Changing the language on a Wordpress website is a common need for users who want to tailor their site to different language groups or simply switch to another language. WordPress, as one of the most popular content management systems (CMS), offers several ways to change the language of a website. In this article, we will look at the steps required to change the language of the entire website, how to add language variations for a multilingual website, and how to adjust the language only for the administrative interface.
Changing the Language of the Entire Website
- Log in to the WordPress administrative interface.
- Go to Settings > General.
- In the 'Site Language' section, select the desired language from the dropdown menu. WordPress offers a wide range of languages, from commonly used ones like English or Czech to less common ones. After selecting the language, WordPress will automatically download and install the necessary language packs.
- Save changes by clicking the 'Save Changes' button at the bottom of the page.
Adding Language Variations for a Multilingual Website
If you need your website to be available in several languages, you will need to use a multilingual content plugin. One of the most popular ones is WPML (WordPress Multilingual Plugin), but there are others available, such as Polylang or TranslatePress.
- Install and activate a multilingual plugin. In the administrative interface, go to Plugins > Add New, search for the desired plugin, click 'Install,' and then 'Activate.'
- Configure language options according to the plugin documentation. This typically involves selecting the main language of the website and adding additional languages in which the website will be available.
- Translate content. With the help of the plugin, you can translate pages, posts, categories, tags, and other elements of the website.
Changing the Language of the Administrative Interface
You can also change the language specifically for the WordPress administrative interface without affecting the language in which the website is displayed to visitors.
- Go to your profile. After logging in to the administrative interface, click on your name in the top right corner and then select 'Edit My Profile.'
- In the 'Language' section, select the desired language for the administrative interface. This change will only apply to your user interface and will not affect the language displayed to website visitors.
- Save changes.
Changing the language on a WordPress website is a relatively straightforward process, whether you need to change the language of the entire website, add additional language variations for a multilingual website, or adjust the language only in the administrative interface. Thanks to the wide language support and availability of multilingual content plugins, WordPress can effectively serve users from different linguistic backgrounds.
