In today's guide, I'm reviewing the Lionbridge connector for Episerver CMS. I've recently been working on a project for a client who has a global presence. They have a requirement to do content translations from English into a multitude of languages. The purpose of the Lionbridge connector is to enable a simple, fast, way of managing translation projects from within Episerver.

All the translation requests occur within the Episerver editor, so there's no need to have to worry about cut-and-pasting, emailing things or getting temps in for a short period of time to write the content for you. For further reference, there is a two-minute video that describes what the Lionbridge connector does here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPS4IogldsY.

How Much Does Lionbridge Cost?

One of the first things you may ask, is how much will this cost me? I asked the guys from Lionbridge about the cost and I got this response:

'The business model for the connector is a one-time setup fee covering the connector, configuration, and setup support. Then there's a monthly (or quarterly) maintenance fee covering operational support and upgrades.

The translations jobs ordered through the connector are then usually priced per word, using professional translators and technology to achieve high-quality translations at a very competitive cost.

More information can be found on our site," https://www.lionbridge.com/en-gb/partners/episerver-digital-experience-cloud, and on EpiServers site also I believe.

How Do I Install the Lionbridge connector?

Installing it was pretty simple. You need some licenses from Lionbridge and then install it via Nuget. Full install instructions can be found in this guide, How To Translate Your Episerver Page Into A Different Languages Using The Lionbridge Connector.

Would You Recommend it?

First, I should probably mention, I don't work for the company, I also don't get any kickbacks/commission etc... I've worked on multiple multi-language projects over the years and I've never used a module like this before. I can definitely see how this can make your life easier. I have worked on projects where clients have hired temps in for a few weeks to do the translation work. If you have a requirement to get regular translations this seems like an easier option than hiring someone full-time.

Installation was pretty easy, the connector took me about 30 minutes to install. My first test translation took a bit of communication with the Lionbridge team, who replied to emails pretty quickly. After it was set up I did a single page test, which took about an hour to return. I can't say we've used it in anger yet and I'll update this article when I have.

The one thing I didn't like about the connector, is that the config is set in an Episerver gadget (Episerver has no API to configure gadgets in code). As it's a gadget, it also means you can't restrict editors from accessing it. In theory, someone could go to the Lionbridge settings and accidentally remove the license. I would prefer if the configuration/license was set in the web.config instead, so I could better manage deployments in my Ci/Cd pipeline. This would also prevent content editors from getting access to the license.

Apart from that, if you need to do some translation, it's definitely worth investigating to see if it's a good fit for you. Happy Coding 🤘