Creating a Multilingual Website on WordPress: A Perplexing but Bursty Task

Have you ever considered creating a multilingual website on WordPress? The prospect may seem daunting, but fear not – with the right guidance and tools, you can easily reach a global audience.

Step 1: Determine Your Goals

First and foremost, you need to ask yourself why you want a multilingual website. This will inform your method and approach to building the site. Some questions you might consider include:

• Where is my primary audience located?
• Do I offer products or services to international visitors?
• Which languages should I translate my website into?
• Can I afford a professional translation service?
• Should I use machine translation?

Step 2: Choose a Suitable Plugin

There are many WordPress plugins available to help you create a multilingual website, but we’ll focus on the two most popular: WPML and Polylang.

2.1. WPML

WPML (WordPress Multilingual Plugin) is a premium plugin with many features, including translation management, professional translation services, and customization of the language switcher.

Key features of WPML include:

• Easy to use
• Full compatibility with popular plugins
• Professional translation services partnership
• Pricing ranges from $29 to $159 depending on package

2.2. Polylang

Polylang is a free plugin that offers many of the same features as WPML, including WooCommerce support, multilingual media, and an intuitive interface. It’s an ideal option if you’re on a budget or need more flexibility in language options.

Step 3: Installing and Configuring Your Plugin

Once you’ve selected your plugin of choice, it’s time to install and configure it. Follow these simple steps to get started:

1. Go to WP dashboard > Plugins > Add New > Search for the plugin > install > Activate.
2. Navigate to the plugin settings page to set up the plugin.

3.1. Setting up WPML

After activating WPML, navigate to WPML > Languages to add your source language and secondary languages. You’ll also need to configure your language switcher by customizing it and placing it on your site.

3.2. Setting up Polylang

After activating Polylang, navigate to Languages > Languages to add your source language and other secondary languages. You can also add a language switcher widget or menu from Appearance > Widgets.

Step 4: Translating Website Elements

Once you’ve configured your plugin and languages, you’ll need to start translating website elements such as content, media, taxonomies, and menus.

4.1. Translate with WPML

With WPML, you can navigate to Posts > All Posts, select a post or page, and translate the title, content, and excerpt. You can also translate other elements like taxonomies and menus.

4.2. Translate with Polylang

With Polylang, you can translate elements by selecting a post or page and then translating the title, content, and excerpt. You can also translate media, taxonomies, and menus.

Step 5: SEO and Website Maintenance

Once you’ve created your multilingual website, you’ll need to keep it up-to-date with regular maintenance, backups, and SEO optimizations. Consider creating localized URLs for your translated pages and optimizing each page with proper SEO (Meta titles and descriptions). Additionally, use hreflang tags for SEO to help search engines understand which language pages to display to users.

In conclusion, creating a multilingual site may seem perplexing, but with some guidance and the right tools, you can burst through the barriers and reach a global audience. Remember to determine your goals, choose the right plugin, configure it, translate your website elements, and maintain your site regularly.