Get a localized release right on day one
Your product works perfectly in English, and the German release should too: every label inside its button, every date reading as the right month, on day one.
Localization testing tools find layout and locale faults before your users do. Below: what each type catches, the features worth paying for, and how to combine them.
What localization testing tools catch
Most localization defects sit in the code and the user interface layout, outside the text a linguist reviews, so the tools check exactly those areas. They look for:
- Technical issues: character encoding, date formats, currency displays and text direction.
- Layout fit: UI elements that overflow or truncate when translated text expands or contracts.
- Translation coverage: untranslated strings and hard-coded text.
- Regional settings: sorting of accented characters, right-to-left rendering for Arabic and Hebrew, line breaking in Asian languages.
- Cultural fit: imagery, colours and symbols that read as intended in each market.
Many tools also work before a release reaches anyone:
- They plug into continuous integration pipelines.
- They simulate locale environments.
- They check internationalisation APIs.
So faults surface early, when they are cheapest to fix. Paired with human review, they keep the product culturally on point and technically sound, so it is well received abroad.
Tools by type
Each tool covers part of the job; the table shows which parts your setup already covers and which to add.
| Tool | Type | What it catches or does |
|---|---|---|
| POEditor | Translation management | QA checks, glossaries, translation memory |
| Lokalise | Translation management | Built-in QA checks, context for testers, integrations |
| memoQ | Translation management | QA checks on localized content |
| Trados Studio | Translation management | QA checks within the translation workflow |
| Transifex | Translation management | Review and testing of localized versions |
| Crowdin | Translation management | Collaborative translation with QA checks |
| TestRail | Test case management | Organises test cases, links to bug trackers |
| TestLodge | Test case management | Cloud-based test case management |
| PractiTest | Test case management | Test management with localization test support |
| TestLink | Test case management | Free, open-source test management |
| ShareX | Screenshots | Captures and shares evidence of issues |
| Snagit | Screenshots | Annotated screenshots and screen video |
| Selenium | Automation | Scripted browser tests in every locale |
| Playwright | Automation | Scripted browser tests with locale and time zone emulation |
| PhantomJS | Automation | Headless browser, development suspended |
| Applitools | Visual testing | Layout and rendering differences between languages |
| Pseudolocalize | Pseudo-localization | Fake translations that expose layout issues |
| Localize | Translation management | Spots localization issues in web apps |
| Microsoft pseudolocalization | Pseudo-localization | Test builds that reveal hard-coded and truncated text |
Two older automation tools are best left to existing suites:
- PhantomJS: development is suspended.
- iMacros: reached end of life on 30 November 2023.
Choose Selenium or Playwright for new test suites.
Features that save your testers time
The right tool saves your testers time on every release. Look for:
- Integration with your existing development and testing workflows.
- QA checks for common localization issues.
- Context for testers, such as screenshots or string descriptions.
- Collaboration tools for translators, testers and developers.
- Automation support for repetitive checks.
- Reporting to track issues and progress.
- Multi-platform support across devices and operating systems.
Make each new market cheaper to launch
How you use the tools decides whether each new market costs less to launch than the last, the aim of software localization done well.
- Combine tools. Each tool covers part of localization testing; together they cover it all.
- Automate where possible. Automate repetitive checks, and keep people on the checks that need judgement.
- Involve native speakers. Pair the tools with native-speaker review for linguistic and cultural accuracy.
- Maintain test data. Keep test cases and data current in your test management tool.
- Pseudo-localize early. Run pseudo-localization early in development to catch potential issues before translation starts.
- Test continuously. Build localization tests into your continuous integration and deployment (CI/CD) pipeline.
Automate the checks, keep native speakers on judgement
The right mix of tools and practices lets your team ship every market with the confidence of the first. Automate the repetitive checks, and keep native speakers on the judgement calls.
