SUBSCRIBEFirst of all, hope you like our new website. As you might have noticed, the entire Klipp og Lim website is now presented in English as opposed to Norwegian which we’ve used up to this point. Well, the blog was already in English, but it was not integrated in the main website.
Why this change? Well, there are several reasons and it’s something we’ve given serious thought before we made the final decision.
When it comes to Norwegian agencies operating in the same market as Klipp og Lim, there aren’t any clear bias towards one language; some choose English, some Norwegian and some both.
The option to publish all content in two languages was abandoned on an early stage. A major objection is the extra workload of production and maintenance of content in two languages.
A commitment to our native tongue had its adversaries too. If we went with a 100% Norwegian website; we’d excluded pretty much every country outside Scandinavia (and even some within Scandinavia). Furthermore is the general assumption that everyone visiting our website is able to understand English.
Our only concern was the possibility coming across as pretentious or in any way be construed as affected presenting ourselves in English as a large base of our clients are Norwegian. The decision was reinforced by the fact that our company also is in contact with clients and potential clients that aren’t fluent in Norwegian. We didn’t want to make a site that excluded a larger audience – and that’s the short and tall of it.
Got opinions? Feel free to share you thoughts by leaving a comment below.
Gisle
08.03.09Nice site :-)
Runar
10.03.09Yes, me like :) Not a big change visually but definitely more promising when it comes to content. Content is King as long you have the ability to keep it dynamic and up to date. I tend to lose my interest pretty fast if a site isn’t updated frequently. In this context I would say frequently would be at least twice a week or more. I’m sure you guys have a lot of interesting stuff to share with us in the future and I would really like to see more in-house/under the hood content on your blog/site. Blogs about blogs isn’t that fascinating but blogs that contribute and gives something back to the community is.
I’m not sure about your decision to switch to english (only) is good thing or not. I suppose the main reason to have a website for a company like yours is to get more attention among new customers which subsequently will result in more sales. With 99% of your customer base located in Norway I would take it for granted that you would be best served with both languages.
Just my two cents :)
Gustav
11.03.09Thanks for the input!
You got some valid points there Runar — especially the part about updates, which I can promise you will be more frequent in the time to come. Once or twice a week is a minimum :)
Runar
11.03.09I’ll take your word for it !! :) Looking forward to some project breakdowns and good AE stuff from you Gustav ;)
Frode
14.03.09Hallo! Berre engelsk? Med 99% norske kundar er dette neppe vegen å gå…
Eller kva Frank og Jøran? Snks.
Frank
16.03.09Dear Frode
You’re right; most of our clients are Norwegian, though 99% is not an accurate estimate. Several of our Norwegian customers have branches abroad or they may be owned by international companies. In sum there are quite a few English speaking people who want to know what Klipp og Lim stands for. Hopefully we are able to attract new customers as well.