Introducing... our new website!

So what do you think?

You may have noticed that the Wessex website is looking all shiny and new for 2019! We have spent quite some time with our friends at Studio Republic redesigning the site to better reflect who we are and what we do. You see, we think we’re quite different from other translation companies. “Why?”, we hear you ask...

Old-timers, new thinkers

As far as translation companies go, we’re pretty old! We’ve been in business for over 45 years and were one of the first translation companies to be established in the UK. Wessex was around before the internet, before emails, before PCs, in fact! Our younger staff members are always amused to hear that back in the day, our translations were produced as hard copies which were either posted or driven between the client, the Wessex office and the translator. Yes, Wessex had a delivery driver!

These days our office looks very different. Gone are the clunky PCs, dial-up internet and the handwritten order book. However, many of our contacts remain. Our strong roots mean that we have been able to build long-standing relationships with both clients and translators who we still work with today. This longevity has allowed us to understand what our clients really want and why they have chosen to stick with us for so many years. We must be doing something right! We’re not sure many of our competitors can say they’ve been working with some of their clients for 45 years or more.

This long history has kept us grounded while new technology has allowed us to develop our internal processes and grow our client base on a global scale. Our business might have grown, but we still pride ourselves on maintaining a professional, yet friendly and approachable service with a local feel; you could be down the road or on the other side of the world, we will treat you just the same. Emails are convenient, yes, but you can still pick up the phone and talk to us! Whether it’s friendly advice and guidance to help you understand your language needs or an urgent request that is raising your stress levels, our staff are always on the other end of the phone. At Wessex we embrace developments in technology, but we are careful not to let it turn us into faceless service provider.

Speaking of faces…

You may have noticed that we have waved goodbye to stock images that so many companies rely on for their website. Instead, we wanted to show you our team; the hardworking people you have come to rely on, without whom your urgent translations would not be delivered and those tricky language combinations would not be sourced. And for our new clients, it’s nice to see some real faces to show that we are really here, waiting to help with your requests!

We’re proud of the work we do, so why wouldn’t we want to show off our lovely faces on the website?!

Who are we, really?

Our new website also includes this revamped blog. As well as articles about the translation industry, we are planning on using this to help you get to know us better. Whether it’s an insight into the day in the life of one of our project managers, or a chat with one of the team about why they chose the language industry as a career. You’ll see it here!

As well as showing you our team on a professional level, we also wanted to show you who we are on a personal level. By committing to regular blog posts, we hope to introduce you to our team and what we get up to outside the world of translation. We’re enthusiastic about helping others and frequently take part in fundraising activities, so watch this space for some insightful pictures! From Save the Children’s Christmas Jumper Day and Macmillan’s Coffee Morning, to Wear a Hat Day organised by Brain Tumour Research, we love to get involved and raise money for a good cause. We have participated in The Mission to Seafarers’ Flying Angel Ride, cycling 35 miles to raise money for port-side welfare services for seafarers all over the world. We’ve also raised money for Young Dementia UK by participating in the local Romsey Relay Marathon. Check back here to find out what we’ll be getting up to this year.

More than just translations

We also wanted the redesign to draw your attention to the fact that translation isn’t actually all we do! Yes, it’s the major part of our business but we can help you with other services too:

Typesetting

We’re pleased to offer a comprehensive translation and typesetting service. You certainly don’t get that from every translation company! Do you have a technical manual, a sales brochure, product packaging, or maybe even a novel or activity book which requires translation? No problem! Many translation companies would just provide the translated text in a Word file and leave you to organise the rest. At Wessex, we can translate straight from the original design file and provide you with the translation in the same format, looking equally as polished and professional and ready for print. Whether it’s Adobe InDesign, Illustrator or another similar software, our typesetting team is here to help. Your documents will be translated, typeset and revised so that all you need to worry about is sending them off to print!

Website Localisation

Looking to target your website at a new market? We can translate your original site and localise it for your intended foreign-language audience. There are all sorts of ways we can help and we’d be happy to discuss your needs, however big or small. We look after several of our clients’ websites and work with a number of different solutions, depending on specific requirements. This includes translation proxy and automated text transfer solutions to minimise the input required from our clients. They are able to pour all their effort into the original site, and let us sort the rest!

Interpreting

People often get confused about the difference between translation and interpreting. While the major part of our business is the translation of written text, we also offer an interpreting service which deals with the spoken word. We have trained interpreters with experience in all sorts of situations, ready to help. Perhaps it’s for court proceedings or a tribunal hearing. Maybe a medical appointment or a meeting with social services. We can also provide multiple interpreters and the necessary audio equipment for meetings or conferences with a larger number of people. Just let us know what you need!

So, who do we work for?

You might think there’s something missing from our new website. So many companies splash their clients' logos across their site, but not us. Many of our clients deal with confidential or sensitive information and we respect that. We have clients from a wide range of industries, from defence, technical, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, legal and European institutions, to more creative sectors such as publishing and marketing, all of whom place great importance on maintaining privacy. A lot of our business comes from recommendations, so clearly this emphasis on confidentiality is appreciated! So, in short, just because you don’t see any big, bold logos on our website, it doesn’t mean we don’t work for some pretty amazing clients.

That’s it!

We hope you love our new website as much as we do! It would be great to hear from you; our team are always here to help.

Written by

Hannah Flatley