Creating a Multi-Language WordPress Website with WPML

Apr 11, 2025 |

10 minutes read

Introduction to WPML and Multilingual WordPress Setup

Expanding a Multi-Language WordPress website to support multiple languages is crucial for reaching a global audience. A WordPress WPML Guide setup ensures that users can access content in their preferred language, improving engagement and user experience. WPML Setup (WordPress Multilingual Plugin) is one of the most powerful and widely used solutions for translating WordPress websites efficiently.s

WPML for WooCommerce allows users to translate posts, pages, custom post types, taxonomies, menus, and even theme texts. It ensures a smooth user experience by automatically detecting user language preferences and serving content accordingly.
In this guide, we’ll explore the benefits of WPML, how to install and configure it, and best practices for managing multilingual content in WordPress Translation.

Why Choose WPML for Multi-Language WordPress Sites?

1. Full-Site Translation Support

WPML enables translations for all WordPress elements, including:
Posts and pages
Custom post types and fields
Categories, tags, and taxonomies
WooCommerce products and checkout pages
Theme and plugin strings

2. SEO Optimization for Multiple Languages

WPML ensures proper multilingual SEO by generating unique URLs for each language, allowing search engines to index content efficiently. It supports:

Language-specific URLs (e.g., example.com/en/, example.com/fr/)
hreflang tags to inform search engines of alternate versions
XML sitemaps for better indexing

3. Compatibility with Popular Themes and Plugins

WPML works seamlessly with most popular WordPress themes and plugins, including Elementor, WooCommerce, and ACF.

4. User-Friendly Interface

WPML provides an intuitive dashboard to manage translations without requiring technical expertise.

How to Install and Configure WPML in WordPress

Step 1: Install WPML Plugin

Purchase and download WPML from wpml.org.
In WordPress, go to Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin.
Upload the WPML ZIP file and click Install Now.
Activate the plugin

Step 2: Register WPML

Navigate to WPML > Setup.
Enter your site key (found in your WPML account).
Click Register.

Step 3: Configure Language Settings

Choose the primary language of your website.
Select additional languages to support.
Choose a language switcher display location (header, menu, footer, or sidebar).
Configure translation options:
Manual translation
WPML’s Advanced Translation Editor (recommended)
Automatic translation (paid feature)

Step 4: Translate Content

Open any post/page in the WordPress editor.
Click the + (Add Translation) icon next to the desired language.
Enter the translated content and publish.

Step 5: Translate Menus and Widgets

Go to Appearance > Menus, select the language, and create translations for each menu item.
Translate sidebar widgets via WPML > String Translation.

Step 6: Translate WooCommerce (If Applicable)

For eCommerce stores:

Install the WPML WooCommerce Multilingual Plugin.
Navigate to WooCommerce > WooCommerce Multilingual.
Translate product names, descriptions, categories, and attributes.
Set up currency options for different languages.

Best Practices for WPML Multilingual WordPress Sites

Use Professional Translations

While WPML offers automatic translations, relying on professional translation services ensures accuracy, cultural relevance, and consistency. Poor translations can negatively impact user experience and brand credibility. If possible, hire native speakers or use WPML’s Translation Management feature to assign tasks to professional translators.

Optimize Performance

WPML adds additional resources to your site, so optimizing performance is crucial. Enable WPML’s built-in caching features and integrate it with caching plugins like WP Rocket or WP Super Cache to reduce load times. Additionally, avoid unnecessary duplication of media files across languages, as this can increase storage usage and slow down your site.

Keep URLs SEO-Friendly

Choosing the right URL structure is important for multilingual SEO. Use sub-directories (/fr/, /de/) instead of query parameters (?lang=fr), as search engines prefer clean, structured URLs. This improves indexing and ranking across different language versions of your site. Additionally, WPML automatically generates hreflang tags, which help search engines understand language relationships between pages.

Test Translations Regularly

Always preview translated pages in different languages to check for design consistency, broken layouts, or missing content. Some translations may cause text expansion, breaking the site layout. Also, verify that translated menus, widgets, and dynamic content work correctly.

Backup Your Site Before Major Updates

WPML updates can introduce changes that affect multilingual content, especially when combined with other plugins. Before updating WPML or your WordPress theme, create a full backup of your site using plugins like UpdraftPlus or BackupBuddy. This ensures that you can quickly restore your website if any issues arise.

Make Your WordPress Site Multilingual with WPML!

The Way Forward

With the successful integration of Pixabay’s API and Publit.io cloud storage, the image management system is now more efficient, scalable, and user-friendly. Moving forward, continuous improvements such as lazy loading for images, enhanced caching mechanisms, and optimized database queries will further boost performance.

Leveraging external image sources like Pixabay reduces the need for local storage, ensuring a seamless user experience with faster load times. By adopting best practices in image retrieval, storage scalability, and structured data submission, this system is well-equipped to handle increasing demands while maintaining peak efficiency.