Publishing in English and Traditional Chinese involves more than translating the article body. The headline, offer, form, confirmation message and follow-up all need to tell the same story. A fluent translation can still send a customer to the wrong next step.

Use this checklist when a small team prepares two language versions of a campaign. It is a proposed editorial workflow: adapt the checks to the product and the people you serve.

1. Agree on the job of each version

Write one sentence describing the intended reader, the question the page answers and the action it should support. Decide whether the versions serve the same audience or need different examples and explanations.

For a hypothetical training workshop, both versions might help a team manager decide whether the session suits their staff. The English version could explain a technical term that the Chinese version handles differently. Neither version should silently change the level of experience required or what the session includes.

2. Create a shared facts sheet

Before editing the prose, record the details that must match. Give one person responsibility for checking the facts against the current offer.

Do not turn an estimate into a guarantee during translation. If the original says a proposal is normally prepared after a consultation, the other version should not promise an immediate quotation.

3. Choose terms by meaning and context

Maintain a short terminology sheet for recurring product names, service labels and calls to action. Record the approved term in each language and an example sentence showing how it is used.

For example, “Enquire” might become 「查詢」, while “Register” might become 「報名」 for an event. Those actions are different. A button that opens an enquiry form should not imply that a place has been reserved.

These are illustrative choices, not universal translations. Ask a fluent reviewer to assess whether the wording is natural for the audience. Check names, punctuation and English abbreviations inside Chinese sentences as carefully as the main paragraphs.

4. Review the complete customer journey

Follow the campaign link on a phone. Read the headline, scan the offer, open the form and submit a test enquiry using clearly marked test details. Check what the visitor sees next and what the receiving team receives.

• Does the link open the intended language version?
• Does switching language preserve the page or send the reader to a generic homepage?
• Are form labels, required fields and error messages understandable?
• Does the confirmation accurately describe what happens next?
• Can the receiving team respond in the language offered?

A page is not ready merely because its text has been approved. Assign unresolved form or follow-up problems to a named owner before launch.

5. Check layout and language information

Inspect headings, buttons, tables and line breaks at the actual display size. Check that Chinese characters render correctly, longer English labels remain readable and key information is not available only as text inside an image.

Ask the person maintaining the website to set its page language correctly and identify passages in another language where appropriate. This helps assistive technology apply suitable pronunciation rules. W3C explains the distinction in its guidance on language of the page and language changes within a page. Language markup is one part of accessibility, not a complete accessibility assessment.

6. Record approval and keep versions aligned

Keep a small release record: page URL, language, version date, factual checker, language reviewer and unresolved issues. When the offer changes, update both versions from the same facts sheet and repeat the affected checks.

Finish with a simple read-through question: would a customer understand the same offer and receive the same promised next step in either language? If the answer is uncertain, resolve the difference before promoting the page.

For the wider campaign plan, see seven practical digital marketing ideas for Hong Kong SMEs.