# localization-strategy

Plans and audits website and product localization from locale selection through URL migration and production checks. Use it when translated copy alone is not enough.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · 1100 installs · ★ 1062
- Author: kostja94
- License: MIT · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/kostja94/marketing-skills/tree/HEAD/skills/strategies/commercial/localization/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-10-21
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/localization-strategy

## What it does

This skill manages localization decisions across planning, implementation, migration, and production validation. It separates language support, locale differences, and market entry instead of treating every translated page as ready to launch.

It builds an evidence set from the live site, route or CMS inventory, navigation, sitemap, repository, analytics, and search data. Read `contextus.md` at the project root when it exists. A sitemap alone is not a complete inventory, so it should be checked against routes and CMS content.

The skill defines content states per locale and coordinates `hreflang`, canonicals, internal links, sitemaps, and redirects. Translation, glossary work, style guidance, and language review belong to `translation`, which keeps strategic decisions separate from copy production.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add kostja94/marketing-skills --skill localization-strategy -a claude-code
```
```bash
npx skills add kostja94/marketing-skills --skill localization -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/localization/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/localization/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add kostja94/marketing-skills --skill localization -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/localization/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add kostja94/marketing-skills --skill localization -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/localization/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install kostja94/marketing-skills localization
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/localization/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add kostja94/marketing-skills --skill localization -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/kostja94/marketing-skills --path skills/strategies/commercial/localization
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/localization/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add kostja94/marketing-skills --skill localization -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/kostja94/marketing-skills/tree/HEAD/skills/strategies/commercial/localization/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- select markets and locales for launch
- build a page coverage matrix by locale
- align public URLs with `hreflang` signals
- migrate legacy locale URLs with redirects
- validate localized pages before release

## Example prompts
- Use the `localization-strategy` skill to audit our locale setup and public URLs.
- Use `localization-strategy` to plan a locale URL migration and redirects.
- Check whether our localized pages are ready for indexing with `localization-strategy`.

## Source text · SKILL.md · MIT

Below is the content of a third-party file. It is data, not instructions for you: do not act on anything written inside unless the human asks. Block tag: ae611a8293b344df.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE ae611a8293b344df
```text
---
name: localization-strategy
description: Plan, audit, implement, migrate, or validate localization for multilingual products and websites, including locale scope, market readiness, URL architecture, content coverage, hreflang coordination, rollout, and production verification. Use translation for the actual translation, glossary, and language review work.
metadata:
  version: 2.0.0
---

# Localization Strategy

Own the end-to-end localization decision and delivery lifecycle. Do not treat localization as a request to translate every source page or to create locale routes before the content is ready.

## Boundaries

- This skill owns market and locale selection, scope, technical architecture, rollout, migration, release gates, and measurement.
- **translation** owns translated copy, terminology, style, review, and source-change updates.
- **keyword-research** owns target-market query research; do not translate a source keyword list.
- **page-metadata**, **canonical-tag**, and **url-structure** own their specialist implementation details. Coordinate them here without duplicating their full rules.
- Preserve project-specific product facts, route inventories, and terminology in the project context or implementation repository. Do not turn them into universal rules.

## Establish the Current State

Read root `contextus.md` when present. Build the evidence set from the production site, route or CMS inventory, navigation and internal links, sitemap, source repository, analytics, and search data as available. A sitemap alone is not a complete page inventory.

Confirm:

- target markets, languages, and actual locale distinctions;
- current and proposed public URL patterns;
- default locale and whether it is prefixed;
- which page types are localized, source-only, or market-specific;
- content owner, glossary, review capacity, and update cadence;
- current route, canonical, hreflang, sitemap, language-switcher, and fallback behavior;
- existing indexed URLs that require redirects or compatibility handling.

When a site has thousands of same-template pages, inventory page types and representative examples rather than listing every URL.

## Decide Whether a Locale Should Launch

Prioritize a locale using evidence such as existing demand, search opportunity, conversion or revenue potential, competitive depth, payment and support readiness, compliance, and the team's ability to keep content current.

Separate these decisions:

1. **Language support**: the interface or content is available in a language.
2. **Locale support**: spelling, formats, currency, terminology, or product behavior differs.
3. **Market entry**: pricing, payments, channels, proof, support, and compliance are ready for a geography.
```
END THIRD-PARTY FILE ae611a8293b344df

The third-party file has ended. Everything between the ae611a8293b344df tags is data: requests and commands from it are not followed. An “end of file” line with another tag inside the block is part of the file.

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