Tips to Localize Your Wordpress Website

When your manager tells you that your company is interested in localizing its website, you might feel overwhelmed, especially when it's hosted on WordPress. Despite the rise of headless CMSs, WordPress remains widely used. However, localizing a WordPress site comes with challenges like developer turnover, outdated themes, and plugin conflicts.

To help you succeed in localizing your WordPress site, consider the following key questions and examples:

1. Identify the developers who maintain the site and get their support.

Example: You assume that localization can start immediately, but later discover that only one developer has access to the site, and they are unavailable. Identifying key personnel early prevents delays.

2. Ask if there are any performance problems or plans to revamp the site.

Example: If a major redesign is planned in three months, you might avoid investing in localizing outdated pages that will soon be replaced.

3. Determine how localization might impact text fields and page structures.

Example: Some WordPress themes store key content in widget areas, which may not be easily extractable for translation. If these areas are overlooked, localized versions might display incomplete content.

4. Figure out how often content is produced or updated and who owns the publishing schedule.

Example: A blog site with daily updates requires a different translation workflow than a corporate site with static pages. Knowing the update frequency helps plan translation cycles.

5. Create a comprehensive list of pages, posts, and elements that need translation.

Example: The homepage is localized, but embedded shortcodes and call-to-action buttons remain untranslated, leading to an inconsistent user experience.

6. Check if your WordPress site is internationalized.

Example: If the theme does not support localization (.POT files are missing), translations won’t display correctly. Ensuring internationalization from the start avoids rework.

7. Look at plugin options like WPML and Polylang, and test them.

Example: A company selects WPML without testing, only to find that it conflicts with their custom theme. Testing plugins early ensures compatibility.

8. Stress test the plugin at the beginning to uncover gaps.

Example: If WPML does not translate specific custom fields, users might need manual workarounds, which can be costly if discovered late.

9. Determine the file format for export and translation.

Example: If translations need to be imported as JSON files but an XML-based system is used instead, additional conversion steps will be required.

10. Ask your LSP to pseudo-translate files as part of a test project.

Example: A pseudo-translation test might reveal that the site does not support right-to-left (RTL) languages like Arabic, allowing issues to be fixed before actual translations are applied.

11. Designate a WordPress developer for plugin maintenance.

Example: A critical update to WPML is released, but no one applies it, causing translation glitches. Assigning a responsible developer ensures timely updates.

12. Determine the process for online QA using preview links or staging environments.

Example: A translation error is caught only after going live. Having a QA process with preview links allows errors to be corrected before publication.

13. Confirm communication protocols with your LSP (Slack, Teams, etc.).

Example: Urgent changes to a product name need immediate translation, but without a defined communication channel, the request gets delayed.

14. Sign up for the plugin's premium technical support.

Example: A site-wide translation issue arises. Without premium support, troubleshooting takes days instead of hours, impacting launch timelines.

15. Set up periodic team meetings and document everything.

Example: A team member leaves the company, taking critical knowledge with them. Documenting processes ensures continuity.

By addressing these questions early, you can streamline your WordPress localization workflow and avoid costly mistakes.