WPML (WordPress Multilingual Plugin) - Detailed Review
Translation Tools
WPML (WordPress Multilingual Plugin) - Product Overview
Introduction to WPML (WordPress Multilingual Plugin)
WPML, or WordPress Multilingual Plugin, is a powerful tool designed to help you create and manage multilingual WordPress websites. Here’s a breakdown of its primary function, target audience, and key features:Primary Function
WPML allows you to use a single WordPress installation to create content in multiple languages. This is particularly useful for websites that need to cater to a global audience, such as international businesses, governments, online stores, and educational institutions. It eliminates the need for multiple WordPress installations or relying on less accurate machine translations like Google Translate.Target Audience
WPML is aimed at professional web developers, businesses, and organizations that need to reach a global market. It is especially beneficial for those who want to provide content in their clients’ native languages to boost traffic, increase sales, and improve support satisfaction.Key Features
Easy Installation and Language Management
WPML offers a setup wizard that makes it easy to install and configure multiple languages on your site. It supports 65 languages out of the box and allows you to add your own language variants. You can choose the URL format for different languages, such as a directory structure, separate domains or subdomains, or adding language as a parameter.Comprehensive Translation Capabilities
WPML extends translation capabilities beyond just posts and pages to include custom post types, fields, taxonomy, media, and even texts within the site’s admin area. It supports automatic translation using AI engines like DeepL, Google, and Microsoft, as well as integration with professional human translation services.Translation Workflow Control
The plugin includes a translation management page where you can view the status of translations, assign items for translation, and manage the translation process. You can also set up reviewers to ensure the quality of the translations before they are published.Integration with Other Tools
WPML seamlessly integrates with other WordPress tools, such as WooCommerce for e-commerce sites, and can be used in conjunction with platforms like Cloudinary to localize media content like images and videos.Automatic Translation
WPML’s Automatic Translation feature uses leading AI translation engines to translate your website content accurately and efficiently. This feature can handle all types of content and allows you to translate your entire site on auto-pilot, ensuring that your site remains up-to-date in multiple languages. By using WPML, you can create a fully localized and multilingual website that enhances user experience, increases conversion rates, and expands your global reach. WPML (WordPress Multilingual Plugin) - User Interface and Experience
User Interface Overview
The user interface of WPML, particularly in its Translation Tools AI-driven product category, is designed to be intuitive and user-friendly, making the process of translating WordPress sites efficient and manageable.Translation Management
WPML’s Translation Management interface allows users to control what content is translated, how it is translated, and who performs the translations. This is done through a clear and organized dashboard where you can select the content to be translated, choose the target languages, and assign translation jobs to either automated translation services or human translators.Advanced Translation Editor
The Advanced Translation Editor is a key component of WPML’s user interface. It provides a side-by-side translation editing interface, which makes it easy to translate content without altering the design of the pages. This editor includes features such as machine translation, spell checking, translation memory, and a glossary to ensure consistency in translations. This setup allows users to focus solely on the text content, making the translation process streamlined and efficient.Automatic Translation
WPML integrates with leading AI translation engines like DeepL, Google, and Microsoft, allowing for high-quality automatic translations. Users can send content for automatic translation directly from the Translation Management page, and WPML will handle the translation process. The system also alerts users when translations are ready for review, ensuring accuracy and quality.Review and Feedback
The review process is integrated seamlessly into the user interface. Users can review translations on the site’s front-end, make necessary edits, and then accept the translations. Additionally, WPML allows site visitors to rate and provide feedback on translated content, which can be sent back to translators for review. This feedback mechanism helps maintain high-quality translations and engages users in the improvement process.Ease of Use
WPML is designed to be easy to use, even for those without extensive technical knowledge. The automated tests and compatibility checks with various themes and plugins ensure that WPML works smoothly with most WordPress setups. The interface is straightforward, allowing users to manage translations, assign tasks, and review content without needing to delve into complex settings.Overall User Experience
The overall user experience with WPML is positive due to its intuitive design and comprehensive features. Users can manage translations efficiently, whether they choose automatic or human translation methods. The ability to review and edit translations directly on the site’s front-end, along with the option for visitor feedback, enhances the accuracy and quality of the translations. This makes WPML a reliable tool for creating and maintaining multilingual WordPress sites.Conclusion
In summary, WPML’s user interface is structured to be user-friendly, efficient, and engaging, making the translation process for WordPress sites both manageable and accurate. WPML (WordPress Multilingual Plugin) - Key Features and Functionality
The WordPress Multilingual Plugin (WPML)
WPML is a comprehensive tool for translating WordPress websites, and it includes several key features, especially in its AI-driven translation tools.
Automatic Translation
WPML’s Automatic Translation feature leverages leading AI translation engines such as DeepL, Google, Azure, and its own WordPress-optimized algorithms. This allows for the accurate translation of large amounts of content, including over 200 million words in 93 languages every month.
How it Works
To use the automatic translation, you start by going to WPML → Translation Management. Here, you select the content you want to translate, view the estimated word count, and choose the Automatic Translation option. For this feature to work, your site must have assigned credits or a pay-as-you-go subscription for automatic translation.
Benefits
This feature covers all types of content, including complex e-commerce sites, corporate sites, and news blogs. It allows you to translate entire sites automatically, ensuring high-quality translations without manual intervention for every piece of content.
Reviewing and Editing Translations
WPML allows you to review and edit translations before publishing them. You can set up reviewers for your site, and WPML will alert them when new translations need review. The review process happens on the site’s front-end, enabling you to make changes and accept the translations directly.
Translation Workflow Control
You can control what is translated and how it is translated. WPML lets you set up automatic translation for some content and manual translation for others. This flexibility ensures that critical or sensitive content can be translated with human oversight if necessary.
Multilingual SEO
WPML helps optimize your site for multilingual audiences by automatically translating selected metadata. This ensures that your content is discoverable in search engines across different languages, which is crucial for multilingual SEO.
Integration with AI Translation Engines
WPML integrates with advanced AI translation engines like OpenAI’s ChatGPT through its new WPML AI engine. This engine analyzes the entire content for context and accuracy, providing translations that are nuanced and culturally relevant. Unlike traditional sentence-by-sentence translation, WPML AI ensures translations are more accurate and contextually appropriate.
Translation Management and Tools
WPML offers a comprehensive translation management system where you can choose what to translate, who will translate it, and the target languages from a single dashboard. It also includes tools like a glossary and translation memory to maintain consistency in your translations.
Compatibility and Add-ons
WPML is compatible with a wide range of themes, plugins, and page builders. It includes add-ons for translating WooCommerce site content, media galleries, form plugins, and integrating with tools like Mailchimp, Yoast SEO, and Rank Math. This ensures that WPML works seamlessly with various WordPress components.
Conclusion
In summary, WPML’s AI-driven translation tools offer a powerful and efficient way to translate WordPress websites, ensuring accuracy, context, and ease of use. The integration with leading AI engines and the ability to review and edit translations make it a versatile solution for multilingual websites.
WPML (WordPress Multilingual Plugin) - Performance and Accuracy
Performance
WPML can have a notable impact on the performance of your website, especially if you are managing multiple languages. Here are some key performance considerations:
Database Load
WPML stores translations in the database, which can lead to increased database requests and potentially slow down your website, particularly if you have a large number of languages.
Optimization Needs
To mitigate performance issues, users need to optimize their database and ensure proper configuration. This includes deleting unused strings and monitoring queries with tools like Query Monitor.
Hosting and Resources
The performance of WPML can also be affected by the hosting provider and the resources available. Using a caching plugin, optimizing images, and employing a CDN can help improve site speed.
Version Improvements
WPML has made significant improvements in recent versions, such as integrating the Translation Management add-on into the core plugin and reworking the String Translation mechanism, which has enhanced page loading times.
Accuracy
The accuracy of WPML’s translations is another crucial aspect:
Automatic Translation
WPML uses AI-powered automatic translation services, including Google, DeepL, and Microsoft. While these services are advanced, they are not always 100% accurate and may require manual editing for precision.
Manual and Professional Translation
WPML allows for manual translation and also supports hiring professional translators, which can significantly improve the accuracy of the translations.
Translation Management
The plugin offers a centralized dashboard for managing translations, which helps in ensuring that all content is accurately translated and reviewed.
Limitations and Areas for Improvement
Complex Setup
WPML can be complex to set up, especially for beginners. This complexity can be overwhelming and may require additional support or documentation to navigate.
Cost
WPML is one of the more expensive options, with no free plans available. This can be a significant factor for users on a budget.
Performance Optimization
While WPML has made improvements, it still requires careful optimization to avoid performance issues, especially on larger sites.
In summary, WPML is a powerful tool for creating multilingual WordPress sites, offering advanced translation management and SEO optimization. However, it requires careful setup and optimization to ensure optimal performance, and users should be prepared for potential accuracy issues with automatic translations.
WPML (WordPress Multilingual Plugin) - Pricing and Plans
WPML Pricing Overview
The WPML (WordPress Multilingual Plugin) offers a clear and structured pricing plan to cater to various needs, but it does not include any free options or demos. Here’s a breakdown of the different tiers and their features:
Multilingual Blog Plan
- Price: Not explicitly mentioned in the sources, but it is the most basic plan.
- Features: Includes standard translation controls but lacks translation management.
- Websites: Limited, though the exact number is not specified.
- Support and Updates: One year of support and updates.
- Note: The naming of this plan can be confusing as it lacks key features like translation management.
Multilingual CMS Plan
- Price: €99
- Features:
- Standard translation controls
- Advanced Translation Editor
- Automatic translation with 90,000 translation credits
- String translation
- Translation management
- Page builders support (e.g., Elementor)
- Menu translation
- E-Commerce support (WooCommerce)
- Full Site Editing support (Gutenberg)
- Translation Services Integration.
- Websites: Supports three production websites and nine development websites.
- Support and Updates: One year of support and updates.
Multilingual Agency Plan
- Price: €199
- Features: All the features available in the CMS plan, including:
- Standard translation controls
- Advanced Translation Editor
- Automatic translation with 180,000 translation credits
- String translation
- Translation management
- Page builders support
- Menu translation
- E-Commerce support
- Full Site Editing support
- Translation Services Integration.
- Websites: Supports unlimited websites.
- Support and Updates: One year of support and updates.
Key Points
- There is no free trial or demo version available for WPML, which might deter some potential users.
- All plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
- The pricing structure does not include clear information on renewal costs, which could be a point of improvement.
In summary, WPML offers a tiered pricing structure with increasing features and support for more websites as you move from the Blog to the CMS and then the Agency plan. However, there are no free options available.
WPML (WordPress Multilingual Plugin) - Integration and Compatibility
WPML Overview
WPML (WordPress Multilingual Plugin) is renowned for its extensive integration and compatibility with a wide range of WordPress plugins, themes, and tools, making it a versatile solution for creating multilingual websites.
Compatibility with Plugins
WPML seamlessly integrates with various popular WordPress plugins to ensure comprehensive multilingual support. Here are a few examples:
- Forms Plugins: WPML is compatible with Ninja Forms and WPForms, allowing you to translate forms easily and efficiently.
- SEO Plugins: It works well with SEO plugins like Yoast SEO and Rank Math, optimizing your multilingual site for search engines in multiple languages.
- Email Marketing: WPML integrates with MailChimp, enabling the translation of email marketing campaigns for a global audience.
- Caching Plugins: WPML is fully compatible with WP Rocket, ensuring that your multilingual site remains fast and optimized for visitors from different locations.
Compatibility with Page Builders
WPML also supports integration with popular page builders. For instance, it is now compatible with SiteOrigin Page Builder, allowing you to translate content created with this tool using the WPML Advanced Translation Editor. This integration enables automatic and manual translation options, along with features like machine translation, glossary, and translation memory.
Theme Compatibility
WPML ensures that every theme using the WordPress API can run multilingual without issues. The plugin undergoes automated tests with many themes to ensure ongoing compatibility, even with updates.
Multilingual Tools and Configuration
To ensure compatibility, WPML offers the Multilingual Tools plugin, which helps test your configuration setup and verify that your plugins and themes are properly configured for translation. This tool allows you to scan for hard-coded texts, generate language configuration files, and confirm the compatibility of your elements by appending language prefixes to texts.
GraphQL and Elasticsearch Integration
WPML extends its capabilities through add-ons like WPML GraphQL, which allows you to query, filter, and retrieve language-specific data and translations. It also works with ElasticPress to enhance the search capabilities of Elasticsearch across all languages on your site.
Professional Translation Services
WPML integrates with professional translation services, allowing you to connect with translators or use AI-driven translation tools like Google, DeepL, and Microsoft. This ensures high-quality translations and efficient translation management from a single dashboard.
Conclusion
In summary, WPML’s broad compatibility and integration with various WordPress tools, plugins, and themes make it an essential solution for creating and managing multilingual websites efficiently. Its continuous testing and updates ensure that it remains compatible with a wide range of platforms and devices.
WPML (WordPress Multilingual Plugin) - Customer Support and Resources
WPML Customer Support Options
WPML (WordPress Multilingual Plugin) offers a range of customer support options and additional resources to help users effectively manage and translate their WordPress sites.Chat Support
WPML provides a chat support option that allows users to quickly resolve issues. When you open a support ticket, you have the option to start a chat with one of the WPML support team members. This chat support is available Monday through Friday, and there are some supporters on duty during weekends, although not all the time. If no supporters are available for chat, you can still create a support ticket.Support Tickets and Forums
For issues that cannot be resolved through chat, WPML has a members-only support forum where users can post their questions and receive help from the support team. This forum is accessible if you have purchased WPML and need technical assistance.Contact Forms
WPML offers various contact forms for different types of inquiries, such as pre-sales questions, account or subscription issues, password recovery, and security or vulnerability reports. These forms ensure that your specific needs are addressed promptly.Documentation and Guides
WPML provides comprehensive documentation and guides to help users get started and manage their multilingual sites effectively. For example, there are detailed guides on how to translate content created using the Gutenberg editor, how to use automatic translation, and how to manage translations through the Translation Management dashboard.Automatic Translation Support
WPML’s Automatic Translation feature is well-documented, with guides on how to send content for translation, review completed translations, and even translate entire sites automatically. This feature uses leading AI translation engines like DeepL, Google, and Azure, ensuring high-quality translations.Theme and Plugin Compatibility
WPML also offers resources to check theme compatibility and help theme and plugin developers achieve WPML compatibility through their GoGlobal program. This ensures that your site remains compatible with various themes and plugins.Additional Resources
For users who need more specialized help, WPML lists contractors who can assist with building and managing multilingual sites. Additionally, there are options for business inquiries and for those interested in becoming WPML consultants.Conclusion
Overall, WPML’s support system is designed to be responsive and comprehensive, providing multiple avenues for users to get the help they need to manage their multilingual WordPress sites efficiently. WPML (WordPress Multilingual Plugin) - Pros and Cons
Advantages
Comprehensive Translation Capabilities
WPML allows you to translate a wide range of content, including pages, posts, custom post types, taxonomy, menus, and even the theme’s texts. It also supports the translation of custom fields, widgets, media, and texts within the site’s admin area.Automatic and Human Translation Options
WPML offers both automatic and human translation services. You can use AI-powered translation engines like Google, DeepL, and Microsoft, and also integrate with professional translation services or assign jobs to your own translators.Multilingual SEO
WPML helps optimize your site for multilingual SEO by automatically translating selected metadata, ensuring your content is discoverable in search engines across different languages.Compatibility and Integration
WPML is compatible with a wide range of popular WordPress plugins and themes, including WooCommerce, Yoast SEO, and Rank Math. It also provides special configuration files for certain plugins to ensure seamless integration.Translation Management
The plugin offers a translation management interface where you can control what is translated, who will translate it, and the target languages. You can also use checkboxes to bulk select multiple pieces of content for translation.Support and Reliability
WPML provides full support, including a setup wizard, extensive documentation, and a live chat option. It is known for its regular updates, security, and modular design that enhances performance.Disadvantages
Cost and No Free Trial
WPML does not offer a free trial or demo version, which can be a barrier for potential users. Automatic translation also incurs additional costs after a certain word limit, and you need to purchase specific add-ons for full functionality.Performance Impact
Using WPML with many languages can affect your site’s performance due to increased requests to the database. This is particularly notable compared to SaaS-based plugins that use a dedicated CDN to store translations.Accuracy of Automatic Translation
While WPML’s automatic translation is convenient, it is not always accurate and may require manual review and editing. This can be time-consuming, especially for large amounts of text.Complexity and Learning Curve
WPML has a broad range of features, which can sometimes make it challenging for users to find specific options. The extensive feature set may pose a discovery challenge, especially for less experienced WordPress users.Caching Issues
There can be caching issues that prevent special configuration files from being updated automatically, which might affect the plugin’s performance and compatibility with other plugins and themes. By weighing these pros and cons, you can make an informed decision about whether WPML is the right tool for your multilingual website needs. WPML (WordPress Multilingual Plugin) - Comparison with Competitors
Comparing WPML with Other AI-Driven Translation Tools for WordPress
WPML
Advanced Translation Management
WPML is highly suited for professional and large-scale projects. It supports over 65 languages and offers multi-user translation processes, making it ideal for collaborative work.
Integration with Professional Services
WPML stands out for its ability to connect directly with professional website translation services, allowing for high-quality translations to be integrated seamlessly into your site.
Automatic Translation
WPML supports automatic translations using engines like DeepL, Google Translate, and Microsoft Translator. However, it translates content in sections, which can be time-consuming.
Compatibility and Setup
Setting up WPML can be complex, requiring multiple components and configuration to ensure compatibility with your WordPress theme and other plugins. It integrates well with WooCommerce.
TranslatePress
User-Friendly Interface
TranslatePress is known for its user-friendly setup and interface, making it accessible to both tech-savvy and non-technical users. It integrates easily with most WordPress themes and plugins, including WooCommerce.
Live Preview and AI Translation
TranslatePress uses Google Translate and DeepL for automatic translations and offers a live preview feature, allowing you to see changes in real-time. However, it lacks some of the extensive customization options available in WPML.
Collaboration Limitations
TranslatePress requires the Translator Accounts Add-on to integrate with professional translation services, and collaborators need access to your WordPress account, which can pose security risks.
Weglot
Ease of Use and Comprehensive Features
Weglot is praised for its ease of use, minimal setup requirements, and comprehensive approach to website translation. It supports automatic translations, full editing control, and multilingual SEO setup. Weglot also works across multiple platforms, including WordPress and Shopify.
Customer Support
Weglot is noted for its excellent customer support and high user satisfaction, with over 70,000 websites using the plugin.
Polylang
Manual Translation Focus
Polylang primarily focuses on manual translation and does not support automatic translation in its core plugin. It can be integrated with third-party plugins for automatic translation, but these integrations have received negative reviews.
Limited Professional Services Integration
Unlike WPML, Polylang does not have built-in support for integrating with professional translation services, relying on third-party tools.
Other Alternatives
GTranslate
This plugin uses Google Translate services and is known for its simplicity and value for money. It fits well within the WordPress environment but lacks the advanced features of WPML or Weglot.
Tranzly
Powered by DeepL Translation, Tranzly allows for the automatic creation of a multilingual website and is compatible with the Gutenberg editor. It is less feature-rich compared to WPML but offers a straightforward translation process.
Key Considerations
Automatic Translation
If automatic translation is a priority, WPML and TranslatePress are strong options, with WPML offering more machine translation services and TranslatePress providing a live preview feature.
Ease of Use
For users looking for a simple and user-friendly experience, TranslatePress and Weglot are better choices. Weglot, in particular, stands out for its minimal setup requirements and comprehensive features.
Professional Translation Services
WPML is the best option if you need to integrate with professional translation services directly from your WordPress dashboard.
Each of these plugins has its unique strengths and weaknesses, making the choice dependent on your specific needs and preferences as a site owner.
WPML (WordPress Multilingual Plugin) - Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some frequently asked questions about WPML (WordPress Multilingual Plugin) along with detailed responses:
1. How do I install and activate the WPML plugin?
To install and activate the WPML plugin, you need to download it from the WPML website, upload it to your WordPress site, and then activate it. Once activated, the plugin will add a new menu item labeled ‘WPML’ in your WordPress menu. You can then follow the settings wizard to configure the plugin.2. Can I use automatic translation with WPML?
Yes, WPML offers an automatic translation feature that allows you to quickly translate a large amount of text. This feature uses translation services like Google, DeepL, and Microsoft, achieving up to 90% accuracy. You can then review and edit the translations as needed.3. How do I manage translations for different content types with WPML?
WPML allows you to translate various content types, including posts, pages, custom post types, taxonomy terms, menus, and even theme texts. You can manage these translations through the ‘WPML » Translation Management’ page, where you can view content pieces, assign them to translators, and work on translations. Translators can add translations directly in WordPress without needing to edit the original posts.4. Does WPML support right-to-left (RTL) languages?
Yes, WPML fully supports RTL formatting and languages, such as Arabic, Hebrew, Urdu, Kurdish, and Persian. However, this support only applies to themes that are RTL-compatible.5. Can I optimize my multilingual site for SEO using WPML?
WPML helps optimize your site for multilingual SEO by automatically translating selected metadata and ensuring that your content is discoverable in search engines for different languages. This feature is particularly useful for maintaining keyword-rich content across multiple languages.6. How do I handle translation credits and refunds with WPML?
Translation credits purchased from WPML are non-refundable. If you cancel or delete automatically translated content, you cannot get the used credits back. WPML compensates the chosen translation engine for the automatic translation service as soon as the credits are used.7. Can I use WPML with my favorite themes and plugins?
Yes, WPML is compatible with most WordPress themes and plugins that use the WordPress API. WPML works with popular page builders and plugins, and automated tests are run to ensure compatibility with updates from both WPML and other themes/plugins.8. How do I control the translation workflow with WPML?
WPML allows you to control what is translated and how it is translated. You can set up automatic translation for some content and manual translation for others. This flexibility helps you manage your translation workflow efficiently.9. Can I have different front or post pages per language with WPML?
No, due to WordPress database limitations, it is not possible to have different front or post pages per language with WPML.10. How do I remove the “This site is registered on wpml.org as a development site” notice?
To remove this notice, you need to switch your site key from development to production in your WPML.org account. This change reflects the site’s status and removes the notice. WPML (WordPress Multilingual Plugin) - Conclusion and Recommendation
Final Assessment of WPML
WPML (WordPress Multilingual Plugin) is a highly regarded and powerful tool for creating and managing multilingual WordPress sites. Here’s a comprehensive overview of its benefits, features, and who would benefit most from using it.Key Features
- Multilingual Content Translation: WPML allows you to translate pages, posts, custom post types, taxonomy terms, and even theme texts into multiple languages. It supports over 65 pre-configured languages.
- Automatic and Human Translation: The plugin offers both automatic translation using AI services like Google, DeepL, and Microsoft, as well as the option to use professional translators or assign translation jobs to your own team.
- SEO-Friendly: WPML ensures that your multilingual site maintains proper SEO practices, helping you target keywords in multiple languages and improve visibility in search engine results.
- Language Switcher and URL Formats: Users can easily switch between languages using customizable language switchers, and you can choose from various URL formats such as directory structures, separate domains, or subdomains for each language.
- Compatibility: WPML seamlessly integrates with popular WordPress themes, plugins, and page builders, ensuring smooth operation and compatibility.
Benefits
- Enhanced User Experience: By offering content in multiple languages, WPML improves user experience and accessibility for a diverse audience, leading to increased site traffic and better engagement.
- Global Reach: Multilingual websites powered by WPML can reach a wider audience, opening up new markets and opportunities. This is particularly beneficial for businesses, educational institutions, and government websites.
- Time and Effort Savings: WPML simplifies the translation process, saving website owners time and effort compared to manual translation methods.
- Professional Appearance: Multilingual websites created with WPML project a professional image, enhancing credibility and trustworthiness.
Who Would Benefit Most
WPML is highly beneficial for several types of users:- International Businesses: Companies looking to expand their market reach globally can significantly benefit from WPML by offering their content in multiple languages.
- Educational Institutions: Schools and universities with international students or global programs can use WPML to provide content in various languages, enhancing student engagement and accessibility.
- Government Websites: Government entities needing to serve diverse linguistic populations can use WPML to ensure their websites are accessible to everyone.
- E-commerce Sites: Online stores can use WPML to translate product pages, shopping carts, and checkout processes, making the purchase process easier for multilingual customers and driving up conversions.