Best practices for the Translations Contributor app

Follow these guidelines to keep translations accurate, consistent, and safe to publish.

Translate from the English source

Always read the English (source) column, not the key name. Keys such as send_early_reminder_before are identifiers, not text. The English column is the meaning to translate.

Preserve placeholders and formatting

• Keep placeholders like %s, %d, and %1$s exactly as written and in an order that reads naturally in your language.
• Preserve any simple formatting (line breaks, punctuation style) that the source relies on.
• Do not add scripts or unusual HTML — translation values are plain text and are sanitised on save.

Work by filter, not top to bottom

Use the Missing and Untranslated tabs to find real work quickly instead of scrolling the entire list. Aim to empty the Missing tab first, then refine Untranslated.

Be consistent

• Reuse the same term for the same concept across the whole app (for example, always translate "Invoice" the same way).
• Match the platform's tone: clear, short, and professional.
• Respect capitalisation and spacing conventions of your language.

Save often, approve deliberately

• Save regularly; drafts are safe and can be revised later.
• Only approve a language once its translations have been reviewed. Approval is the signal that the content is ready to be published.

Understand the workflow boundary

This app stages contributions only. Publishing into the product is handled by a separate, controlled service. That means your edits are never applied instantly — they go through review and publishing, which protects every workspace from mistakes.