Which parts of my app should I localize?

Start by localizing all of the text:

  • UI text and other text strings within the app
    These are most likely stored in strings.xml, and are included in the app download to users’ devices.

  • In-App Purchase (IAP) product names and descriptions
    The popup that users see before making a purchases uses the information you have entered in the Google Play Console. You can enter translations in the same place where you set up the products. For more information, see Administering In-App Billing.

  • Name and Description in the Google Play store listing
    Translating these will help users find your app.

Use Google Play App Translation service
For your convenience, Google Play provides professional, human app translation services integrated directly into the Play Developer Console and Android Studio.

For some apps, you may also need to localize:

  • Images and Videos
    Would these be well understood by people from different countries? Might they be offensive to some of your target users? Do they included any embedded text? If so, you may want to create new versions of these and include them with your app.  Localized versions of images may be placed in res/drawable-XX. For more information, see Using Resources for Localization.

  • Audio
    Record new versions of any sound files which include speech, particularly if understanding that speech is critical to use the app.

  • Server-based content
    If your app pulls in content from your server (e.g. a newspaper app) then localizing the UI will help with navigation, but the user may still not find the app useful. Consider translating existing server-side content, and creating a process for localizing any new content at the time it is published.

Google apps
Main menu
2171197617605110784
true