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Do you want to make your website more accessible to a global audience? WordPress does not have a built-in feature to translate your site into different languages. However, you can use powerful WordPress plugins that can help you create a multilingual WordPress site with ease. This way, you can use your existing content to reach more people in different regions and cultures.
In this article, we will show you the best WordPress translation plugins. We will compare their features, pricing, and drawbacks so you can choose the one that suits your needs.
What to Look for in a WordPress Translation Plugin
Before we dive into the list of plugins, let’s first understand what a WordPress translation plugin is and what it can do for your site.
A WordPress translation plugin is a tool that allows you to translate your site’s content into multiple languages. You can either use an online service like Google Translate to automatically translate your site, or manually add translations for each language you want to offer.
There are two types of WordPress translation plugins:
- Auto Translation Plugins: These plugins use an online service like Google Translate to automatically translate your site’s content into different languages. This is the easiest and fastest way to translate your site, and you can choose from a wide range of languages. However, the downside is that the quality of translation may not be very accurate or natural.
- Manual Translation Plugins: These plugins let you manually add translations for each language you want to offer on your site. This gives you more control over the quality and style of translations, and you can ensure a better user experience and brand image. However, this method requires more work and time, and you may need to hire a professional translator for some languages.
The plugin you choose depends on your preferences, budget, and goals. If you want to quickly translate your site into many languages without much effort, an auto translation plugin may be a good option. If you want to have more control over the translations and offer a more customized experience for your visitors, a manual translation plugin may be a better choice.
The Best WordPress Translation Plugins
Now that you know what to look for in a WordPress translation plugin, let’s take a look at some of the best options available. We will cover both free and paid plugins, and highlight their pros and cons.
Free WordPress Translation Plugins
These are some of the best free WordPress translation plugins that you can use to create a multilingual WordPress site.
GTranslate
GTranslate is one of the most popular WordPress translation plugins powered by Google Translate. With GTranslate, you can automatically translate your site’s content into over 100 languages with ease. You can also manually correct Google’s automatic translations if needed.
GTranslate offers unlimited words and page views, which is great for sites with a lot of content. It also supports right-to-left languages, SEO-friendly URLs, language switcher widget, and more.
The free version of GTranslate has some limitations, such as ads on translated pages, no support for subdomains or subdirectories, no integration with WooCommerce or other plugins, and no multilingual SEO features.
If you want to unlock more features and remove the ads, you can upgrade to one of their paid plans starting from $7.99 per month.
TranslatePress
TranslatePress is another excellent WordPress translation plugin that lets you translate your site from the frontend. You can see a live preview of your translations as you edit them on your site.
TranslatePress supports both automatic and manual translations. You can use Google Translate or DeepL to automatically translate your site’s content into any language, and then manually edit them if needed.
TranslatePress also supports translating dynamic strings generated by plugins or themes, such as forms, page builders, menus, etc. It also has features like language switcher shortcode or menu item, right-to-left language support, browser language detection, etc.
The free version of TranslatePress allows you to translate your site into one additional language. If you want to add more languages or access more features like SEO pack, translator accounts, browse as user role, etc., you can upgrade to one of their premium plans starting from €79 per year.
Google Website Translator
Google Website Translator is a simple and lightweight WordPress translation plugin that uses Google Translate to automatically translate your site’s content into different languages.
All you need to do is install the plugin, select the languages you want to offer on your site, and add the Google Translate widget to your site. Your visitors can then use the widget to choose their preferred language from a dropdown menu.
Google Website Translator is easy to use and supports over 100 languages. However, it does not allow you to edit the automatic translations or add custom translations. It also does not have any SEO features or integration with other plugins.
Google Website Translator is a free plugin and does not have any paid plans.
Loco Translate
Loco Translate is a WordPress translation plugin that lets you translate your site’s themes and plugins into different languages. You can use it to create and update language files directly in your WordPress dashboard.
Loco Translate has a built-in translation editor that shows you the source text and the translation side by side. You can also use the editor to extract translatable strings from your themes and plugins.
Loco Translate also supports WordPress localization standards, such as gettext, PO files, MO files, etc. It also has features like backup and restore, protected language directories, configurable PO file compilation, etc.
Loco Translate is mainly designed for translating themes and plugins, not your site’s content. If you want to translate your posts and pages, you will need another plugin.
Loco Translate is a free plugin and does not have any paid plans.
Lingotek Translation
Lingotek Translation is a WordPress translation plugin that integrates with the Lingotek Translation Network, a cloud-based translation service that offers professional, community, and machine translations.
With Lingotek Translation, you can translate your site’s content into different languages using one of the three methods: automatic machine translation, crowdsource translation from your community, or professional translation from Lingotek’s network of experts.
Lingotek Translation also supports translating posts, pages, categories, tags, menus, widgets, custom post types, custom fields, etc. It also has features like real-time translation status, translation memory, glossary management, etc.
Lingotek Translation requires you to create a free account with Lingotek to use their service. The free account allows you to translate up to 100K words using machine translation or community translation. If you want to access professional translation or more features like multilingual SEO, workflow management, etc., you will need to upgrade to one of their paid plans starting from $50 per month.
Paid WordPress Translation Plugins
These are some of the best premium WordPress translation plugins that offer more features and functionality than the free ones.
Weglot
Weglot is a powerful WordPress translation plugin that lets you translate your site into over 100 languages with just a few clicks. It uses a combination of automatic and manual translations to provide high-quality translations for your site.
Weglot automatically detects and translates your site’s content, including posts, pages, menus, widgets, themes, plugins, etc. You can then edit the translations using a user-friendly dashboard or outsource them to professional translators.
Weglot also has features like language switcher button, multilingual SEO, subdomain or subdirectory support, WooCommerce integration, etc. It also complies with the GDPR and other privacy regulations.
Weglot offers a free plan that allows you to translate up to 2000 words into one language. If you want to translate more words or languages, you will need to upgrade to one of their paid plans starting from €9.90 per month.
Polylang Pro
Polylang Pro is a premium version of the popular Polylang plugin, which lets you manually create multilingual WordPress sites. You can add as many languages as you want and translate your site’s content using the WordPress editor.
Polylang Pro supports translating posts, pages, media, categories, tags, menus, widgets, custom post types, custom taxonomies, etc. It also has features like language switcher widget or menu item, right-to-left language support, subdomain or subdirectory support, etc.
Polylang Pro also integrates with Lingotek Translation to offer automatic and professional translations for your site. It also integrates with WooCommerce to create multilingual online stores.
Polylang Pro costs €99 for one site license and includes one year of updates and support. You can also purchase add-ons for extra features like cookie notice, sliders, etc.
WPML
WPML is one of the most popular and trusted WordPress translation plugins in the market. It lets you create multilingual WordPress sites with ease and flexibility.
WPML supports both automatic and manual translations for your site’s content. You can use WPML’s advanced translation editor to translate your posts and pages with features like translation memory, glossary, spell checker, etc. You can also use WPML’s translation management module to send your content to professional translation services.
WPML also supports translating themes, plugins, custom fields, custom post types, custom taxonomies, etc. It also has features like multilingual SEO, language switcher options, subdomain or subdirectory support, WooCommerce integration, etc.
WPML offers two plans: Multilingual Blog for $29 and Multilingual CMS for $79. Both plans include unlimited site licenses and one year of updates and support. The Multilingual CMS plan includes more features like translation management module, advanced translation editor, WooCommerce integration, etc.
MultilingualPress
MultilingualPress is a WordPress translation plugin that uses the WordPress multisite feature to create multilingual sites. This means you can create a separate site for each language and link them together using MultilingualPress.
MultilingualPress lets you manually translate your site’s content using the WordPress editor. You can also copy content from one site to another and edit it as needed. You can switch between sites easily using a metabox in the editor.
MultilingualPress also supports translating posts, pages, custom post types, custom taxonomies, etc. It also has features like language switcher widget or shortcode, hreflang support for SEO, performance optimization, etc.
MultilingualPress costs $199 for one site license and includes one year of updates and support.
Conclusion
Creating a multilingual WordPress site can help you reach a wider audience and grow your business. However, choosing the right WordPress translation plugin can be challenging as there are many options available.
In this article, we have compared some of the best WordPress translation plugins based on their features, pricing, and pros and cons. We hope this article helps you find the best plugin for your needs.
If you have any questions or feedback about this article or any of the plugins mentioned here, please let us know in the comments below.
