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Ask HN: When is the right time to think about localisation

3 points by hurricaneSlider ↗ HN
I'm currently working on a prototype for a consumer facing application which hopefully will have global applicativity.

I've often heard the adage that it is never too soon to worry about localisation and timezones, but am wondering whether when trying to develop a MVP whether this holds.

I know there are a number of founders here, so would like ask: "When did you start worrying about localisation? Would you have approached localisation differently if you were to start over again?"

4 comments

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barrystaes
I start localizing after the product feels finished, or only translate parts that are finished and not likely to change soon. So by my rules, a prototype (that is finished) could show working localisation with minimal effort. (Just using an array with strings instead of a full blown localisation/formatting solution.)

If my product should take timezones into account, its data formats and business code are designed to account for that from the start.

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[dead] innopreneur
The whole purpose of MVP is that it can be built quickly to test market validation. And accomodate only core features in the product. Usually, you start with small set of users (who can give you regular feedback ideally). In my case, those users were my friends and their friends (so located in some particular geography). So, unless your product is pure Saas, and localisation is one of the core feature and relies heavily on users in different geography, I would suggest localisation is an alpha feature (or even beta if your users are local). Well, I might be wrong but this is how I would approach it
codegeek
Localization is a hard problem. Too many factors to consider. If you are building a MVP, I would advise not spending too much time on it. You can certainly leave some placeholders in the application if it fits but building a full blown localized product is 2-3 times harder (in my experience).

You also said "which hopefully will have global applicativity."

So you are not quite there yet where you know for sure that it will be global. What if it doesn't or takes you a while to first validate the market in general ?

My advice: Build the MVP quickly, validate the product and then think about localizing if you get enough traction.