{"id":133591,"date":"2014-11-12T08:00:51","date_gmt":"2014-11-12T13:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/premium.wpmudev.org\/blog\/?p=133591"},"modified":"2014-11-12T08:00:51","modified_gmt":"2014-11-12T13:00:51","slug":"multilingual-wordpress-wpml","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/multilingual-wordpress-wpml\/","title":{"rendered":"Create a Multilingual WordPress Website With WPML"},"content":{"rendered":"

This year has marked the first year that non-English downloads of WordPress have surpassed English language downloads.<\/p>\n

As of April, English downloads accounted for just 42.6% of WordPress core downloads. Core developer Andrew Nacin pointed out at WordCamp Seattle<\/a>, only 5-10% of the world speak English, so it may be just a matter of time before languages like Mandarin and Spanish dominate WordPress installations.<\/p>\n

Thanks to internationalization improvements in WordPress 4.0 allowing users to select their preferred language, the platform has further opened up to users who speak languages other than English.<\/p>\n

For\u00a0WordPress users, and in particular websites offering products and services, it’s never been more important to offer a multilingual experience to your visitors. If you’re not, you could be missing out on potential customers.<\/p>\n

One of the easiest\u00a0ways to make\u00a0WordPress run multilingual is with the WPML plugin. WPML lets authors write content in different languages and translate content. It also includes advanced features for translation management and an interface for professional content translation.<\/p>\n

Not only does WPML make it easy to manage the multilingual content on your site, but the plugin can also help put you in touch with professional translators. The plugin then allows you to give these translators direct access to your site if required, enabling them to add their work to your site through the translation dashboard feature of WPML.<\/p>\n

In this guide we’ll look at how to create a multilingual site and other solutions for translating WordPress.<\/p>\n

\"Guide<\/a>
The majority of WordPress core installations are now in languages other than English.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

WordPress Internationalization: What\u2019s the Big Deal?<\/h2>\n

While the number of websites powered by WordPress is sitting at an impressive 23%, one of the challenges that needs to be overcome in order to see that number rise is improved support for multilingual content, whether that is post, plugin, or theme content, not to mention\u00a0the core software itself.<\/p>\n

At the time of writing, 51 locales of WordPress are up-to-date with the current version of WordPress, while 64 locales<\/a> do not yet have a package available. The remaining 22 locales are one or more major versions behind. As was pointed out in WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg’s recent State of the Word<\/a>, there is still work to be done.<\/p>\n

By taking the required steps<\/a>, developers can ensure that their work is translation-ready. This means those plugins and themes\u00a0can then be easily localized or translated into additional\u00a0languages<\/a> by other users and developers. This in turn allows those plugins and themes to be used by the growing number of non-English language speaking WordPress site owners, with obvious benefits for both the developers and end users.<\/p>\n

With linguistic rights<\/a> a very real issue, it\u2019s also important for online publishers to be aware that their audience may well be expecting them to offer their content in multiple languages. If you\u2019d like to increase the potential number of visitors who can consume your content, the WPML plugin which we will be looking to today, is one way to publish multilingual content with WordPress.<\/p>\n

Using WPML: An Overview and Guide to Getting Started<\/h2>\n

After installing the core WPML plugin and any optional add-ons, you are given the opportunity to see\u00a0a quick overview of the plugin’s features by launching the WPML getting started guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n

When you are ready to get started, you can begin configuring the plugin and starting the process of making your site multilingual. The first step is to select the current content language and then choose the additional languages that your website and its content will be published in.<\/p>\n

\"WPML
Select which languages your site content will be published in<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After selecting the languages your website will be available in, you must then determine how visitors to your site can switch between those languages and where you will display the switcher menu.<\/p>\n

From the available options you can easily add the switcher to your theme’s widget areas, such as the sidebar, or insert it into one of the menu locations\u00a0of your site. The switcher can also be set to be mobile-friendly for users that are visiting your site on the go.<\/p>\n

\"WPML
The options for language switcher controls<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With WPML you can also\u00a0insert the switcher into a location of your choice by adding the supplied PHP to the appropriate theme file. If you want to personalize the switcher you can follow the online guide covering how to create a custom language switcher<\/a>\u00a0by adding custom CSS.<\/p>\n

Once you\u2019ve chosen the languages you will be publishing your content in, and how your visitors will make their selection, you must configure how the different versions of your content are stored on your site. The available options include:<\/p>\n