
• Indulgence vs. restraint: Attitude towards enjoying life and having fun, ranging from free gratification of human desires (indulgence) versus adhering to strict social norms (restraint).

For instance, during our ecommerce research, we observed that people in India and China preferred one-time passwords when asked to check out. Email registration wasn’t welcomed. In China, login through third-party platforms like AliPay and WeChat was also very popular. When a Chinese participant saw that a British-Portuguese ecommerce website, Farfetch, supported registration through WeChat, he was pretty amazed. “That’s wonderful and convenient. I have my mobile phone number and personal information on WeChat. If I use it to log in, there’s so much information I don’t need to fill in manually.”

For instance, when a Chinese participant browsed the Chinese version of the Bose website during our study, he described it as a “high-end website, like those foreign brands selling luxurious products.” He didn’t want to make purchases on this website because the information density was very low compared with other Chinese retailers like Taobao and JD.

When designing for a sizeable target audience with a cultural background that is different from yours, follow the steps below:

• Understand the general cultural differences. Identify the ones most relevant to your products. Based on these general differences, write down questions and assumptions to examine in subsequent research activities.
• Identify how cultural differences impact users’ interactions with your products in context. Use field studies, diary studies, and competitor analysis to identify culturally specific practices your target audience may engage in when using your products.
• Identify those product components that would benefit most from localization and prioritize them for localization. Use a combination of research data, brand-image goals, and ROI to single out those features.
• Test early and test often. Conduct usability testing with your target audience. Depending on the size of your target market, establish a professional local usability team if necessary.

What users believe they know about a user interface impacts how they use it. Mismatched mental models are common, especially with designs that try something new.

When working on a product intended for use abroad your best bet is to conduct international usability testing. You may need to engage a translator or even a local usability consultant, depending on the complexity of the test.

Cultural differences can negatively impact study outcomes when conducting international user research studies. Identify these differences and use 3 techniques to lower their effects.

The contrast between low-context and high-context cultures has substantial implications for web designs that target users in different countries. Examples from eyetracking research in China (a high-context culture) illustrate this point.

User testing on 3 continents confirmed that the main usability guidelines hold worldwide, but many other considerations exist to better support international users.

Nonnative speakers rely on visual cues to navigate international sites presented in an unfamiliar language. Use imagery to support text and help these shoppers.