About the Onym Project

The Onym Project is an effort to collect and organize resources and best practices for making the web work everywhere, for everyone. The Onym Project comprises several initiatives:

To build a reference body of knowledge around four facets areas of website and application development: Internationalization, Localization, Translation, and Accessibility. This body of knowledge is found here.
To develop the Onym Framework, a web development framework build from the ground up with internationalization in mind.
To develop training programs to teach the core concepts around internationalization and their practical implementation.
To offer consulting services in support of internationalization projects.

Internationalization

Internationalization is the process of designing and preparing your website or application to support multiple languages, regions, and cultural preferences without requiring a complete redesign. It's about building the core architecture in a way that is easily adapted to different languages and content formats, like dates, times, and currencies.

Internationalization focuses on cleanly separating content from code and configuration, creating a flexible framework that can support multiple locales (countries and languages).

Learn more about internationalization

Localization

Localization is the process of adapting your website or application to a specific locale, language, or region. This includes translating the text, adapting graphics and color schemes, modifying content to fit cultural norms, and adjusting layouts to accommodate varying text lengths and formats. Is performed after internationalization has been implemented, customizing the product for each target market.

Learn more about localization

Translation

Translation is the subset of localization that deals with converting text from one language to another. In web development, this involves translating the user interface (UI) elements, documentation, and any user-facing content from the source language to one or more target languages. It requires cultural knowledge as well as linguistic skills to ensure the translated content conveys the same meaning and nuance as the original.

Learn more about translation

Accessibility

Accessibility focuses on on inclusivity beyond just language or region. It is the practice of ensuring that your website or application is usable by as many people as possible, including those with disabilities. This involves designing and coding to accommodate users with various impairments, such as visual, auditory, motor, and cognitive disabilities.

Accessibility includes following standards such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). It involves making sure that web content is perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust for all users, regardless of their abilities. It’s not limited to international users but is crucial for ensuring that your site is inclusive for users with disabilities globally.

Learn more about accessibility

About this server

This server is a test bed, a sandbox for developing, experimenting with, and demonstrating best-practice techniques for solving web dev problems related to internationalization, localication, translation, and accessibility.