How to Setup Multilingual WordPress Website with Ease?

multilingual-wordpress-website

Introduction 

Setting up a multilingual WordPress site exposes you to all possibilities: a global audience, improved user experience, and better engagement. Whether it's an e-commerce store, blog, or corporate site, users can experience your content in multiple languages. But on the better side, setting up a WP multilingual site is easier than you might think. With the right set of tools and plan in place, you will easily have your website translated-even if you don't know a line of code-and offer a seamless experience to visitors worldwide. This tutorial will help you set up a multilingual WordPress website, from selecting the best translation plugins to setting up choices for your languages and ensuring proper SEO for each language version. 

Benefits of Using a Multilingual Website

A multilingual website has several advantages that make it an important asset for a business, blogger, or any other organization willing to extend its reach. 

First, it allows the business to target audiences worldwide by ensuring that visitors can view your content in their native language. This will increase user satisfaction and enhance engagement since people tend to stay longer on a website once they have easy access to the information.

Also, a multilingual website can give you quite high SEO. Google and other search engines reward websites that show content in WordPress multi language by helping you rank higher in search results for different regions. Having a WP multilingual site strengthens your brand through professionalism and the feeling of being trustworthy from a client's perspective. A multilingual WordPress website will break down the barrier among miscellaneous markets and assure conversions in the form of more sales or sign-ups.

Methods for Setting up a WP Multilingual Website

Method 1: Using Multilingual WordPress Themes by VW Themes

The easiest and most efficient way to set up a multilingual WordPress website is by using Multilingual WordPress Themes offered by VW Themes. All the themes offered are translation-ready, that is, they support multiple languages, saving your time and effort in implementing them. Here's how you can get started with them.

1. Choose and Download a VW Theme

Go to the VW Themes website, where you can see a collection of premium WordPress themes. Select any of the theme in your preferred niche and purchase it.

2. How to Install the VW Theme

  • Login into your WordPress.
  • Go to Appearance >> Themes >> Add New
  • Upload the theme zip file by clicking Upload Theme >> Selecting the VW theme file you downloaded.
  • After the upload, click Install Now, then activate the theme.

3. Customize the Theme

After activation, go to Appearance, select » Customize and start customizing the theme as needed. You may customize the layout, colors, and typography, and add your brand's content.

Method 2: Using Multilingual Plugins

Another effective way to set up a multilingual WordPress website is by using multilingual plugins. These plugins make translating your website's content easy without requiring technical knowledge. You can go through our previous article multilingual WordPress plugins, here we've listed 5 best plugins for you. All these plugins offer powerful tools to manage translations for pages, posts, menus, and even theme elements. Here's a step-by-step guide to using a multilingual plugin for your multi language website WordPress:

1. Install and Activate the Plugin

  • Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
  • Navigate to Plugins > Add New and search for either WPML or Polylang (both highly rated options).
  • Click Install Now on your chosen plugin and activate it.

2. Configure the Plugin

  • Once activated, the plugin will guide you through the initial setup.
  • After activation, navigate to Languages to start configuring your site's languages.
  • Select your multilingual WordPress website primary language, then add any other languages you want to offer.

3. Add Language Switchers

  • Go to Languages > Menu Language Switcher to add a switcher to your navigation.
  • Add language switchers to your widgets or footer.

4. Translate Content

  • Go to any post or page you want to translate.
  • You'll see a language tab in the editor that allows you to add translations for each language.
  • Click the "+" icon next to the language to add a translation.

5. Translate Menus and Widgets

  • Navigate to Menus of plugin to easily synchronize your menus across languages.
  • You can manually adjust menu items for each language if needed.
  • Assign these menus to their respective language in the Menu Settings to create your multilingual WordPress website.

6: Verify and Test Your Site

  • Once your translations are complete, review your WordPress multilingual site in each language to ensure everything appears correctly.
  • Test your language switchers, verify that content is properly translated, and check that menus, widgets, and forms function smoothly in all languages.

Conclusion

Setting up a multilingual WordPress website is an excellent way to extend your reach, connect more effectively with an increased audience based on more geographic locations, and indulge in higher engagements on your website. Be it using WordPress multi language themes, such as the ones offered by VW Themes, or using a WP Theme bundle with collection of translation-ready themes, or going for a multilingual plugin like WPML or Polylang, setting up is easy and user-friendly in either case. Each method will bring you unique benefits, from smooth integration with translation tools to more comprehensive customization of content across languages. Building a multilingual site improves user experience and goes hand in hand with improving your SEO ranking, allowing your business to shine in different parts of the world. With the right tool and strategy, it's straightforward to deal with translations and target diverse audiences across the globe.

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