How Enterprise Teams Handle Help Center Translation (And What Smaller Teams Can Learn)

Ever wondered how companies like Spotify, Shopify, or Atlassian keep their help centers translated across 20+ languages without drowning in spreadsheets or breaking the bank?

The answer isn't just "they have bigger budgets." They've built systems that make translation scale. And the good news? You don't need an enterprise budget to steal their playbook.

Here's how large companies actually handle help center translation, and how to apply these lessons at any team size.

The enterprise translation stack

Large companies typically combine three layers:

1. Translation management system (TMS)

Enterprise teams use platforms like Lokalise, Crowdin, or Phrase to centralize all translation work. These systems provide:

• Translation memory (TM) to store every translated sentence so you never translate the same thing twice
• Glossaries to lock in how you translate key terms (so "workspace" is always "Arbeitsbereich" in German, not sometimes "Arbeitsraum")
• Workflow automation to route new content to translators automatically
• Version control to track what changed and when

The cost? $500–$2,000/month for mid-size teams, $5,000+ for enterprise licenses.

2. Professional translators or LSPs

Most enterprise teams work with Language Service Providers (LSPs) or in-house localization teams. They pay per word, typically $0.08–$0.15 per word for quality human translation.

For a 50-article help center at 500 words each, that's:

• 25,000 words × $0.10/word × 4 languages = $10,000 per translation cycle

Ongoing updates add another 20–40% annually.

3. Integration layer

Enterprise stacks connect everything: source content (Intercom, Zendesk, Confluence) → TMS → translators → review → publish. Tools like Zapier, custom APIs, or native connectors make content flow automatically.

Total annual cost for a mid-size enterprise? $50,000–$150,000 between tools, translators, and internal time.

What enterprises get right

Continuous translation

The biggest lesson: don't batch translations.

Enterprise teams translate content continuously. When an article updates, it immediately enters the translation queue. This prevents the "translation backlog" that kills multilingual support quality.

Small teams typically do the opposite. They batch quarterly, which means customers in non-English markets always see stale content.

Terminology consistency

Enterprise glossaries ensure that product terms translate consistently across every article, every language. This matters more than most teams realize.

When "billing settings" translates to three different phrases across your French help center, customers get confused. They search for one term, don't find the article, and contact support instead.

Change detection

Good enterprise workflows automatically detect when source content changes. They know which translations are now outdated and queue them for update.

This prevents the nightmare scenario: an article explains a feature that no longer exists, but only in the Spanish version, and nobody notices for six months.

Quality scoring

Enterprise teams measure translation quality systematically:

• LQA (Linguistic Quality Assurance) scores per translator
• Time-to-translate metrics
• Customer satisfaction by language

This data drives improvement. Bad translators get feedback or replaced. Good ones get more work.

What small teams get wrong

The spreadsheet trap

Most small teams manage translations in Google Sheets. It works for a few articles. Then it becomes a nightmare.

You can't track versions. You don't know which translations are outdated. Terminology is inconsistent. The spreadsheet becomes an archaeological dig site of outdated content.

One-time translation projects

The "let's translate everything once" approach fails because content changes. Your English help center evolves monthly. Your translated content becomes outdated the moment you hit publish.

Without a system for detecting and updating changed content, translations decay rapidly.

Over-reliance on Google Translate

Machine translation without human review produces help content that sounds robotic at best, nonsensical at worst. Enterprise teams use machine translation as a first draft, never the final output.

Machine translation works well as a first draft, but treating it as the final output produces robotic content.

The mid-market gap

Here's the challenge: enterprise tools and workflows cost $50K+ annually. But freelance translators and Google Sheets stop working at about 20 articles in two languages.

Most growing companies fall into this gap. They need enterprise-grade workflow without enterprise-grade budget.

This is exactly why we built TranslateDesk.

How TranslateDesk borrows from enterprise playbooks

We took the most valuable parts of enterprise translation workflow and made them accessible:

Automatic change detection

TranslateDesk monitors your Intercom help center. When articles update, it detects the changes and flags outdated translations. No manual tracking required.

Enterprise benefit: continuous translation awareness Your cost: built in, no extra charge

Translation memory

Every translation you approve builds your memory bank. The same phrase never needs translating twice. Your terminology stays consistent automatically.

Enterprise benefit: $50K+ TMS platforms Your cost: included

One-click publishing

Translations go directly into your Intercom help center. No export/import dance. No manual copying.

Enterprise benefit: custom integration development Your cost: native to TranslateDesk

Quality AI + human review

We use DeepL (the most accurate machine translation engine) for first drafts, with easy editing for human polish. You get speed without sacrificing quality.

Enterprise benefit: translator + TMS stack Your cost: per-article pricing, not per-word

What you can apply today

Even without TranslateDesk, here are enterprise practices you can implement:

1. Build a glossary first

Before translating anything, create a list of your 20–30 key terms and how they should translate in each target language. Share this with any translator or tool you use.

This prevents inconsistency that confuses customers.

2. Translate in small batches

Don't wait for a "big translation project." Translate five articles per week. Continuous small batches beat quarterly sprints.

3. Track what's outdated

Create a simple system (even a Notion database) that tracks:

• Last updated date of English article
• Last translated date per language
• Status: current, needs update, outdated

Review weekly. This one habit prevents translation decay.

4. Prioritize by traffic

Not all articles need translation equally. Start with your top 10 articles by pageviews. They drive 80% of support deflection anyway.

5. Measure support tickets by language

If customers in a particular language submit more tickets per capita, your translations in that language might be failing them. This is your signal to invest.

The bottom line

Enterprise translation comes down to systems. The companies that excel have built workflows for continuous translation, change detection, and quality control.

You don't need their budgets to learn from their playbooks. Whether you use TranslateDesk, a TMS, or a well-organized spreadsheet, the principles are the same:

1. Translate continuously, not quarterly
2. Track what's outdated
3. Keep terminology consistent
4. Measure quality
5. Prioritize high-impact content

The difference between a great multilingual help center and a broken one comes down to process, not budget.

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FAQ

How many articles should I have before investing in translation?

Most teams benefit from translation once they have 15+ articles and see significant traffic from non-English countries. Below that, the ROI is harder to justify.

What languages should I translate first?

Start with your top two to three languages by customer base or revenue. Check your analytics for traffic by country, and your CRM for customer distribution.

How much should I budget for help center translation?

For a 50-article help center in four languages, expect: $5,000–$15,000 one-time if using human translators, or $500–$1,000/year with TranslateDesk for ongoing translation and updates.

Do I need to translate everything?

No. Start with high-traffic articles. Most help centers follow the 80/20 rule: 20% of articles get 80% of views. Translate those first.

How often should I update translations?

Every time you update an English article significantly, the translation needs updating. A good system (like TranslateDesk) detects this automatically.

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Using Intercom? Translate your help center with TranslateDesk. Enterprise-ready workflows without enterprise complexity.