English is the default language of international business. That makes it tempting to assume that an English website is enough anywhere the customer can understand it. Buyer research suggests otherwise.
Business buyers can read English. That does not make English their first choice.
Forrester found that 67% of B2B buyers in its localization survey considered having a localized website important or very important. Seventy-five percent said the same about sales materials in their own language.
of B2B buyers in Forrester’s survey wanted a localized website.
That is not evidence that these buyers cannot use English. It is evidence that language proficiency and buying preference are different questions.
CSA Research found a similar pattern in research focused on business buyers of technology products. Nearly two-thirds of business users said they would pay up to 30% more for a localized product.
of business users in CSA Research’s study said they would pay up to 30% more for a localized product.
Localization reduces distance.
Imagine two suppliers with comparable products, similar experience and credible international references.
One presents everything in English. The other gives a German buyer a complete German-facing experience around the parts of the website that matter for the commercial journey.
The second supplier immediately feels closer. Not geographically. Commercially.
The website signals that the company has thought about that market before the buyer has sent the first enquiry.
A B2B purchase usually has more than one reader.
A consumer can make a purchase alone. A B2B decision often moves through several people.
An engineer may evaluate specifications. A purchasing manager may compare suppliers. A managing director may approve the investment. Someone else may check documentation, logistics or compliance.
English proficiency will not necessarily be equal across that chain. A localized website makes information easier to evaluate and circulate internally, even when the first person who discovers the supplier speaks excellent English.
Language is also a trust signal.
A serious localized website says something before the buyer contacts the company:
The language version becomes part of the evidence that the business is prepared to serve customers there.
That signal is especially important when the company is unfamiliar to the buyer. The website has to carry more of the trust-building work before a sales conversation begins.
The buyer does not interact with translated sentences. The buyer interacts with a website.
Producing foreign-language text is becoming faster. That does not remove the need for a coherent language version of the website.
The visitor experiences the whole journey: navigation, pages, forms, products or services, links, search visibility and the consistency of the selected language from one step to the next.
A page can contain good translated text and still leave the business looking unprepared if the surrounding experience is incomplete.
The question is not only whether the words are understandable. It is whether the website feels like the company intended to operate in that market.
English still matters. Localization should follow the markets that matter.
None of this means every company needs ten or twenty languages. English remains an extraordinarily effective international business language.
Localization makes sense where the commercial opportunity justifies it: a priority export market, an active distributor network, a new office, a trade-fair push, a market with growing enquiries, or a deliberate expansion plan.
The better question is not “Can our customers understand the English website?”
A better question
Does our website make us look like a company prepared to do business in their market?
Those are very different standards. The difference is where website localization starts.