How do I create a multilingual WordPress site?

Applies to: WordPress.org (self-hosted)
Last updated: May 2025

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Problem

You want to serve your website content in more than one language—for example, English and Spanish—but WordPress doesn’t support multilingual functionality natively out of the box.

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Solution

You can create a multilingual WordPress site using a multilingual plugin, a multisite network, or manual setup. For most users, a plugin is the simplest and most scalable option.

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Option 1: Use a Multilingual Plugin (Recommended)

A. TranslatePress (User-friendly & visual)

1. Go to Plugins > Add New, search for TranslatePress, install and activate
2. Go to Settings > TranslatePress
3. Select your default language and add additional languages
4. Click Save Changes

To translate:

• Visit any page and click the “Translate Page” button on the top admin bar
• Use the visual editor to translate text inline
• Save translations as you go

Pros:

• Visual interface
• SEO-friendly URLs
• Works with any theme or page builder

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B. WPML (Powerful but paid)

• Supports multilingual posts, pages, menus, taxonomies, and WooCommerce
• Great for larger, content-heavy sites
• Built-in language switcher

C. Polylang (Free & scalable)

• Add separate versions of posts/pages per language
• Assign a language to each post
• Offers a language switcher widget or menu item

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Option 2: Use WordPress Multisite (Advanced)

You can set up a multisite network, where each language has its own site:

• Example:
  • en.yoursite.com (English)
  • es.yoursite.com (Spanish)

Steps:

1. Enable multisite in wp-config.php
2. Create separate subsites for each language
3. Use a plugin like MultilingualPress to link the sites

This is best for large or enterprise-level multilingual websites, but adds complexity.

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Option 3: Manual Translation (Not scalable)

You can manually duplicate each page/post in multiple languages and organize them using categories or menus.

• Example:
  • Create “Home (EN)” and “Inicio (ES)”
  • Use separate menus for each language

Drawbacks:

• Not SEO-friendly by default
• No language switcher logic
• Hard to manage at scale

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Best Practices

• Choose one method and stick with it
• Use hreflang tags (plugins usually handle this) for SEO clarity
• Provide a visible language switcher in your header, footer, or menu
• Translate your meta titles and descriptions using SEO plugins like Yoast + WPML or TranslatePress SEO pack

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Summary: Plugin Comparison

Plugin	Visual Editing	SEO Support	WooCommerce Ready	Free Version
TranslatePress	✅	✅	✅	✅
WPML	❌	✅	✅	❌ (paid)
Polylang	❌	✅	✅ (with addon)	✅