If the mobile user needs to change the language and is unable to locate the selector on the screen, they will likely access the site's menu and try to locate it within it.
AirBnB UX Design - Access to the site in mobile version
The use of flags
It is quite common practice to use flags as a language selector, but the reality is that it is not a good idea.
Its correct use would be only and exclusively if we are selecting countries in which our site has particularities marked by, for example, product availability, payment currency, home delivery, etc.
This is because flags are not languages, flags are countries.
A fairly illustrative example of problems arising from this casuistry can be found in the Arab world.
Arabic is a macrolanguage of the Semitic family that is official in more than twenty countries around the world.
Countries as far apart as Morocco and Iraq, or in conflict as Saudi Arabia and Yemen, share Arabic as a common language, although strictly speaking it does have important regional peculiarities.
However, this is a good example of why the use of flags can be problematic code phone number philippines for certain user segments.
For the selection of countries or regions, the use of flags would be appropriate.
UX Design at Apple -
Language initials or full language
If we do not use flags, in the language switcher we will have to use the full name of the language or its initials.
In both cases the solution is more orthodox than the use of flags, but both alternatives have pros and cons, which we will see below:
Using initials saves us screen space, which is always useful when designing for mobile environments. However, it can cause conflicts when using automatic browser translations.
If we use the full name of the language, we will avoid translation problems, especially if we use the way they are written in each particular language to which they apply. In this case, the disadvantage will be the need for more space to display the full texts.
UX Design at Amazon - Mobile Language Abbreviation
Icon or text to identify the language selector
Our experience in all the user tests we have carried out at Flat 101 concludes that the use of icons and their corresponding textual support helps the user identify the element.
Therefore, the recommendation will always be to use icons plus text.
If the icon is not reinforced with text, it may go unnoticed by users with a more verbal mindset.
On the other hand, if the language is only reflected at the textual level, the user may be unable to identify that text if it is dis