The 2017 Web Globalization Report Card benchmarks the world's best global websites — and how they got there.
Want multiple reports and underlying data? We now offer the Web Globalization Report Card library
Web globalization often leaves marketing and web teams with more questions than answers, such as:
This report, now in its 13th edition, answers these questions and many more. You’ll learn which companies have improved their global and mobile websites — and why. Through website profiles, loaded with screen shots, you'll learn which practices to emulate and which to avoid. More than a dozen industries are profiled, with key globalization developments and best practices highlighted with screen shots.
This year, like years before, we benchmarked 150 websites across more than a dozen industry categories. These websites comprise 80% of the companies on the Interbrand Best Global Brands 2016 list and more than 30% of the Fortune 100, ensuring a broad reach of global brands and businesses.
This report serves two purposes. First, it calls attention to those websites that have excelled in the practice of web globalization. The companies that have made the top 25 did not get there by chance. The people who have helped raise their websites onto the top 25 list deserve recognition for helping their companies communicate effectively with the world, regardless of language, culture, or geography. Second, this report identifies emerging trends (both positive and negative) to help you avoid the painful missteps that others have already taken. This report is designed to help you guide your web, marketing, and mobile teams to positive, efficient action.
Never before have companies been expected to support so much content across so many languages and across so many devices. And while this continues to be a very exciting time to be involved in web globalization, it’s also quite challenging.
Founded in 2000, Byte Level Research was the first firm dedicated exclusively to the art and science of web globalization. We have consulted with hundreds of multinationals and have learned what works and what doesn't work and, just as important, where their websites are headed. This expertise is carried over into the methodology of the Report Card, the first report dedicated to best practices in web globalization.
We conduct a hands-on analysis of the world's leading websites, analyzing how web designs are shared across countries and mobile platforms, noting languages used on every website, studying local content, social media, and navigation. This information, along with nearly a decade of historical data, will help you benchmark your company against competitive and “best of breed” sites such as Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Hotels.com. A combination of quantitative data and practical, hands-on advice make this report an invaluable resource for any company doing business across borders.
Author John Yunker has spoken at organizations and conferences in more than two dozen cities and countries around the world. If you'd him to visit your organization, please let us know.
Google is the only company to score above 90 points, retaining the top spot for another year.
Wikipedia is far and away the language leader, with content in more than 290 languages. The company also now supports a mobile-friendly layout that is considerably lighter (in kilobytes) than most Fortune 100 mobile websites.
IKEA returned to the list this year after making a welcome change to its global strategy strategy.
Hotels.com and Booking.com remain closely matched in both languages and global gateway strategies. Both websites are worth studying for how they balance global gateways and ecommerce — allowing users to select not only their locale but also their currency.
Nissan made this list for the first time, having added languages and improving global consistency and navigation.
As a group, the top 25 websites support an average of 54 languages (up from 52 last year)
GoDaddy, a new addition to the Report Card, wasted little time in making this list. Its global gateway is worth studying.
Luxury brands such as Gucci and Ralph Lauren continue to lag in web globalization — from poor support for languages to inadequate localization.
The average number of languages supported by all 150 global websites is now 31.
Absolutely not. We have never and will never accept money in return for inclusion within the report. Some of our consulting clients over the years have been included in one or more reports and they have used our methodology to help drive positive change within these organizations. That said, we take pride in creating a report that is self-funded and completely independent in focus, content, and findings.
Report author John Yunker reviews every website — and has done so for every edition of the report. No work is outsourced. This historical understanding of each website (combined with one-on-one interviews with many of the executives who manage these global websites) provides valuable and actionable findings and recommendations.
We survey a wide swath of global companies across all major industries to provide a well-rounded overview of the state of web globalization. Within each industry, we include the leading companies with a focus on brand leadership. We include more than 30% of the Fortune 100 companies and 80% of the 2016 Interbrand 100 Best Global Brands.
Many of the companies benchmarked within this report have purchased the report for multiple years. Purchasers include Cisco Systems, Deloitte, Panasonic, FedEx, Philips, and The World Bank. There are companies not included in this report that also use it regularly, such as global consulting and IT firms and various government agencies.
Web globalization best practices may emerge in any industry. By keeping a broad focus on all major industries, we are able to point executives to those companies and industries that are doing the best job of presenting themselves to the world. Every company included does have peers by which it can be evaluated. In the end, our goal is to provide a truly global perspective on which companies and industries are the most active and successful in web globalization. Only through casting a wide net do we achieve this goal.
The Report Card analyzes each website according to the following four criteria:
Author John Yunker will share key findings from the report and, if your company is included in the report, will share in-depth recommendations. If your company is not included in the report, he will review your website during the call, pointing out best practices and room for improvement. Every phone call is customized to the client's needs and may cover topics such as:
Some clients elect to combine the presentation with onsite training and cross-team meetings. Over the years, John Yunker has presented at dozens of companies across three continents. Please contact us for more information.
Since 2000, John Yunker has helped hundreds of companies improve their global content, websites and software. He authored the first book devoted to the emerging field of web globalization Beyond Borders, as well as the newest, Think Outside the Country. John speaks at numerous industry events, including Localization World, Internet Retailer, and the Unicode Conference and has been quoted on global topics in publications including The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. He writes the popular web globalization blog Global by Design.
The Web Globalization Report Card is a copyright of Byte Level Research LLC. Trademark pending.
Founded in 2000, Byte Level Research was the first agency devoted to website and content globalization best practices. Over the years we have helped hundreds of companies improve their global content, websites and software through our reports, consulting, speaking and training sessions.
"Think Outside the Country" is a registered trademark of John Yunker, Byte Level Research LLC.
Our Privacy Policy