WordPress, which allows you to create websites in any language that you prefer, has a large number of users around the world. WordPress does not have a built-in feature for adding multilingual content. But it can be easily achieved using WordPress multilingual plugins. WordPress multilingual plugins can translate any content of your website like posts, pages, menus, taxonomies, images, etc. into other languages. Translation can either be done manually or automatically as per your requirements. WordPress multilingual plugins allow you to manually translate the content and even offer an option of automatic translation.
In this article, we have curated three top-performing WordPress multilingual plugins that are capable of handling both manual and automatic translations efficiently and professionally.
Top 3 WordPress Multilingual Plugins
Translate Press
Top 3 WordPress Multilingual Plugins Comparison Table
Wrapping Up
Below is the list of the three popular multilingual plugins for WordPress,
Translate Press is a multilingual plugin exclusively for WordPress websites. This translation plugin allows you to translate every part of your website like content, theme, metadata, and plugins directly from the front-end and it also supports WooCommerce and other popular site builders.
The plugin has both automatic and manual translation options. Automatic translations can be carried out with Google Translate or DeepL. Once the automatic translation has been completed, the plugin allows users to further edit the translated content manually.
Translate Press is compatible with WooCommerce, a large number of other plugins, themes, and dynamic strings (gettext). The plugin is also capable of translating blocks and images. You have the opportunity to create your translator account which helps you to translate websites without working in the WordPress backend, site builders, or meta boxes. It can translate URL, page title, description, social graph information with SEO pack as it supports all popular SEO plugins. The plugin allows you to add multiple languages to your website by choosing from a list of 221 secondary languages.
The feature “Automatic User Language Detection” of the plugin, redirects users to their preferred language. You can even view and navigate through your website just like a “user” role would do. “Navigation based on language” can create multilingual menus with different menu items for different languages.
Translate Press translates your website content with editorial control and makes your content SEO-friendly.
Translate Press is available in 3 pricing plans as mentioned below,
Personal – Available at a price of € 79/year. For 1 website.
Business – Available at a price of € 139/year. For 3 websites.
Developer – Available at a price of € 199/year. For unlimited websites.
The below screenshot displays the Translate Press interface of where you can translate everything from a single interface,
Image source: TranslatePress
WPML is one of the most popular WordPress multilingual plugins in the WordPress community. The plugin can handle translation management and the translation process by itself. WPML supports over 40 languages and even allows you to add your own language variants using WPML’s language editor. WPML is capable of translating pages, posts, custom types, taxonomy, menu, and even theme content and optimizes your website for SEO. It also offers the option to place translation either in the same domain or subdomain or in a completely different domain.
WPML also supports multilingual eCommerce. Translating the text of other plugins and themes can be directly done from the string translational interface. WPML helps connect with leading translational services by sending the content from WPML’s translation dashboard. WPML seamlessly works with other plugins and themes that use WordPress API. It even allows adding different kinds of language switchers to your WordPress website.
WPML offers both methods of translation – manual and automatic.
If you choose to translate manually, it can either be done in the WordPress editor or within WPML’s Advanced Translational Editor.
For automatic translation, you can use the same “Advanced Translational Editor” to translate the content which can be further modified or edited when required. WPML offers integration with Azure, Google, and DeepL’s automatic translation.
WPML translates any part of your website and is compatible with themes, plugins, and page builders with WordPress API.
WPML pricing plans are as follows,
WPML Blog – Available at a price of $29/year For 1 website
WPML CMS – Available at a price of $79/year For 3 websites
WPML Agency – Available at a price of $159/year For unlimited websites
The below WPML screenshot shows the WPML interface for defining languages to your website,
The below WPML screenshot illustrates the language settings by WPML for your website,
The below WPML screenshot displays the configurations for language switching, theme adjustments, and language hiding options.
The below screenshot shows the interface of other language settings like SEO, filtering for AJAX operations, and translation feedback
Polylang Pro is one of the popular multilingual plugins in the WordPress repository. The plugin is capable of translating posts, pages, media, categories, tags, taxonomies, menus, and all WordPress widgets. The plugin allows you to add as many languages as you want and is RTL supported. Other WordPress language packages can be automatically downloaded and updated. It can separate versions of your website into subdomains for each language. While adding a new post or during page translation, the original content, categories, post tag, and other metadata will be automatically copied for translation.
The plugin provides a customized language switcher as a widget or in the navigation menu that can be used for language selection. Polylang Pro is WPML AI compatible, SEO friendly, and also supports REST API. The plugin has additional integration with ACF Pro that allows you to add custom fields to your WordPress site. The plugin does not support eCommerce websites, so, if you are running a WooCommerce/eCommerce shop then you have to make the purchase as a bundle consisting of Polylang Pro + Polylang WooCommerce.
Polylang Pro focuses on manual translations. If you prefer an automatic translation then go for “Lingotek Translation”. Install this translation service for complete translational management and for professional translation experience. You have the opportunity to edit the automatically translated content by choosing “Machine Translation” as the method of translation in the Lingotek translational service along with the Lingotek Workbench feature.
Polylang is available for free and the paid version Polylang Pro has 4 pricing plans as follows,
Available at a price of €99/year for 1 website
Available at a price of €198/year for 3 websites
Available at a price of €297/year for 5 websites
Available at a price of €495/year for 25 websites
The below screenshot from Polyland Pro displays the interface where you can define the languages that are to be added to your website
The below screenshot illustrates some settings on Polyland Pro that are to be configured before starting with the translation
The below screenshot displays the strings translation interface of Polylang,
| Features | Translate Press | WPML | Polylang Pro |
|---|---|---|---|
| Translation method (Manual & Automatic) | Both | Both | Focuses on Manual. Automatic is possible using the integration with Lingotek Translation |
| Edit automatic translations | Yes | Yes | Only possible with the Lingotek Translation integration |
| Type of content | Posts, pages, menus, categories, tags, title, descriptions, themes, and plugins | Posts, pages, menus, categories, tags, title, descriptions, themes, and plugins | Post, pages, menus, categories, tags, title, descriptions |
| URL Slug translation | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SEO friendly | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| WooCommerce compatibility | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Translation Management | Yes | Yes | No. Will be available only in the Lingotek Translation integration |
| Themes and Plugins compatibility | Yes | Compatible with themes, plugins, and page builders with WordPress API. | No |
| Pricing | Starting from €79/year to €199/year | Starting from $29/year to $159/year | Free version available (Polylang) Paid Starting from €99 – €495 |
Translate Press focuses on both manual and automatic translations. It even enables editing automatically translated content. Its compatibility with WooCommerce and other themes, plugins, SEO pack – all together makes it a complete solution for translating your WordPress website.
WPML has similar features and can be considered as an alternative. The only drawback is that it is compatible with just themes, plugins, and page builders that use WordPress API.
Polylang Pro is quite a simple and neat translational plugin but it needs to get combined with Lingotek Translation to enable automatic translation.
All the above-mentioned WordPress plugins can serve their role efficiently when it comes to your website’s translation. Choose from them based on your business needs and convenience, as all three plugins seem to be functioning equally well.
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