Since the initial post in December 2013, the Ethereum Foundation (EF) blog has served as the main channel for communication among teams within the EF. From notifications regarding events to grant cycles, protocol enhancements, ongoing updates from particular teams, or discussions regarding Ethereum’s vision and roadmap, the blog has been a valuable asset for those wishing to remain informed.
Nevertheless, there has been one significant issue: despite having a global Ethereum community, this information has predominantly been accessible only in English. Gaining access to this knowledge is a hurdle for the billions of non-English speakers globally.
ethereum.org and the Translation Initiative
We have already witnessed ethereum.org showcase a successful, community-oriented approach for Ethereum translations. In 2019, ethereum.org initiated the translation of its educational, open-source materials into various languages. Over time, this initiative has expanded to 48 languages available with millions of words translated yearly by thousands of volunteer contributors.
A crucial element of the Translation Program’s success is its thousands of passionate contributors. For many, engaging in translation is one of the most significant ways they can support the Ethereum ecosystem to learn, instruct, and give back to the community.
Currently, Ethereum.org has:
- 3,800 contributing translators
- 48 languages available on the site
- 2.9 million words translated in 2021
- 1.9 million words translated so far in 2022
Are individuals utilizing the translations?
The ethereum.org team’s exploration with translations highlights the importance of offering Ethereum content in multiple languages. The conclusion has been evident: the more content we translate, the larger the proportion of overall traffic directed to translated pages. The trend has been consistent, with translated materials accounting for 5% of pageviews in late 2019, now increasing to comprise 22% of total pageviews. This aligns with common sense—even community members fluent in English report a preference for reading in their native tongue.
The most comprehensive translation of the ethereum.org content is in Simplified Chinese. The outcome? 8% of all traffic to ethereum.org is directed to the Simplified Chinese version of the website.
Translate everything!
As the efficacy of translations on ethereum.org became evident, other obvious opportunities for translation emerged.
The Ethereum Staking Launchpad, an interactive guide for becoming a solo staker and establishing a validator, has been translated into 20 languages.
Since early 2022, we have also incorporated some translations for selected blog posts (e.g. recent testnet upgrades). However, these were a less than ideal, temporary fix since the blog didn’t initially accommodate internationalization. Translations were not easily indexable, searchable, or straightforward to locate.
Blog updates: what has altered?
Below is a brief overview of the efforts we have completed thus far and what we aim to enhance next.
Internationalization support
With today’s launch, the EF blog features comprehensive internationalization support, which means when you select a language for browsing the blog (e.g., blog.ethereum.org/zh), you will be able to view all posts in your preferred language. This enhancement includes a language-specific search functionality) and dedicated RSS feeds for each language (e.g., blog.ethereum.org/zh/feed.xml). Furthermore, we have improved layouts for right-to-left languages, such as Arabic.
Performance enhancements
As part of the blog’s reconstruction, we transitioned the code to an entirely new technology stack (from Jekyll to Next.js). Next.js is a contemporary web framework optimized for performance for end-users. We anticipate that performance upgrades will be noticeable to all, but those lacking access to high-speed internet should experience the most substantial improvements in loading times and user interactions.
Accessibility advancements
This rebuildalso enhances overall accessibility of the blog by offering a superior experience with screen readers, refined keyboard navigation, and various color updates to boost contrast. These advancements are primarily due to our UI library, Chakra, which closely follows Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)—kudos to their team of open-source contributors!
UI/UX enhancements
We streamlined the site menu to enhance navigation across various devices. Additionally, we revamped the archive and search pages to deliver content in a more comprehensible manner.
Upcoming objectives
While this updated blog marks a significant upgrade from the earlier version, we have additional enhancements we plan to implement.
Email notifications
As part of the blog’s redesign, we improved compatibility with RSS readers. Therefore, instead of having to regularly check the blog or depending on our Twitter for updates, you can subscribe to the RSS feed in your chosen language.
Nevertheless, in 2022, users anticipate a more direct approach: email notifications. This is next on our agenda as we believe it would greatly enhance the user experience for everyone on the blog. Stay tuned!
Broadened language support
ethereum.org has illustrated the need for a diverse range of languages. We are launching today with support for 16 languages but we aim to add more options soon. This leads us to our next topic…
Join us!
Are you interested in helping to translate the EF blog?
Discover everything you need to join our translation initiative.
We appreciate your efforts in making Ethereum information accessible to countless community members worldwide!