About me

You need Dutch-language content that actually works for your audience. That's exactly what I can provide.

If you're a SaaS company, e-commerce brand, or ICT business expanding into Dutch-speaking markets, you already know that a word-for-word translation isn't enough.Your users need to feel like the product was built for them - and it should not feel like a translation.

I'm Els Hoefman, an English-to-Dutch localization specialist with a Master's degree in Translation (Ghent University, 1993) and almost 30 years of hands-on experience in the ICT, SaaS, and e-commerce industries.

Almost three decades of specialist expertise — at your service

Before going freelance, I spent several years as an in-house translator for a global software and hardware company. Working from the inside of a tech business taught me things no classroom can: how development teams think, how documentation fits into a product lifecycle, and what it really takes to keep terminology consistent across a growing product.

Since then, I've built a track record that translation agencies trust. They regularly call on me as an independent expert to assess and review the work of other translators - a role that requires not just linguistic skill, but the professional judgment that only comes with experience. Through those agency partnerships, I've worked on content for some of the world's leading digital companies — household names from lists like the Forbes Top 100 Digital Companies — under the confidentiality agreements that come with that level of work."

When you work with me, you're not getting a generalist. You're getting a specialist who has spent 30 years thinking about nothing but the precise, consistent, audience-appropriate translation of technical and digital content into Dutch and Flemish.

How I work

I use professional translation tools - including translation memories, terminology databases and specialized QA tools - to ensure your content is consistent across every touchpoint, every update, and every new piece of copy. Your company-specific language is captured, maintained, and applied with precision.

Depending on your project and preferences, I can also work with machine translation and AI output as a starting point, applying my expertise to review, correct, and elevate the result. Either way, you have an experienced human Expert-in-the-Loop - someone who ensures the quality of the final text.

My work doesn't stop at finding the right words - it starts there. With a background in copywriting and a solid grasp of SEO basics, I can ensure your Dutch content doesn't just read well, but also performs well.

Why clients keep coming back

Consistency. Reliability. Domain knowledge you can't fake. After 30 years, I know this sector inside out - and my clients know they can trust me to represent their brand accurately in Dutch-speaking markets.