Web Site Localization
Web Site Localization: The Role of Information Architecture
Courtney Jordan
McCallum Graduate School of Business – Bentley University
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Web Site Localization
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Abstract
This paper analyzes the information architecture of the Disneyland Resort Paris
Web site in comparison to the corporate Disney site to determine the quality of
localization based on French cultural norms and expectations. To increase the chances for
success, Web sites should include cultural markers that evoke the desired responses in the
target culture. This paper brings together the research of cross-cultural analysts,
information architects, and linguists. The efficacy of the localization of the French site is
analyzed in terms of the cultural markers of translational accuracy, information
formatting, masculinity/femininity, context, and uncertainty avoidance. Overall, the site
has merged elements of these cultural markers to create a site which is aesthetically
pleasing to the French audience. Where the site does not meet French cultural
expectations, recommendations are made to improve the French viewer’s experience.
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Introduction
As companies attempt to compete in an increasingly global market, it is becoming more
and more important that cultural norms and expectations be addressed, not only in interpersonal
relations but also when designing international Web sites, which are, in effect, a company’s face
to the world. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) defines localization as “the adaptation of
a product, application or document content to meet the language, cultural and other requirements
of a specific target market” (http://www.w3.org/International/questions/qa-i18n). According to
the W3C, localization encompasses many issues, including:

appropriate numeric, date, time, and currency formats

symbols, icons, and colors

text and graphics containing references to objects, actions or ideas which may be
misinterpreted
Rosenfeld and Morville (2002) offer several definitions for information architecture,
including “the combination of organization, labeling, and navigation schemes within an
information system” and “the structural design of an information space to facilitate task
completion and intuitive access to content” (p. 4). A site that has been adequately localized
should enable users to understand the site’s organization and navigational scheme, which will
facilitate finding relevant information, one of the key goals of information architecture.
Before localizing a site, companies should research the new culture carefully to ensure
that the site design does not inadvertently alienate their intended audience. Many factors can
contribute to the failure of localization. Perhaps most significant is the failure to select
appropriate cultural markers, such as color schemes, navigational aids (Barber & Badre, 1998),
and expected information formats (e.g., calendar entities, currency denominations, and numerical
quantities). In addition, companies from one culture attempting to establish a presence in a culture
which falls at the opposite end of a cultural dimension such as masculinity/femininity (Hofstede,
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1983) and long/short-term time orientation (Hofstede, 1983; Hall & Hall, 1990) must be careful
to send the right message and evoking the desired responses with their site design. Barber and
Badre (1998) use the term “cultural markers” to encompass any design element, tangible or
otherwise, that enhances foreign viewers’ perception of a site (pp. 1-4, 10) and makes them feel
more comfortable and secure. To address the phenomenon of cultural impact, they coined the
term, “culturability”, calling for the fusing of culture and usability in designing international
products and Web sites. According to these authors, what constitutes a “user-friendly” interface
varies from culture to culture (p. 10). What conveys an acceptable message to one culture may be
perceived as embarrassing or worse, horrendously insulting.
This paper will examine differences in French and American cultural norms and
expectations by analyzing the information architecture of Disneyland Resort Paris
(http://www.disneylandparis/fr/) based on its culturability. Where applicable, this site architecture
and design will be compared to the corporate Disney site (http://www.disney.com). These
elements will be evaluated based on research and personal knowledge of French culture. Where
applicable, recommendations will be made to create a more satisfying Disney experience for
French viewers.
Literature Review
This paper analyzes the Disneyland Resort Paris Web site in terms of Barber and Badre’s
(1998) cultural markers to assess its culturability, the merging of culture and usability.
Information architecture is at the forefront of this revolution, as it seeks to design Web sites that
impart a harmonious experience to the intended audiences. This could be through providing a
comprehensive navigation system, accurate breadcrumb trails and a robust, searchable help
system. It could also be attained by using the appropriate colors and design elements that conform
to specific cultural expectations of Web sites. This paper brings together the research and
knowledge of cross-cultural analysts, information architects, and linguists, to provide a
comprehensive evaluation of the expected site architecture elements for a French Web site.
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It also builds on the work performed in the cross-cultural analyses of Hall and Hall (1990). This
work did not include Web site preferences, as the Internet was not made available to the public
until 1991 and took several years to gain popularity in America
(http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/berners-lee.html) and much longer in France due to the popularity
of the Minitel, which has enabled the French to perform a variety of “on-line” tasks such as
booking tickets, checking schedules, and chatting, since 1981, long before the advent of the
Internet. Several of the categories these authors defined to show the innate differences between
the French and American cultures are still applicable sixteen years later; thus, this paper will
apply several of their cultural dimensions to justify the assertion that Web sites designed for a
French audience must take these differences into consideration. It also builds on Hofstede’s
(1983) cultural dimensions of French expectations of a well localized Web site, as analyzed by
Ford and Gelderblom (2003) and by Singh, Kumar, and Baack (2005), as well as on research by
Bollinger and Hofstede (1987). In addition to using studies performed by English speakers, this
paper also cites information from Bollinger (a French native) and Hofstede (1987) on French
cultural norms and expectations, extrapolating and applying Bollinger’s native insight on French
cultural dimensions to the design of culturally appropriate Web sites.
Web Site Localization Levels
According to Del Galdo and Nielsen (1996), a company can choose to localize its sites
according to the following three levels:

Translating the Web site into the native language with the appropriate character set
and notations

Ensuring that the translation is understandable and usable

Matching the culture’s characteristics
(Ford & Gelderblom, 2003, p. 220)
These three levels will be discussed in terms of information architecture, specifically in
the areas of translational accuracy, information formatting, and culturability, which Barber and
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Badre (1998) define as the merging of culture and usability, an issue made more prescient by our
globalized economy.
Defining Culture
Pinpointing cultural norms and expectations is difficult because there is no one set
definition of culture. Wordnet describes culture as “the tastes in art and manners favored by a
social group…all the knowledge and values shared by a society…the attitudes and behavior that
are characteristic of a particular social group” (http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn). The
University of Wyoming defines culture as “the values, traditions, norms, customs, arts, history,
folklore, and institutions that a group of people, who are unified by race, ethnicity, language,
nationality, or religion, share (http://wind.uwyo.edu/sig/definition.asp). One prevailing theme in
most definitions is that culture unites a group of people by some common thread (e.g., language
or nationality) and that by being a part of this culture, people learn certain values and knowledge
and habituate themselves to expect certain norms when interacting with other cultures. For the
purposes of this paper, the French culture is defined as native French citizens living in France and
speaking the French language. Although the information contained within this paper could
possibly be extrapolated to other francophone (French-speaking) countries, the particular cultural
norms and expectations of France’s citizens have been studied. Vast cultural differences often
apply even between two countries whose inhabitants share a common language.
Cultural Differences Between Europe and America
When considering localization in Western European markets such as France, Britain, and
Germany, the prevailing view seems to be that all Western cultures (e.g., America and France)
are very similar to each other and differ drastically from Eastern cultures (e.g., China and Japan).
While numerous studies have proven that Western and Eastern cultures see things very
differently, from the way they view one’s responsibilities to community and family to how they
view Web sites, few studies have demonstrated the differences between individual European
cultures or between each European culture and that of the United States. Perhaps most notable is
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an in-depth cultural analysis of the German, French, and American cultures provided by Hall &
Hall (1990). Their book, Understanding Cultural Differences: Germans, French, and Americans,
compares and contrasts the three cultures, and offers advice on effective business and advertising
strategies. Because Web sites are essentially a form of advertisement, this research was especially
valuable in understanding French expectations for a Web site, as will be discussed. Another
important study is that of Hofstede (1983), who identified a number of cultural dimensions that
will also be addressed in this paper.
Cultural Dimensions
Hall and Hall (1990) compare and contrast the French and American cultures, finding
that the cultural norms and expectations of each are quite different, sometimes even at polar
opposites from each other. They maintain that companies looking to expand into any foreign
country need to understand the cultural norms and expectations of that country. They break these
norms and expectations down into the following categories, which will be used in analyzing the
localization quality of the Disneyland Paris Resort Web site:

Fast/slow messages

Time

High/low context

Space

Information flow

Action chains

Interfacing

Fear of risk

Evoking the desired responses
(Hall & Hall, 1990, pp. 1-28)
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A widely-respected cross-cultural analysis is that of Hofstede (1983), who identified a series
of categories by which he ranked several cultures across more than 50 countries within the IBM
Corporation. While the veracity of this study is sometimes questioned due to the participants all
being members of a particular software industry subculture which may be more similar across
cultures than other industries, the following cultural dimensions it set forth are nonetheless
helpful in identifying how to design culturally appropriate Web site elements that will elicit the
desired responses in the French:

Power distance

Individualism/collectivism

Masculinity/femininity

Long/short-term time orientation

Uncertainty avoidance
Due to the voyeuristic nature and limited opportunity to interact profoundly with many
Web sites such as is possible with human interaction and communication, this case analysis will
examine the importance of architecting a site that is user-friendly to French viewers. Specific
areas of focus will be translational accuracy, information formatting, masculinity/femininity,
context (which encompasses evoking the desired responses from the target culture), and
uncertainty avoidance. All of these cultural dimensions fall within the concept of cultural
markers, propounded by Barber and Badre (1998), as will be discussed.
Background History of Disneyland Paris Resort
According to Michael Eisner (Disney’s former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer),
the prefix “Euro” in Euro Disneyland was supposed to elicit excitement. Unfortunately,
Europeans made a different association, connecting the park to the bureaucracy of the new
European Union (http://www.dlp.info/History/Chapter7-2.htm). The Union was founded in 1993,
just a year after the park opened. This merging of initially 25 countries into one union was
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commemorated by the adoption of a universal monetary system (with the exception of Britain,
which has still held fast to the pound at this writing): the euro. This relinquishment of the French
franc for the European euro elicited the French people’s fear of losing their national identity and
independence. Realizing the political gaffe, the park was renamed Disneyland Resort Paris in
1994, creating an association with the romantic City of Lights.
In addition to not having a clear understanding of European politics, Disney also
neglected to research the gastronomical and behavioural habits of the French people. Unlike
Americans, the French do not tend to snack and have a set lunchtime, thus at 12:30, they
converged on the restaurants expecting to be served promptly. The full-serve and fast-food
restaurants and did not have the accommodations to handle the entire guest population at one
time. Rather than being forced to stand in line for what could be hours as Americans would do
often uncomplainingly, French people would elbow their way to the front of the line. New
restaurants and rides needed to be built to accommodate this cultural expectation to be serviced
promptly (Kuisel, 1996, p. 228). Disney began to realize that what worked in the American
market did not necessarily fit the European market.
Another area in which Disney was unprepared was the fierce individuality of its French
employees. Disney attempted to impose the same dress code on these employees that it expects of
their American counterparts. However, the French perceived the clean-cut (no facial hair, no dyed
hair, clothing restrictions) look that Disney was trying to convey as an “attack on the French
sense of individual liberty and dignity” (Kuisel, 1996, p. 227). They felt that Disney was forcing
them to conform to the image of the all-American. This constituted a grave insult to the proud and
independent French, who actually sued Disney on the ground that this violated French labor law,
forcing Disney to relax the dress code (Burgoyne, 1995).
A final area where Disney made a grave mistake was in assuming that colors have a
universal meaning across cultures. When the park originally opened, it was pervasively purple,
including all signage. This decision was based on the CEO’s fondness for purple. What Disney
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had neglected to learn was that in Catholic Europe, purple does not symbolize aristocracy, as in
America, but the death and crucifixion of Christ (Brandon, 2001, p. 352).
In considering the political and cultural misunderstandings and misconceptions that have
marked Disneyland Resort Paris’ past (mostly while under the leadership of an American rather
than a French native), we now look to the future to examine the localization quality of the park’s
Web site using the following cultural markers: translational accuracy, information formatting,
masculinity/femininity, context, and uncertainty avoidance.
Cultural Markers
Barber and Badre (1998) define cultural markers as “indications of belief systems,
institutions, religion, customs, habits, preferences, biases” which are “embedded in international
WWW sites, both deliberately and subconsciously. As previously mentioned, all of the cultural
dimensions put forth by Hall & Hall (1990) and Hofstede (1983) are encompassed within this
definition, particularly within preferences and biases. Natives may not even realize that they are
incorporating information and interface design according to their own cultural norms and
expectations (Barber & Badre, 1998, 4). For example, American Web site designers would
probably not catch French grammatical errors, whereas French designers almost always would,
due to the value their culture places on perfection of style and grammar.
Translational Accuracy
Although Hall & Hall (1990) do not assign grammatical accuracy to a particular category,
they do stress the importance of correct French grammar when interacting with the French,
finding that “the French pride themselves on the art of speaking their language with great pride
[and] fluency” (Hall & Hall, 1990, p. 93). The French will not hesitate to correct a foreigner’s
grammar or accent, which most Americans will tend to avoid. This is perhaps indicative of their
more leisurely approach to time, the concept of savoir-vivre (knowing how to live), and living in
the moment, rather than the American, who greet people with “How are you?”, but don’t have
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time to stop to hear the answer. When foreigners have a hard time with a particular word,
Americans typically let them muddle through it. The French, on the other hand, will correct
improper pronunciation and conjugation. From personal experience, this author has been
grammatically corrected during conversations in France, the French West Indies, and Quebec, but
the interruption was always with an aim to teach and guide, not to insult. Because the French hold
precise grammar and perfection of style and form in such high esteem, this paper examines the
issues of translational accuracy and information formatting. Translational accuracy deals
specifically with whether information is presented in French and if so, whether that grammar is
accurate. On a localized French Web site, all information that is presented should be in French, or
at the very least, in French and English. Information formatting deals with European expectations
for the formatting of numerical quantities such as percentages and prices, as well as calendar
entities such as dates, times, and months.
In considering how Disney has fared against Del Galdo and Nielsen’s (1996) localization
levels, Disney has translated the site into French using the appropriate special characters (e.g., é,
ô, è, ê, î, and ç). It has, in many respects, formatted information appropriately. Because incorrect
formatting of information such as times could render information incomprehensible to a nonEnglish speaker, this paper will address areas which do and do not adhere to expected format.
Cultural characteristics such as national colors or cultural norms and expectations have also been
addressed in some parts of the site but not in others, as will be discussed.
In a localized Web site, companies must assume that the viewers do not speak English (or
the company’s native language). Although French is used pervasively throughout the site, there
are certain areas where only English is available. For a French Web site, providing labels in
English could make those labels unintelligible for French viewers. For example, in the opening
screen of http://www.disneylandparis.com (Figure 1), the viewer is provided with a list of country
flags from which to choose the preferred country. National flags are a type of cultural marker
(Barber & Badre, 1998), helping to identify the language of the target page. As only 13 flags
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would fit across the screen, an “Other countries” link is added. However, this will be
incomprehensible to the non-English speaker. In considering this, think how a non-Chinese
speaker would react to a link labeled with Chinese characters. The viewer might assume that the
link displays something only in Chinese, as links to pages in another language are often displayed
in that language to avoid frustrating visitors. Few would click the link just to see what would
happen.
A more usable design could simply display a question mark in a square box, to
differentiate it from the circular flag representations. Since “?” is a recognizable symbol for help
in many cultures, this would avoid the language problem. The corresponding French text, Autres
pays, could easily be added to increase understanding and decrease frustration.
Figure 1. Examples of good (national flags) and bad (English link label with no French
translation) examples of culturability.
Upon activating the “Other countries” link, the screen in Figure 2 displays. On a localized
site, all labels should be provided in the target language. If English is provided, French must be
too, as Disneyland Resort Paris is located in France. However, the labels over the country and
language lists are only displayed in English. Also, the country list is only in English. These names
should at the least be displayed in French also (Choisissez votre pays and Choisissez votre langue,
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respectively). Although the best solution would be to display each country’s name in its native
language, this would be difficult given the small space. In addition, choosing one language from a
country that has several could exclude viewers who lived in a particular country but did not speak
the selected language. For example, many French citizens of Belgium do not speak Flemish
(similar to Dutch), though this is spoken by a portion of the Dutch portion of Belgium, thus a
label for the country of Belgium which displayed a page in only Flemish would be frustrating for
these viewers.
Figure 2. All labels for a localized Web site should be provided in that culture’s official
language.
After selecting a language, the main page gives French viewers the option to turn the
sound on or off via a label “son on/off”. Although “son” (sound) is translated, “on/off” is not. The
blending of both French and English creates a franglais (français + anglais) faux pas that will
confuse French viewers who do not have a good grasp of the English language. This should be
“éteindre/allumer” (to extinguish/to light).
Grammatical mistakes are rare throughout the Disneyland Resort Paris site; however, due to
the importance of correct grammar and style to the French, a few examples have been
highlighted. Quotation marks are not used in French writing, thus the following Contact screen
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(Figure 3) which instructs French viewers to go to the “reserver” section of the site has not been
localized. Guillemets (arrow brackets << >>) are used in French writing, thus any information
that would be surrounded in quotation marks in English should have been surrounded with this
standard French symbol for setting aside quotations (Oudot, 1985, 2)
Figure 3. Quotation marks are not used in French and should be replaced with arrow brackets
(e.g., <<reserver>>).
Due to the importance of grammar and style, companies should thoroughly check
their translated sites for grammatical and formatting mistakes. Verbs need to be checked
for correct verb and noun conjugation and agreement. Plural noun and verb forms should
be used when discussing two or more of some entity. In the image below, the first
question asks if the viewer has any children, then asks “Quel est leur âge?” (What is their
age?). The noun, “age”, does not agree with “is”, while “their” needs to be pluralized
with the addition of an “s”, thus to be grammatically correct, this question should be
phrased, “Quels sont leurs âges?” (What are their ages?). A formatting mistake is also
displayed in the image below. French viewers can choose the mois (month), but the French do
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not treat month names as proper nouns, as in the English language, thus they should not be
capitalized as shown in the drop-down list in Figure 4.
Figure 4. Grammatical and information formatting errors are rare, but in the exacting French
culture, it is important that these be fixed.
When French and English words are very similar to each other, it is important that the French
characters be used. Although “hotels” is spelled the same in both French and English, the French
word has a circonflex (^) over the o, thus French people would be expecting Hôtels in Figure 5.
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Figure 5. Companies need to make sure that French words are not anglicized (anglais is the
French word for English, thus to make a French word similar to English is anglicizing).
Little details make a big difference, especially to the discerning French eye. Often graphics
are not translated during localization, due to the time and expense needed to recreate a localized
version. However, the highlighted compass shown in Figure 6 has been properly localized. Rather
than the expected W for west, there is an O for ouest; all other directions begin with the same
letter in French as in English.
Figure 6. Localizing graphics can go a long way towards making a viewer feel
comfortable and secure.
After ensuring translational accuracy of both text and graphics, it is important that companies
present that information in the expected format of the target culture; otherwise, they run the risk
of that information being incomprehensible to those viewers.
Information Formatting
Disneyland Resort Paris generally meets cultural expectations of information formatting,
presenting dates in the European format of dd/mm/yy, rather than the American mm/dd/yy, thus
instead of “January 19, 2006,” French people would expect “19 janvier 2006”. However, as
previously mentioned, months are represented throughout the site as capitalized proper nouns,
rather than all lowercase, as Europeans viewers expect. Numbers are formatted correctly for
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European audiences throughout the site, using spaces rather than commas, thus 5,000 is
represented as 5 000. Percentages and prices are also designated in the expected European fashion
using commas rather than periods, thus 10.0% percent is represented as 10,0% and 5.40 is
represented as 5,40. All prices are in Euros, which is the standard accepted monetary unit for
members of the European Union, to which France belongs. France also uses the 24-hour time
system, thus all times represented on the Web site should be represented using the format:
hh.mm, as shown in Figure 7 below.
Figure 7. Both times and dates are represented in the expected European format as outlined in
red; however, month names should not be capitalized.
Color
Cultural markers can also include cultural icons and visual cues such as country flags and
national colors and symbols (Barber & Badre, 1998, 4). As afore-mentioned, Disney initially
chose a color for the park’s signage that was unacceptable to Catholic France. Fortunately, this
color scheme did not persist to the Disneyland Paris Resort Web site. The image below (Figure 8)
shows the prevalence of the French national flag’s colors of red, white, and blue. To the French,
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red signifies aristocracy, white means neutrality, and blue symbolizes freedom and peace (Barber
& Badre, 1998, 3).
Figure 8. Examples of white and red text on a blue background being used as cultural markers are
highlighted in red. The entire site is a dark blue with peaceful blue undertones. Even the image of
a sleeping child evokes serenity and peace.
Another important cultural marker is the masculinity/femininity dimension. French
viewers, who are part of a more feminine culture than that of America, will expect a Web site that
reflects more feminine values.
Masculinity/Femininity
In designing Web sites for French viewers, American companies should remember that
America has a higher masculine index at 62 than does France at 43 (Marcus & Gould, 2000, 39).
Although Marcus and Gould (2000) state that this score makes France one of the highest
masculine cultures, the French believe quite the opposite. According to French native Bollinger
and Hofstede (1987), France is a feminine culture like other countries with Latin roots. These
authors characterize feminine cultures as “working to live” while masculine cultures as “living to
work” (Bollinger & Hofstede, 1987). This aligns with the savoir-vivre (knowing how to live)
concept cherished by the French. However, they also point out that Catholic cultures tend to be
masculine. Due to the controversy from foreign sources as well as contradictions within this
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native source, it is recommended that masculine elements be toned down while feminine elements
be emphasized for French Web sites. According to Marcus and Gould (2000), cultures with highmasculinity would value an element such as “navigation oriented to exploration and control” and
“quick results for limited tasks”, whereas a feminine culture would emphasize “blurring of gender
roles” and “attention gained through poetry, visual aesthetics, and appeals to unifying values”
(Marcus & Gould, 2000). Elements of both culture types are visible in the Disneyland Resort
Paris Web site, as shown in the family restaurant scene in Figure 9.
Figure 9. This restaurant scene shows understated masculine navigation but the emphasis is on
the feminine, in keeping with the more feminine French culture.
Unifying values such as family togetherness depicting a nuclear family with two children
appeal to the feminine culture. The navigation bar offers addresses both cultures, inviting viewers
to discover, find distractions, eat, go shopping or to the cinema and find good specials (bonus, not
yet available, is an ambiguous label for miscellaneous unrelated activities such as downloading
Disney wallpaper and bookmarking the page), however the labels are much more ambiguous and
inviting of exploration than those on the Disney corporate site. Masculine cultures will appreciate
the opportunity to explore as well as to find specials quickly, whereas feminine cultures will
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appreciate the family activities and the blurring of gender roles, as both the mother and father
take an active role in parenting.
In contrast, the Disney corporate site caters to the highly masculine culture of America.
Labels in the site’s homepage are very straight-forward and to the point (e.g.., Home, Shop,
Entertainment, Destinations). There is little ambiguity and viewers are not left to guess what
types of information will display by following these links. Masculine cultures also appreciate
attention-grabbing activities such as games or competitions (Marcus & Gould, 2000, 39). The
image in Figure 10 shows the prevalence of games accessible from the site’s homepage.
Figure 10. Of the nine neighborhoods displayed on the Disney corporate site homepage, seven of
them have used the “game” or “play” labels to draw attention to their games (most of Playhouse
Disney is devoted to kids’ games and activities).
Appealing to the highly developed French sense of aesthetics is a must in creating Web
sites for the French, thus this image of the park neighborhoods (Figure 11) displays a magical,
ethereal place. All is surrounded by the magical stars, adding to the ethereal quality, as if
Disneyland Resort Paris does not exist within the physical realm, but is some sort of heaven on
earth.
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Figure 11. This image makes Disney look like a work of art, which is an excellent way to appeal
to the French sense of aesthetics. The neighborhood is lightly highlighted in transparent white and
the selected neighborhood’s name displays below. Rather than being intrusive, this navigation
information adds to the ethereal look-and-feel.
In contrast, the Disney corporate site, designed primarily for the American culture,
depicts a much different view of the parks (Figure 12), creating a completely different reaction,
one geared more towards immediate results than towards exploration and discovery.
Figure 12. Viewers can hover their mouse over each neighborhood to display the subcategories.
The experience is much more in-your-face and promises fun and excitement (e.g., Disney’s
Blast!). Advertisements are displayed on the bottom and center of the navigation map.
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On the Disney corporate site homepage, there is no evidence of magical stars or the
depiction of a heaven on earth. This navigation map provides the antithesis of the ethereal effect
of the neighborhood navigation map of Disneyland Resort Paris. All elements are designed to sell
themselves and grab attention, as expected from a site designed primarily for America’s
consumer culture where people want the most fun for the best value in the least amount of time.
Context is another factor which companies need to consider when localizing a site.
Companies from a low-context culture like America must adapt the quality and type of
information provided when addressing a high-context French audience.
High/Low Context
Another factor which impacts customer relationships is context. High-context cultures
have the majority of the background information surrounding a situation or event stored in their
head. This can be likened to an expert designer’s “knowledge in the head” (Norman, 2000, 5458). Low-context cultures, in contrast, are more like the novice users, and require that the
knowledge be put into the world (Norman, 2000). They need the detailed background information
in order to sufficiently understand a situation and to make an educated decision. If a low-context
company, such as America, wants to be successful in high-context France, they must resolve to
do things the French way (Hall & Hall, 1990, p. 120). According to Singh, Kumar, and Baack’s
(2005) study of cultural expectations for localized Web sites, high-context cultures such as France
value aesthetics, politeness, indirectness, and the promotion of intangible products or services (p.
79). For example, the text in the following image (Figure 13) offers:
“Five imaginary countries where you’d love to live! What would you say to visit such a
marvelous place…Disneyland Park! Discover a place so magical that the entire family
will remember it…A place where there is always something new to see and do, a place
where dreams finally become reality…”
(http://www.disneylandparis.com/fr/parc_disneyland/index.htm).
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Figure 13. The text (translated above) offers “a place so magical the whole family will remember
it” and “a place where dreams finally become reality”.
This image also conforms to the French expectation of politeness and formality in Web
sites. In French, one uses “vous” (“you” plural or formal) to address adults or strangers, “tu”
(“you” informal) is used with close friends, children, and sometimes with those lower on the
social hierarchy. To use “tu” without being invited to do so is considered a grave insult in France.
Although America is a low-uncertainty avoidance culture (Bollinger & Hofstede, 1987),
due to the nature of Disney, the message conveyed through animated images and text is similar to
the French. Viewers are urged to “remember when magic was real…and dreams were
possible…come live that feeling again…where magic is a place”
(http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/index). The site is reminding Americans of what is was
like to be a child, full of wonder about the world.
A final category where companies could mistakenly provide the wrong impression is
emphasizing things that are important in America, but not in France. Americans have a much
higher risk tolerance than do the cautious French.
Uncertainty Avoidance
Much research has been done on the high level of uncertainty avoidance in the French
culture (e.g., Hall & Hall, 1990; Bollinger & Hofstede, 1987; Singh, Kumar, & Baack, 2005;
Ford & Gelderblom, 2003). Uncertainty avoidance addresses how people in a particular culture
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Jordan 24
deal with uncertainty and risk (Ford & Gelderblom, 2003, 220). According to Marcus and Gould
(2000), Web sites designed for high uncertainty avoidance cultures should emphasize simple
layouts and navigation schemes that enable the viewer to return to previous pages. Visual cues
such as color and typography (Marcus & Gould, 2000, 41) should be used to reduce confusion
and the frustration which often results. Singh, Kumar, and Baack (2005) advocate providing
frequently asked questions (FAQs) and customer help as well as guided navigational systems.
Focusing on these design elements, it is apparent that the importance of simplicity,
navigation and visual consistency was considered when designing the Disneyland Resort Paris
Web site. Many pages offer a large image with navigation menu choices related to the current
section of the site and no unrelated links or advertisements. The navigation bar always resides at
the top or on the left of the screen. The gentle curves surrounding the image on the homepage
(Figure 14) persist to many other pages, though not all. This color changes as the viewer visits
other sections of the site. Associating colors with sections encodes the information in multiple
modes, increasing the likelihood that a viewer will be able to recall (Baddeley, Gathercole, &
Papagno, 1998, 162) what color page s/he was on, if not the title. This is helpful because almost
all pages within the site have the same title of “Disneyland Paris Resort”, making it difficult to
retrace one’s path and effectively rendering the browser history useless.
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Figure 14. A gentle curve and top navigation are usually present, changing colors as the viewer
navigates to different sections.
Although FAQs are provided on the Disneyland Paris Resort Web site, there is no help
system and there did not seem to be any search functionality provided for the entire Web site. In
order to assuage the French fear of risk and uncertainty, a help system and full-site search
capabilities should be provided and made clearly visible in the upper right corner of the page
(Bernard & Sheshadri, 2004, p. 9). The FAQs are, however, geared towards the French
characteristic of avoiding risk. For example, one question asks what one should do if it rains. The
answer assures the viewer that almost all of the park attractions are covered and protected from
the rain and that s/he will still have fun. This reassures the viewer that rain will not ruin the
vacation, nor will his/her money have been spent in vain. This increases the likelihood that s/he
will decide to visit.
In contrast to the reassuring navigation and visual consistency provided to the French
viewers, a large majority of pages on the Disney corporate site do not provide a navigation bar or
visually consistent page layouts throughout the site, but they do provide a breadcrumb trail to
return to previous pages as well as a robust, searchable help system (Figure 15). Full search
functionality is also provided throughout the site, though it is only available from the homepage
as an option in an obscure drop-down box at the bottom of the screen, rather than being located
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prominently in the upper right corner in keeping with both American and European expectations
(Bernard & Sheshadri, 2004, p. 9). However, this author could find no information on what to do
if it rained.
Figure 15. Web site viewers are accustomed to full search functionality, which is provided on the
Disney corporate site, but not on the Disneyland Paris Resort site.
Conclusion
In the context of Web site design, the French are looking for a site architecture which
pleases them aesthetically, which provides grammatically accurate and properly formatted
information, and which promises intangible gains. They do not expect to be overloaded with
animations or advertisements, and would be put off by the flashy, animated, graphically-intense
experience provided on the Disney corporate site.
After making quite a few cultural gaffes in its past, Disneyland Resort Paris has created a
site that appeals to the French culture on all three localization levels: translation, translational
accuracy and information formatting, and culturability. The concept of cultural markers, which
encompasses cultural preferences and biases, has been used to examine the translational accuracy
and information formatting of the site, as well as how well the designers of both Disneyland
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Resort Paris and the Disney corporate site appealed to their respective cultural expectations of
masculinity/femininity, high/low context, and uncertainty avoidance.
Although there are quite a few places where the experience could be improved, these
details are minor and are not expected to turn off a French viewer. The French are very sensitive
to aesthetics, color, and design (Hall & Hall, 1990, 127). Web sites must be “visually attractive
and eye-catching to get the attention” (Hall & Hall, 1990) of the French. They value simple
designs that evoke the right mood, a Puritanical simplicity towards which even American web
sites are now moving.
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