Wordpress: Create a multilingual website - how it works
If you also want to appeal to international visitors to your WordPress website, it is worth offering multilingual content. You can find out what possibilities WordPress offers for this in this practical tip.
WordPress plugins for multilingual websites
There are various plugins that you can use to create a multilingual website in WordPress. With these extensions you can, for example, create titles, articles, pages or categories in different languages and easily manage them in the admin area. Your visitors can then easily select a language on the front page.
The qTranslate X WordPress plugin
This plugin gives you the opportunity to translate articles or posts.
- Your visitors can choose between the languages you have made available in the front end.
- This plugin does not offer automatic translation.
- You have to create every translation you want manually.
- On the homepage of qTranslate there are instructions for the installation and how you can use the plugin.
- A big advantage of qTranslate is that it also supports other WordPress plugins. For example, there are integrations for SEO Yoast, WooCommerce or GravityForms.
Automatic translation with Google Language Translator
If you prefer to have your WordPress pages translated automatically, you can use this plugin.
- With a shortcode, this plugin can be used on your site.
- The Google Language Translator is the easiest and fastest way to create a multilingual website, because you have no effort with manual translations.
- A major disadvantage is that machine translations do not always make sense and are therefore sometimes difficult to understand.
- If you want to do little work and only offer your visitors a translation aid, this is the best solution for you.
WPML premium plugin for WordPress
Sometimes free WordPress plugins may not offer what you need. Regular updates, support or functionality are often missing. WPML is not free, but affordable and worth the money.
- This plugin is easy to use and a manual in German is also available.
- With this plugin practically every element of the website can be translated. So not just posts or pages, but also the design. WPML works with almost all WordPress themes.
- The plugin enables you to edit SEO for each individual language separately. It also works with SEO Yoast.
- WPML does not include automatic translation, but instead a translation management plugin. You can use it to either convert ordinary readers into translators or to hire professional translators from the dashboard.
- The plugin is available in different versions. The blog version is $ 29 and the annual renewal is $ 15.
- The CMS version with more options is available for $ 79. Each additional year costs $ 39.
- Get a lifetime license for $ 195. There are no further annual fees for you here.
- Once purchased, the license is valid for an unlimited number of pages.
In the next article, you will learn how to copy pages in WordPress.