As someone deeply immersed in the localization space, I've watched countless teams dream of eliminating localization keys entirely. While some specialized configurations might achieve this, the reality remains clear: keys are still an essential requirement for most projects. The main challenges when trying to create and manage keys are:

• The creation of meaningful, unique keys requires substantial time investment and careful consideration of naming structures
• Reusing existing keys becomes increasingly complex as projects grow, imagine searching through twenty different variations of "login" across multiple screens
• Maintaining and paying for translations of unused keys wastes resources, yet identifying which keys remain active proves remarkably difficult

The Current State of Affairs

Several companies have attempted to address these challenges through Figma plugins. I'll be direct here: I haven't seen any achieve a real breakthrough in key management. When I encounter keys like "Frame15034.Frame182.forgot-password," I can't help but wonder how we're still calling this automation.

Let's examine the common suggestion to "just name your frames properly." Having implemented localization across various projects, I can tell you why this approach falls short:

• The time investment is substantial properly naming every frame in your project consumes hours of valuable design time
• Even with perfectly named frames, design iterations create new challenges. I've seen countless cases where duplicating a frame to show different states leads to confusing situations: suddenly your 'login' button's key gets reused for a 'signup' button

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What’s Actually at Stake

When localization keys are a mess, your whole product slows down. Designers get bogged down renaming frames. Developers waste time decoding which string goes where. Product managers cross their fingers that nothing breaks when they hit “publish.” And worst of all? Translations go unused, or worse—wrong strings end up in your live product.

We built Gleef because we believe localization should be an accelerator, not a blocker. You shouldn’t have to choose between speed and quality, or between control and chaos.

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The Phrase Approach

Phrase is a comprehensive localization platform offering end-to-end solutions for managing translations across different platforms. Their Phrase Strings plugin for Figma represents their approach to bridging the gap between design and localization. While powerful, when it comes to key management specifically, several limitations emerge… In terms of translations, many of our customers reported suboptimal quality, because of the lack of context.

How Gleef Changes the Game

Gleef isn’t just about making keys easier to manage—it’s about making your whole team faster and more confident:

• Clarity, Not Guesswork: With context-aware key generation and in-context editing, you always know which text is where and why. No more hunting through cryptic keys or hoping that a translation is still relevant.
• Real Collaboration: Everyone—designers, developers, copywriters, translators—works from the same source of truth. No more “lost in translation” moments or endless Slack threads trying to find the latest copy.
• No More Wasted Work: Because you see what’s live, you stop paying for translations you don’t need and avoid the trap of outdated strings floating around your product.
• Translation That Raises the Bar: Gleef doesn’t just put translation in the right place—it ensures it’s the right translation. By giving AI, human translators and editors full context, enforcing brand tone, and surfacing glossary terms, you get consistent, high-quality copy in every language. The result? Messaging that feels natural, accurate, and on-brand—wherever your users are.

Why Stick With Old Habits?

We used to recommend pairing Gleef with other platforms, but the truth is: you don’t need to. Gleef now gives you everything you need to handle localization from start to finish, without the overhead or confusion of legacy tools. You get the freedom to move fast, adapt designs, and launch in new markets—without ever worrying about the mess behind the scenes.

The Takeaway

Localization isn’t just about translating words; it’s about delivering a great experience everywhere. Gleef lets your team focus on what matters—shipping products that feel right in every language—while we handle the complexity. If you’re ready to stop fighting your tools and start moving faster, it’s time to make the switch.

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