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Prepare a Localization Glossary for an Outsourced Website Team
Keep product terms, calls to action, prohibited translations, context, and language ownership consistent across localized pages.
**Published: September 4, 2026**
A translation handoff often loses the small decisions that make a site sound like one product. A localization glossary gives writers, designers, and reviewers shared terms plus enough context to use them correctly.
Start with consequential language
List product names, navigation labels, account actions, legal phrases, support terms, units, date conventions, and high-value calls to action. Record the source term, approved target term, definition, example, prohibited alternatives, owner, and review date.
Add interface context
Treat layout findings as product feedback
If approved language does not fit, first test wrapping and flexible layout. Do not shorten meaning without the language owner's approval. Record recurring fit problems for the design system team.
Maintain the glossary with releases
Review new and changed interface strings before localization begins. Archive replaced terms without erasing their history, so existing pages can be found and corrected deliberately.
Related guides
Design multilingual URL architecture
Frequently asked questions
Is a glossary the same as a translation memory?
No. The glossary governs important terms; translation memory stores prior segments and needs separate review.
Who approves terminology?
Name a language owner and route regulated or legal phrases to the appropriate client reviewer.