Scaleup Spotlight: Weglot is smashing language barriers
In this week’s scaleup spotlight, we speak with Augustin Prot, CEO and Co-founder of the website translation provider, Weglot.
Hi Augustin. What does Weglot do?
Weglot is a no-code website localisation software that allows you to launch a multilingual website instantly. It both translates and displays the content of your website, removing the pain and need of having to manage multiple websites for multiple markets.
Weglot can manage the translation of websites in a matter of minutes and hours, not days or months. We use the first layer of machine translation for speed and automation, but our users also have access to several Weglot’s post-editing features to control the quality of translations – as we know, machines can’t get it right all of the time!
There are several ways we can work as well, either through collaboration with teammates, order professional translators from the Weglot Dashboard or by working with a company’s own translation team.
We also help to fully optimise each website in its chosen market, including images, metadata, and content from outside of your website, such as a reviewing app.
What makes Weglot better than its competitors?
Many companies can translate websites, but no one can do it as fast or as accurately as Weglot. The combination of our team and technology provides a reliable and easy way to produce powerful multilingual websites that increase sales with a specific focus on localised content.
The technology is also effortless and quick to install and can run on any content management system (CMS) and website technology. You can have your multilingual website up and running in less than 5 minutes without the need to bother your web developers.
It’s also pain-free – which is important to anyone who’s ever managed multiple websites in different languages. It can be extremely complicated and time-consuming to have all pages up to date in every single language, organise spreadsheets, and share them between teams of developers and translators. Weglot’s mission is to handle all that for you – no code, no spreadsheets needed.
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What was your last major milestone?
In 2020, we reached the milestone of translating 3 billion web pages. This was compared to 1 billion in 2019.
Also, in 2020, because in no small part due to the pandemic and many retailers having to set up shop online, we were very fortunate to have our biggest months to date, doubling our users and reaching 500k+ monthly recurring revenue.
How has Weglot handled the outbreak of COVID-19?
Covid-19 has seen certain industries flourish, namely tech and e-commerce. The lockdown had a huge impact on businesses going online, and more businesses online meant more companies wanted to add multilingual capabilities.
Again, 2020 was a great year financially for Weglot, but we are fully aware that Weglot is one of the few fortunate businesses that could carry on during such a difficult time, so we also wanted to do more to give back.
In March 2020, we offered free website translation to those providing vital information about Covid-19, such as Cardmedic, which provides digital flashcards to help Covid-19 patients understand staff. Cardmedic added 10 languages in total, allowing hospitals all over the world to benefit from better information.
As a business, we’ve had to adapt and transform entirely to become fully remote. This has come with its own challenges, but with change comes growth and we look forward to developing further in the future – and being able to see each other face-to-face again!
How do you see your industry changing in a post-COVID-19 world?
Our industry has been impacted hugely in the past 12 months, albeit positively, with websites becoming an even more important means of communication for companies & brands to talk to their users and community.
There’s no doubt that everyone is craving physical, face-to-face interactions, but long-term we’ve definitely seen the acceleration online in a lot of industries.
This won’t go away simply because the shop doors are open. Online is slowly becoming the most useful channel for consumer shopping, and the success of retailers over the past 12 months means more are looking to sell to international audiences.
Being able to talk to them in their preferred language is a priority. No one wants to buy from a website when they can’t understand the language, so we predict a sustained level of online activity even when the shop doors swing open.
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About Augustin Prot
CEO and co-founder of Weglot
Augustin Prot is the co-founder and CEO of Weglot. Following a degree from Paris-Dauphine University, Augustin started his career in Finance at Lazard. Three years later, he met business partner Rémy Berda and together, they developed and launched Weglot. Created in 2016, Weglot has helped 50k+ businesses translate and display their websites in multiple languages.
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