Revolutionizing Localization: Sprout Social Unveils Advanced System for Dynamic Applications

The process of localizing dynamic applications, such as Sprout Social, is more important than ever before. It not only offers users a personalized experience but also breaks down language barriers, enabling businesses to reach a wider audience. However, challenges arise when translating text and developing applications that can easily extract and swap text for translations. Traditionally, Sprout Social relied on third-party vendors for translations and maintained a custom localization system. Recently, the company unveiled a new, advanced localization system comprised of incremental changes aimed at addressing these challenges.

Areas of Improvement:

1. Message Syntax:
   • Sprout Social has now adopted the industry-standard ICU (International Components for Unicode) Message syntax.
2. Message Management:
   • The previous method of storing messages in JSON files, or lang files, has been replaced with a third-party library called LinguiJS.
3. Message Serving:
   • The new approach employs a code-splitting technique, only serving users the necessary messages for a specific feature.
4. Translator Workflow:
   • Sprout Social has integrated a translation management system called Phrase to optimize the translation workflow.
5. Incremental Rollout:
   • Sprout Social is introducing the new localization system across the web engineering organization in a phased manner.

In conclusion, Sprout Social’s new localization system addresses key challenges of modern application development and offers numerous advantages over the previous system. By adopting proven strategies and tools, companies like Sprout Social demonstrate an appreciation for the impact localization has on both user experience and overall business success. As the need for effective localization continues to grow, it is vital for companies to stay ahead of the curve and optimize their software accordingly.