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Translating the Content in WordPress

Your WordPress site has three basic types of content that need translating: posts and pages, custom fields, and custom taxonomies.

In the previous step, you learned how to make your custom types translatable. Let’s now see how to actually translate your site’s content.

Translating Your Site Automatically

WPML features the Translate Everything mode which translates all your site’s content automatically as you publish and edit it.

To learn all about this mode, check out the documentation page about automatic translation with WPML.

Translating Content Yourself

WPML adds translation controls for the manual translation of any post or page. You can find these controls on the post listing pages and when editing posts and pages.

Translation controls on the post listing page

Translation controls on the post editing page

Clicking the translation controls on these pages takes you to the Translation Editor. All the texts belonging to the post are available for translation in the Translation Editor. This includes post title and body (main content), as well as custom fields and taxonomies.

Translating content using the Advanced Translation Editor

WPML automatically connects the translations with the post in the original language.

Sending Content to Translators

WPML Translation Management allows you to set up multiple users that act as translators of your content.

Use the following steps to send content for translation:

  1. Go to the WPML → Translation Management page.
  2. Use the search section at the top of the page to find the content you want to translate.
  3. Select the posts and pages you want to translate.
  4. Select the languages you want to translate the content into.
  5. Click to Add selected content to translation basket. If you’re the only translator on the site, this button’s label will be Translate selected content. In this case, the next (6th) step is not applicable. Instead, after clicking the button, go to WPML → Translations and take the translation job yourself.
Using the Translation Management Dashboard
  1. Finally, click the Translation Basket tab, select the translator you want to use and click to Send all items for translation.

Major advantages of using Translation Management:

  • Set up multiple translators and define which languages they are allowed to translate the content into.
  • Send multiple posts and pages for translation at once.
  • Assign specific translation jobs to specific translators.
  • Send content to be translated by professional translation services.