Reach a Global Audience with the Best WordPress Translation Plugins
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Importance of Website Translation
- Best WordPress Translation Plugins
- WPML
- Translate Press
- Weglot
- Comparison of the Three Plugins
- Setting Up WPML
- Conclusion
- FAQs
The Importance of Website Translation
Did you know that over 60% of internet users are non-native English speakers? This means that if your website is only in English, you're missing out on a huge potential audience. Adding translations to your website can help you reach a global audience. However, manually translating your website can be time-consuming and expensive. In this article, we'll look at the three best WordPress translation plugins, compare their features and prices, and then share our favorite and show you how to get it up and running.
Best WordPress Translation Plugins
WPML
WPML is compatible with many major plugins and services that you may already be using, from WooCommerce to Gravity Forms, Contact Form 7, Advanced Custom Fields, and more. You can use WPML to translate them and their output for your customers, with fine control over which languages and what translations are used. You won't need to worry about your products being presented incorrectly or your forms being labeled incoherently. This is the only plugin out of the three that does not have a free version, and we'll discuss pricing later on in this article.
Translate Press
This plugin gives a real-time look at the translations that you provide, working almost like a page builder to make sure that your site looks and feels the same to everyone, regardless of the language they see on your site. It allows users to be specific about which elements of their websites get translated manually or automatically. This feature comes in the free version, but you'll have to pay to unlock access to add-ons, extensions, and more advanced features.
Weglot
The plugin takes your media and your content, even the content that's pulled from third-party sources, and translates it automatically, meaning there's no need to maintain multiple identical and duplicate websites. An interesting feature is the ability to set guidelines for what you want the translation on your site to look like. You can set it to a fast translation, which will rely on Google and such to translate your site automatically. You can take full control over it and enter your translations for specific languages manually. It also provides a glossary of phrases and terms to never translate so it stays consistent across the site.
Comparison of the Three Plugins
If you'd like to see our full list of the nine best WordPress translation plugins, check out the link in the article description. The free versions of these plugins are quite limited. In order for them to be effective, you'll need to purchase the pro versions. WPML, which does not have a free version, is by far the cheapest, starting at $39 per year. Translate Press comes in second, starting at $100 per year, and Weglot is third, starting at $150 per year. Translate Press's free plugin has 200,000 installs, whereas Weglot has 50,000, and like I said before, WPML isn't listed since it's premium only. With roughly the same amount of reviews, Weglot's free plugin comes out on top with a 4.8 rating versus Translate Press's 4.7. Again, WPML isn't free, so I don't have any reviews to share. All three options offer a wide range of compatibility with different plugins, themes, and services. Most importantly, though, they all work with WooCommerce and Divi. As far as support, Weglot's cheapest plan only offers basic support, whereas the other two plugins include premium support. Regardless of which plan you choose, ultimately WPML allows for the choice of individual languages for specific posts and pages and even lets you manually add a language or even choose from variants. Plus, for an additional fee, you can have professional translation done by humans. Although all three options are solid and definitely worth checking out, we recommend WPML.
Setting Up WPML
Let me show you how easy it is to set up WPML. First, head to the description of our article and click our link. Now go ahead and pick the option that you want to purchase and press "Buy Now." Once you're done with that, you can go ahead and add your site to the list. Once you've done that, press "Downloads" on the left-hand side and then download the OTGS installer. With that downloaded, go ahead and drag the zip file into your WordPress dashboard and press "Install Now," and then activate the plugin. Now, since you already purchased WPML, press "Register WPML" before where you added your website. You're going to be given a key that you're going to enter right here. There we go, it's now registered. At this point, we can go ahead and get our install ready. So, I can check off what I want included, and once I'm done, I can press "Download." Once it says "Operation Complete," we are good to go. Now, WPML will show up in our left-hand sidebar, and we can go through the setup process. I'm just going to run through this real quick. Now that the setup is complete, we can go ahead and check off what page or post we want to actually translate. We can translate them, duplicate content, or do nothing, and we can either automatically translate or translate them ourselves. Automatic translation does require credits, and you can learn more about that on their website. When you move something to your translations queue, you can view it here, and you can actually go in and get started on the translation. So, of course, since I'm doing this manually, I'm going to go in here and add each translation, but if I was doing this automatically, this would be done for me. And once I'm ready, I can hit "Complete," and we're all set and ready to go.
Conclusion
In conclusion, adding translations to your website can help you reach a global audience. While manually translating your website can be time-consuming and expensive, using a WordPress translation plugin can make the process much easier. WPML, Translate Press, and Weglot are three of the best WordPress translation plugins available. While all three options are solid, we recommend WPML for its compatibility with many major plugins and services, its fine control over which languages and what translations are used, and its ability to choose individual languages for specific posts and pages.
FAQs
Q: Can I use these plugins with any WordPress theme?
A: Yes, all three plugins are compatible with most WordPress themes.
Q: Can I translate my website automatically?
A: Yes, all three plugins offer automatic translation, but it may require credits or a paid plan.
Q: Can I translate my website manually?
A: Yes, all three plugins offer manual translation as well.
Q: Can I choose which elements of my website get translated?
A: Yes, Translate Press allows users to be specific about which elements of their websites get translated manually or automatically.
Q: Which plugin is the cheapest?
A: WPML is the cheapest, starting at $39 per year.
Q: Which plugin offers professional translation done by humans?
A: WPML offers professional translation done by humans for an additional fee.
