Shipshot guide

How to translate and review app-store screenshots

The translation itself is rarely where localized screenshot sets go wrong. The failure is process: nobody briefed the translator on context, nobody with the language reviewed the result in place, and nobody owned the decision about which terms stay in English. Fixing the process fixes most of the output.

Brief with context, not a spreadsheet of strings

A caption handed over as an isolated string is guesswork. The translator cannot tell whether a word is a button label, a marketing claim, or a product name, and that changes everything. Send the frame image, the claim behind the caption, and the space available so decisions are made with the information a good translation requires.

  1. Send each caption alongside the frame it appears on.
  2. State the claim, the tone, and the audience for the set.
  3. Note the space available so length is a known constraint from the start.

Decide the keep-as-is list before anyone starts

Product names, feature names you have deliberately branded, trademarks, URLs, identifiers, and code should have an explicit decision rather than a per-translator judgement. Without that list you get the same term translated three different ways across three languages, which quietly makes your product harder to talk about.

  1. Write the list of terms that stay unchanged in every language.
  2. Record the intended translation for terms that should change consistently.
  3. Share the list with every translator and reviewer working on the release.

Review in place, by someone who speaks the language

Reading a translated caption in a spreadsheet tells you nothing about whether it fits, breaks awkwardly, collides with the interface, or reads oddly above that particular screen. The review has to happen on the composed frame, and it has to be done by someone who actually speaks the language, not by comparing back-translations.

  1. Compose the localized frame before requesting review.
  2. Have a speaker of the language read it as a visitor would.
  3. Fix the layout and the wording together rather than in separate passes.

Treat right-to-left as a layout task

An Arabic version is not a mirrored English version. Alignment, reading order, emphasis, and the relationship between caption and product screen may all differ, and mixed-direction content such as numbers, URLs, and Latin product names needs checking specifically. Shipshot provides a genuine Arabic right-to-left layout so this review happens on the real composition.

  1. Review the reading path rather than mirroring elements by default.
  2. Check numerals, URLs, and Latin-script names for awkward breaks.
  3. Confirm the caption and product screen still relate correctly after the flip.

Review checklist

✓ Translators received frame images, claims, tone, and space constraints.✓ A keep-as-is term list existed before translation began.✓ Every localized frame was reviewed composed, by a speaker of that language.✓ Right-to-left versions were reviewed as layouts, not mirrored copies.✓ Wording and layout fixes were made together in one pass.

Questions to ask before handoff

Can I review a translation without speaking the language?

You can check length, clipping, and leftover source text. Whether the caption reads naturally and makes the claim persuasively needs a speaker of the language.

Who should own the keep-as-is list?

One person on the product side, decided once and shared with everyone. Leaving it to individual translators is what produces inconsistent product terminology.

Do translated captions need their own layout work?

Usually yes. Line breaks and spacing rarely transfer, so expect to adjust the composition per language rather than reusing one arrangement everywhere.

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