WordPress has become one of the most popular open source Content Management Systems, and now powers and supports more than 23% of the world’s websites.
Since WordPress is so widely used all over the world, there is an inherent need for site content to be displayed in different languages. Now with eCommerce sites also being constructed with WordPress, it is quite important to make one single site with multiple language compatibility. This can make the sites usable for people who speak different languages. Multilingual plugins from WordPress are developed for this very purpose.
Some of the best WordPress multilingual plugins and their features are listed here:
TranslatePress
TranslatePress is a really easy-to-use WordPress translation plugin that lets you translate your entire site directly from the front end. The interface allows you to translate the entire page at once, including output from shortcodes, forms, and page builders. It also works out of the box with WooCommerce.
TranslatePress’ list of features includes:
- Translate all your website content, directly from the front-end
- Works with ANY theme or plugin (no extra compatibility required)
- Support for both manual and automatic translation (via Google Translate)
- Customizable language switcher
- Support for dynamic (
gettext
) strings added by WordPress, plugins, and themes - WooCommerce compatible
- Translation blocks: translate larger blocks of HTML with a single translation, by joining multiple translation strings together
- GPL & self-hosted (built the WordPress way)
The premium version includes the following Pro Add-ons:
- Multiple Languages (for adding as many translation languages as you need)
- Automatic User Language Detection (first-time visitors will be redirected to their preferred language based on browser settings or IP address)
- SEO Pack (for boosting your multilingual ranking, includes Yoast SEO sitemap support)
- Translator Accounts (create translator accounts)
- Navigation Based on Language (helps you configure different menu items for different languages)
- Browse as User Role (helps you navigate and translate your website just like a particular user role would. Useful for dynamic content that appears for particular users)
WordPress Multilingual Plugin (WPML)
WPML is the most popular multilingual plugin for WordPress, installed on over a million sites. It supports 65 pre-configured languages, plus you can add custom languages and variants. It makes one single WordPress installation work fully as a multilingual site.
Features of WPML:
- Machine translation powered by DeepL, Google, or Microsoft: Allows you to translate your whole site automatically and review the translations before publishing.
- Flexible translation management: Choose from automatic translation, translating yourself, sending content to translators, or connecting with one of the dozens of professional partner translation services.
- Translate every part of your site: Pages, posts, custom post types, menus, taxonomy, images, and even your siteβs admin.
- Theme and plugin text translation: WPMLβs String Translation will translate all texts that are not included in posts, pages and taxonomies (such as widgets).
- Multilingual and multi-currency e-commerce: WPML lets you easily build and run multilingual e-commerce sites and add multiple currencies with the included add-on, WooCommerce Multilingual.
- Optimized for multilingual SEO: Choose how to structure your URLs, and translate page slugs, SEO meta, and titles.
Weglot
As the highest-rated WordPress multilingual plugin on the WordPress Directory, Weglot is loved and used by thousands. Created to simplify your translation process – the Weglot translation plugin gives you a reliable and easy way to take your website from local to global in minutes. Weglot works by translating, detecting, and displaying the content of your website instantly. Install Weglot, select your required language(s), and watch as Weglot does the hard work for you – you’ll have a multilingual website in less than 5 minutes. Then, use Weglot’s simple interface to manage and edit your translations or order additional manual translations if required. Multilingual SEO is also a big priority with Weglot. Language-specific subdomains, are automatically added hreflang tags and translated metadata to ensure you’re searchable within your new markets. Key benefits include:
- Simple and quick set-up
- Multilingual SEO best practices (including language subdomains & translated metadata)
- Compatibility with any theme and plugin (including WooCommerce)
- Automatic and human translations
- A unique dashboard with an ‘in context editor’, easily edit translations & invite teammates to collaborate on projects
- Expert support: a fully dedicated technical support team at your disposal
Linguise
The Linguise translation plugin is the way to go to translate your WordPress website automatically or using a hybrid method (neural translation + content review).
They have worked particularly hard to address web agencies that implement translation solutions for their clients. For instance, they’ve got a very quick install process, an instant full translation of your existing and new WordPress content, great international SEO optimization, and the possibility to assign several admin users, managers, and translators to each website.
The main advantages of Linguise are:
- Implementation in 10 minutes max.
- High-quality neural machine translations.
- An algorithm that optimizes translations of inline content (HTML).
- Multilingual SEO requirements to index translated content.
- A management interface for translators and administrators.
- 100% of the translated content is editable from the front end.
- 84 languages available.
- The first month is free up to 400,000 translated words.
- All translated pages are perfectly indexed.
- Installations are performed for free.
Multilingual Press
This plugin from WordPress is highly recommended by satisfied users. This plugin works perfectly with single sites as well as WordPress multisite, and there is also a Pro version with additional features as you can see below.
Features of the free version of Multilingual Press:
- It uses a customizable widget to link to all sites and you can set up unlimited site relationships in the site manager.
- It offers a Language Manager with 174 editable languages.
- View the translations for each post or page underneath the post editor.
- Show a list of links for all translations on each page in a flexible widget.
- Translate posts, pages, and taxonomy terms like categories or tags.
- Add translation links to any nav menu.
- No lock-in: After deactivation, all sites will still work.
Some of the added features of MultilingualPress Pro:
- Support for custom post types.
- Automatically redirect to the user’s preferred language version of a post.
- Edit all translations for a post from the original post editor without the need to switch sites.
- Duplicate sites. Use one site as a template for the new site, and copy everything: Posts, attachments, settings for plugins and themes, navigation menus, categories, tags, and custom taxonomies.
- and much more…
Polylang
Polylang allows you to create a bilingual or multilingual WordPress site. You write posts, pages and create categories and post tags as usual, and then define the language for each of them.
The translation of a post, whether it is in the default language or not, is optional. Because Polylang does not integrate an automatic or professional translation service, the translation is performed by the site editor.
Here is a quick overview of the features on offer for Polylang:
- You can use as many languages as you want. RTL language scripts are supported. WordPress language packs are automatically downloaded and updated.
- You can translate posts, pages, media, categories, post tags, menus, widgets, etc.
- Custom post types, custom taxonomies, sticky posts and post formats, RSS feeds and all default WordPress widgets are supported.
- The language is either set by the content or by the language code in the URL, or you can use one different subdomain or domain per language.
- Categories, post tags as well as some other metas are automatically copied when adding a new post or page translation.
- A customizable language switcher is provided as a widget or in the nav menu.
- The admin interface is multilingual too and each user can set the WordPress admin language in his/her profile.
Download Polylang
Conclusion
These plugins are quite powerful in handling the language compatibility of the users. All blogs and websites are directly related to these plugins. However, the eCommerce platforms with WordPress will be experiencing the best advantages of these plugins.
And if youβre looking for web hosting services for your websites, check out SiteGround, who provide fully managed WordPress services and have 24/7 multi-lingual support, that includes WP themes and plugin assistance.
UPDATE: This post was updated in June 2023. Some plugins were removed due to not being updated for over a year, while others were added to the list.
25 Responses
Hello Jean, thanks for your article. I know it is now 3 years old, but Transposh hasn’t been updated for years. Maybe you could add a small notice for users. I think it is crucial to build a multilingual site on a maintained plugin solution.
Very nice and impressive article. Thanks!
Thank you for this article!
For my wordrpress website, I need a plugin than will allow users to switch from one language to another (content being already translated and submitted my me, of course).
So, I don’t need translation, but an language switch option. What plugin is easiest and best for that purpose?
Thank you in advance!
Hello, I enjoy readinng all of yohr article post.
I like to writee a little comment to support you.
You said MultilingualPress works on single wordpress sites but it only works on multi-sites. You might correct that.
Thank Jean for your useful article!
I think to buy WPML for my web site www.studiogiovanelli.org, but I don’t know if this plugin works also in the home page. For example Qtranslate X uses the sidebar, and if in the home page there osn’t any sidebar you can’t manage the languages. Please, which plugin do you suggest in order to allow me to mangae also the home page without sidebar?
Thank you, Francesco
You can use Polylang Free version with Say what? pro. I Say what? pro is compatible with polylang and can handle any translation for any language.
Neat Website, Keep up the very good job. Appreciate it!.
Hi, Iβm interested in creating a website for my business that will be available for viewing in two languages. (Basically, it will have two flags in the upper right corner. The default version will be in English but by clicking on the other flag the visitor will switch all the pages to that other language). Can this feature be implemented in any theme or only specific ones? I noticed some themes (Responsive, Hathor, etc.) are βtranslation readyβ but Iβm not quite sure if that is what I am talking about here. How difficult is it to set up a website in two languages? Would I need to create (or recreate) the same pages (and all the content) in the two languages or is there a way to do it a bit easier and quicker? Thanks for any input you may have on this subject.
Yes you can use any theme that is WPML compatible. Just ask the theme developer if you are not sure. One can copy over the content and images between languages to have a quick starting point to work off from.
Hi I’m new in wp translation, I already installed Polylang but how can I translate my site to other language or I need to do it manually creating new posts/pages?
You need to translate the pages and posts manually, same with WPML.
Thank you for sharing nice collection of WordPress multilingual plugins and their features. It really helped me to choose one best.
I would like to share with you this best WordPress multilingual plugins list here:
1. qTranslate Plus
2. Polylang
3. xili-language
4. Ajax Translator Revolution WordPress Plugin
Thanks for your feedback Rashi, I still use WPML myself.
Thanks for the overview!
I’m looking for a plugin to implement a multilingual wordpress install.
Currently I have 3 different installations for my website and it is really a pain in the neck!!!
Based on your article I’m going to give a try to qtranslate, hope for the best.
If it doesn’t work I’ll move to WPML
Please don’t use qTranslate it is now an outdated project and we need to update this post to reflect that. Go with WPML and save yourself some trouble.
Hi. I think WPML is the best multilingual plugin for WordPress (with great support) and Polylang the best free plugin. I didnΒ΄t know about Stella plugin but it looks like very easy to use. I have to check it.
Thanks for the article!!
WPML is definitely the best in our opinion too Irena, thanks for commenting.
Polylang Plugin Is Not Support ACF Custome Page Template
Would it be possible for the post to be updated regarding the no longer existent feature of a shared media library in Multilingual Press? We still have customers having read this article purchasing a pro license and being disappointed as the feature has been removed. (Not indicating the disappointment is the articleβs fault, of course.)
Thanks!
Sure, post updated.
Having a lot of translated content is nice, but users might need the interface in their language as well. We wrote a plugin for that and share it for free via the public repository. Maybe you want to add that one to the list as well:
Thanks for letting us know about this handy plugin Kaiser.
You left out stella!
I enjoy Stella because it’s simplicity, though you will need the pro version to localize your theme. I also use WPML as it covers basically everything, the only downside of WMPL is that it clutters the admin interface tremendously. It’s quite ‘boombastic’ so to say. Q-Translate I’ve used, but quickly abandoned.
Thanks for reminding us, added to the list!