Google Translate is No Longer Supported on Websites
If you rely heavily on the Google Translate widget to provide free and automatic translation of your website content in over 100 different languages, make sure you read this.
The widget is still available (for now) to those who already have it installed on their website. However, as of January 2019, Google has stopped providing access to new website translator widgets. In addition, the Google Translate widget (which Google calls “Google Translate’s Website Translator”) is phasing out on websites where it is active now (as shown below). In other words, the widget that allows visitors to automatically translate your webpage into another language is slowly being shut down.
Many Tripepi Smith clients have leveraged the Google Translate widget to offer better access to website content. It has especially been a cost-effective solution for public agencies who need to comply with more regulations than the private sector. Google recognized that the quality of the translated content was subpar. For example, technical content and industry-specific jargon were often times mistranslated, which led to customers not having accurate information. Instead, they are now leading website owners to a new service.
What Now?
Users who would like to continue to use Google for translate support services can turn to the Google Translation API Service. With Translation API, you can request your own custom model or use Google’s pre-trained models to streamline workflow. This service allows for translation in over 100 languages, glossary support, language detection and more. Translation API pricing is based on usage of characters. The use of text translation for pre-trained or custom models is free for the first 500,000 characters. This service is used by many companies including Bloombers, Hyperconnect, Welocalize, and more.
Another option you can turn to is the Microsoft Translator API services. This service is available on Microsoft Office, Skype, Yammer, and more. The Microsoft Translator can be used on web based or client applications and enables businesses to add end-to-end, real-time, speech translations. The Microsoft Translator can be used on any solution requiring multi-speech translation regardless of the target OS or development languages. The pricing for this model depends on the number of characters as well as custom translation training used. With Microsoft Translate. The use of text translation for pre-trained or custom models is free for the first 500,000 characters. Other translation plug-ins like WPML are available as well.