In today's globalized world, having a multilingual website is essential for reaching a broader audience. Wordpress, as one of the most popular platforms for creating websites, offers several ways to adapt your website to different languages. In this article, we will show you how to do it.
Basic Overview
Before we dive into the setup, it's important to understand the basics. WordPress itself does not offer multilingual functionality out of the box, but there are various plugins and tools that enable this functionality. Among the most popular are WPML (WordPress Multilingual Plugin), Polylang, and TranslatePress.
WPML
1. Installation and Activation The first step is to install the WPML plugin. This plugin is paid, so after purchasing it on the official WPML.org website, download and install the plugin through the Plugins -> Add New -> Upload Plugin section in your WordPress dashboard.
2. Language Configuration After activation, you will be redirected to the WPML configuration wizard, where you will set the default language of your website and add other languages you want to support on your website.
3. Translating Content WPML allows you to translate all the content on your website, including pages, posts, categories, and even widgets. You can choose whether to translate content manually or use automatic translation services.
Polylang
1. Installation and Activation Polylang is another popular plugin for multilingual websites, available in a free version. The installation is the same as for any other WordPress plugin.
2. Language Configuration After activation, go to the Languages section in your WordPress dashboard and add the languages you want to use on your website. Polylang allows you to set up language variants for different countries, which is a big plus.
3. Translating Content With Polylang, you can easily translate all the content on your website. The plugin allows for the translation of posts, pages, categories, tags, and even custom post types.
TranslatePress
1. Installation and Activation TranslatePress is a user-friendly plugin that allows you to translate your website directly from the front-end. It is available in both free and paid versions.
2. Configuration and Translation After activating the plugin, you can start translating your website immediately. Just open the page or post you want to translate and use the TranslatePress translation interface to translate into the selected languages.
A multilingual website can significantly contribute to achieving your global goals. Whether you decide on WPML, Polylang, TranslatePress, or another tool, it's important to carefully consider your needs and resources. With the right tool and a bit of work, your website can easily cater to audiences from all over the world.
