How to localize your WordPress CMS content

CMS (content management systems) localization is a complex topic that requires different approaches and tools depending on the chosen system. The "CMS's industry state" - our previous article describes the general terms, CMS types, and many more, so we highly recommend reading it if you need background information. In this post, our team combined the best ways to localize one of the most popular CMS worldwide - WordPress.

The WordPress overview

In a few words, WordPress is a classic "monolithic" content management system launched more than 20 years ago. Its simplicity, user-friendliness, flexibility, and open-sourcing have made WordPress the leading platform. To better understand how popular it is, let's take a look at the figures:

• 43.2% of all websites in the world are using WordPress;
• WordPress has 1st place in terms of popularity and traffic;
• 65.2% of all CMS-based websites are using WordPress.

With such popularity, WordPress localization became essential for many businesses worldwide, and of course, it has in-built tools aimed to simplify this process, for example:

• Simple internationalization. WordPress utilizes the gettext libraries and tools to support internationalization (i18n), so developers can set up plugins and themes for further localization and manage translations efficiently. It also allows simply adapting formats for dates, numbers, and currencies.
• Right-to-left support. WordPress allows changing the text direction in two simple ways: providing usage of RTL languages like Arabic, Hebrew, Farsi, etc.
• Language packs. WordPress has a list of packages to translate core themes and plugins into a specific language. These language packs enable to switch the interface language of WordPress installation to preferred language without manually translating individual strings.
• Localization plugins. If you're familiar with WordPress, you know this CMS has hundreds of plugins available to perform various tasks - including localization.

Top 5 WordPress plugins for content localization

Before we start the plugin overview, let's remain that there are two primary content types in WordPress - the pre-defined format (posts/pages) and custom posts, which are customizable and allow users to create other content - attachments, navigation menu, maps, testimonials, widgets, and more. Take your attention to the ability of plugins to support custom content translation. Also, the complex themes and plugins rarely don't support additional languages, so if you are looking for the best solution, consider all minor nuances.

WPML

(from €99/year + €39 or €74 yearly)

Over 1 million installations.

This plugin supports 45+ languages with the ability to add your locales via the languages editor (you can add Canadian English as an example.)

Supported content formats: custom post types, custom fields, widgets, menus, images, taxonomy, media – even texts in your site's admin. WPML supports connection to hundreds of WordPress plugins, which guarantees you can use multilingual options for various content.

Additional features: automatic translation, TMS integration

Loco Translate

(limited version for free; paid plans start at $5.95/month)

Over 1 million installations.

Loco Translate supports 40 languages and allows content translation directly in the theme or plugin.

Supported content formats: Loco Translate allows editing WordPress PO files and provides internationalization of plugins and themes.

Additional features: translating services integration

Polylang.pro

(limited version for free, advanced from €99.00/website).

700,000+ active installations.

With Polylang, users can choose from a vast array of more than 90 pre-defined languages.

Supported content formats: pages, custom posts, tags, categories, various media, widgets, and menus. Additionally, Polylang is compatible with Yoast SEO and other SEO plugins, so it is easier for you to keep the quality of website optimization high and translate the SEO data.

Additional features: customizable language switcher, URL slugs translating, separate product for WooCommerce

Weglot

(free for 1 language and 2,000 words, 3 languages and 50,00 words - $29/month and more)

50,000+ active installations

Compared with the previous two plugins, Weglot provides a slightly different approach. This SAAS solution automatically translates website content using machine translation, speeding up the process for linguists and supporting more than 100 languages. But, the most significant difference of Weglot is that your site's translated version will stop working if you ever stop using Weglot. You can export the files but must find out how to implement them.

Additional features: AI translation, SEO-optimized, automatically changes detection.

GTranslate

(limited version for free, advanced from $9.99/month).

100 000+ active installation

GTranslate supports over 100 languages and provides free automated Google machine translation.

Supported content formats: posts, pages, categories, tags, widgets, menus, themes, plugins, WooCommerce shop.

Additional features: integration with Google Analytics, multilingual SEO support, hreflang tag addition, and translation of schema.org microdata. It's important to note that the plugins above are just a part of the vast collection available on the WordPress market. Choosing the best solution should be based on your individual requirements, budgets, and needs.

To sum up

Organizations and businesses have a top task in the globalized world - reaching out to a diverse audience. Thus, the crucial question for companies that use CMS like WordPress is finding the best tool to simplify the localization process. However, choosing a reliable translation plugin that suits your needs is a piece of the puzzle that guarantees you will localize your CMS content effectively. Another question is how to provide high-quality content translation - and we at Lingohub are here to help.

Lingohub can perfectly synchronize with your other processes via API and supports dozens of file formats (gettext, JSON, CSV, Java, etc.) Also, we provide CAT tools that speed up the translating process while maintaining quality.

Want to learn more? Lingohub is always ready to support. You can schedule a quick demo call with our team to get more information and ask all questions. Contact us - we are always happy to help!