Developer Philosophy

Why most apps fail localization

Localization failures are rarely translation failures. They are architecture failures. This localization toolchain is designed to make these failure modes explicit and preventable.

1. Hardcoded strings

Bad example

// Bad: copy lives directly in components
<button>Pay now</button>

Issue

Hardcoded copy creates hidden localization debt because every string change becomes a code change.

How we handle it with Lingo.dev

Build-time localization routes static copy through extracted translation keys so UI strings are translated before release.

2. Manual translation

Bad example

// Bad: hand-managed dictionary
const labels = {
  es: { checkout: "Pagar" },
  de: { checkout: "Kasse" },
};

Issue

Manual dictionaries drift from source text, get incomplete, and consume review time on every feature branch.

How we handle it with Lingo.dev

Localization tooling combines build-time extraction and runtime SDK translation for dynamic strings, with automation handling refreshes.

3. No RTL support

Bad example

/* Bad: layout locked to left-to-right assumptions */
.checkout-row {
  display: flex;
  justify-content: flex-start;
}

Issue

Without explicit direction handling, Arabic and Hebrew interfaces feel broken and inaccessible.

How we handle it with Lingo.dev

The localization layer scopes RTL behavior intentionally and defines where direction should flip at the UI boundary.

4. No locale-aware formatting

Bad example

// Bad: concatenated format string
const total = "$" + amount.toFixed(2);

Issue

String concatenation ignores local conventions for separators, symbols, and date ordering.

How we handle it with Lingo.dev

Locale-aware formatting uses Intl APIs for currency, numbers, and dates according to the active locale.

5. No translation coverage enforcement

Bad example

# Bad: CI builds app but never validates locale output
- run: npm run build

Issue

Teams ship untranslated surfaces when pipelines do not verify localization artifacts.

How we handle it with Lingo.dev

CLI + CI localization checks surface missing translations before merge.