Multilanguage Problem? Learn How to Translate your WordPress Site
Probably the easiest way to translate your WordPress page to other languages is with a plugin. Now, as you can end up feeling rather confused during the search for this kind of plugin, we are here to help you with your choice. Since you can easily download, or even buy, a plugin that doesn’t really satisfies your needs, and since not all WordPress translation plugins are equally effective, we’ve chose 4 user-friendly translation tools that do the job.
qTranslate
qTranslate is an excellent and free translation plugin that is quick and easy to install and use. Via its neatly organized dashboard you can add a selection of 17 languages to your default translation list, but you can also add new languages. With qTranslate you will be able to translate posts and pages from within the post/page editors, which is much easier a solution than creating a separate post for each language, as some other translation plugins require. Another brilliant feature that qTranslate offers is a professional (human) translation service from within the dashboard using Web Translations, which makes this plugin perhaps the most organic one among the free WordPress translation tools.
Multilingual Press
Multilingual Press is another cool and free plugin that allows you to connect multiple sites as language alternatives in a Multisite installation. However, you will have to install Multisite on your site before you install Multilingual Press plugin, so if you are not keen on using Multisite you should then maybe consider other WordPress translation tools. If you, on the other hand, opt for this one, you certainly won’t regret it as Multilingual Press automatically creates duplicates of your posts and pages in other languages you specify. Pretty useful.
xili-language
The xili-language plugin was launched back in 2009 and it soon became quite a useful and user-friendly free translation tool that is regularly updated. Before installing xili-language, you will have to make sure your theme is translation ready. Once this plugin is up and running, adding new languages is a walk in the park due to the plugin’s neatly organized dashboard. Just choose a translation and click “Add”. As simple as that.
WPML (The WordPress Multilingual Plugin)
After 3 free tools, we are taking a closer look at one premium WordPress translation plugin. WPML is probably the most popular among the premium tools as its basic install comes with more than 40 languages, but you can also add language variants, such as local dialects, using the language editor.
WPML comes with three pricing plans – Multilingual Blog, Multilingual CMS and Multilingual Lifetime, while the Blog and CMS plans come with one whole year of updates and support and a reduced renewal fee. This support is excellent for this plugin which is operated by OnTheGoSystems, a professional translation service, so you know are getting the best possible product. You can also access the service from the WPML dashboard in WordPress, plus this plugin is compatible with hundreds of themes and other plugins, which makes WPML one of the most useful WordPress translation tools on the market.
