Translating WordPress Theme for a Multilingual Website: A Comprehensive Guide

Translating WordPress Theme: A Comprehensive Guide

Of all the websites on the internet, it’s no surprise that approximately 37% are powered by WordPress. The fact that you’re reading this article suggests your website is likely built on WordPress, and you’re looking for ways to improve its translation capabilities. You’re not alone in this pursuit—many website owners are recognizing the importance of catering to a global audience and are seeking methods to effectively translate their WordPress sites.

However, a significant challenge arises when you consider that much of the content in WordPress themes is predominantly in English. This poses a potential barrier to reaching global audiences, especially when you look at global internet usage trends. For instance, non-English languages now account for around 75% of global internet traffic. This is a critical statistic for website owners, as it underscores the need to cater to a broader range of languages. By translating your WordPress theme into various dialects, you not only enhance your website’s accessibility but also improve its appeal to users from different regions.

In light of this, let’s explore the various options available for translating your WordPress site effectively.

The Pathway to International Success is Translation

As your business grows and extends its reach to international markets, translation becomes a fundamental part of your strategy. However, translating content is not enough; localization is key to creating a connection with audiences in different regions. Localization goes beyond mere translation, encompassing cultural adaptations, local references, and the alignment of your website’s tone and design with the preferences of the target market.

For businesses looking to expand into regions like India, China, or sub-Saharan Africa, not localizing your content could drastically limit your potential customer base. These markets represent vast opportunities, but they also have unique cultural nuances, linguistic diversity, and regional preferences that must be addressed to ensure effective communication. When you fail to localize your content, it may not resonate with local audiences, which can lead to missed business opportunities and lower engagement rates.

At first, the idea of localizing a website—especially when entering less familiar or more distant regions—can seem overwhelming. It may feel like a complex, resource-intensive task requiring specialized knowledge and significant investment. However, with the right tools, you can simplify the process and execute a successful global strategy without the steep learning curve.

One such solution is ConveyThis, a comprehensive Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform that makes website translation and localization not only possible but also straightforward. ConveyThis is designed to empower businesses of all sizes to create multilingual websites without the need for technical expertise. Whether you’re a small business just beginning to explore international markets or an enterprise with global operations, ConveyThis provides the tools and resources you need to scale your website to meet the demands of different language-speaking regions.

With ConveyThis, you no longer have to worry about navigating the complexities of coding or hiring a team of developers. The platform is built to streamline the entire translation process, allowing you to focus on content and strategy, rather than the technical intricacies of site modification. The user-friendly interface ensures that even those with no background in web development can easily manage and customize the translation of their site.

Advantages of Translating Your WordPress Theme

Translating your WordPress theme offers several key advantages that can significantly enhance your website’s reach and engagement with global audiences. In a world that’s increasingly interconnected, offering content in multiple languages is more than just a convenience—it’s a strategic decision that can open doors to new markets, increase user satisfaction, and boost your online presence. Here’s how translating your WordPress theme can benefit your site and business:

1. Increased Global Reach

   Translating your WordPress theme allows you to reach a broader audience, particularly in countries where the primary language is different from your own. With a website available in multiple languages, you can connect with people who speak a variety of languages, from Spanish to Mandarin to Arabic, and beyond. This expanded reach helps you tap into new customer bases, build brand awareness in foreign markets, and generate international traffic. As more users engage with your site, your brand can grow its footprint and establish a presence in previously untapped markets.

   Additionally, a multilingual site creates a more inclusive environment for users from diverse backgrounds, making it easier for them to understand and navigate your content. As globalization continues to rise, having a website that speaks the language of your audience is crucial for staying competitive in an increasingly globalized digital landscape.

2. Improved User Experience

   A seamless, localized experience is critical for user retention and engagement. When visitors can view your website in their native language, it eliminates language barriers and ensures that they can navigate your site effortlessly. This localized experience not only makes your content more accessible, but it also fosters a sense of connection and trust with your audience.

   Studies have shown that users are more likely to engage with content that is in their preferred language, leading to longer on-site sessions, higher engagement, and increased conversions. The ability to easily switch between languages provides a smooth user experience that can drive customer loyalty and satisfaction.

   By offering content in a variety of languages, you are effectively tailoring your website to meet the specific needs of different user groups, which increases the likelihood of them becoming repeat visitors or customers.

3. Boosted SEO Rankings

   Multilingual websites are increasingly favored by search engines, especially when it comes to region-specific results. Translating your WordPress theme not only allows you to provide localized content but also helps you optimize for local search engine results in various countries. When your site appears in search results for different languages, it increases visibility and organic traffic from regions where your content might not otherwise reach.

   Translation also opens up the possibility of targeting specific long-tail keywords in different languages, improving the precision of your SEO efforts. For example, targeting keywords that are relevant to local search behaviors in France or Japan can help your site rank higher in those regions, driving more relevant traffic. Implementing proper multilingual SEO strategies, such as hreflang tags, ensures that search engines can properly index and serve the right language version of your site to users, further enhancing your search engine discoverability.

4. Competitive Advantage

   With more businesses shifting their focus to international audiences, staying ahead of the competition is crucial. Translating your WordPress theme gives you an edge over competitors who have not yet ventured into multilingual sites. In many industries, particularly in emerging markets, the competition for attention is fierce. By providing a multilingual experience, you differentiate yourself from others who may still be focusing solely on English-speaking customers.

   Moreover, a multilingual website demonstrates your company’s commitment to inclusivity and customer satisfaction. It shows that you understand the importance of meeting local needs and that you are willing to invest in providing a seamless experience for global users. This level of commitment can help you earn the trust of potential customers, establishing a reputation as a brand that values diversity and accessibility.

5. Enhanced Brand Credibility

   A website that speaks the language of your target audience not only improves accessibility but also strengthens your brand’s credibility. Customers are more likely to trust a brand that makes the effort to speak to them in their language, especially when considering a purchase or engaging with the brand. Localized content creates a more authentic experience that resonates with users, improving brand perception.

   Additionally, by offering a professional translation of your website, you avoid the pitfalls of poorly executed machine translations, which can cause confusion or diminish the trustworthiness of your brand. When customers see that your content is thoughtfully translated and culturally adapted, it instills confidence in your business, leading to stronger relationships with international customers.

6. Increased Conversion Rates

   One of the most significant benefits of translating your WordPress theme is the potential for higher conversion rates. When users can access content in their native language, they are more likely to take action, whether it’s making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or engaging with your content in other ways.

   A multilingual website caters to a wider audience, increasing the likelihood of converting visitors into customers. For example, a user in Germany may feel more comfortable completing a purchase in German rather than English, leading to a higher chance of converting them. By offering language options, you help users feel more confident in their decision-making, ultimately guiding them down the conversion funnel more effectively.

Better Methods for Translating WordPress Themes

While there are other ways to translate a WordPress theme, they often come with challenges that can make the process cumbersome and time-consuming. Historically, translating a WordPress theme involved manually creating a separate theme compatible with the desired languages, downloading various translation files (MO, POT, etc.), and utilizing operating system-based software like gettext. Additionally, each string of text had to be manually translated and uploaded to the theme, a process that could easily become overwhelming, especially for larger sites.

From a developer’s perspective, this traditional method required significant attention to detail, ensuring that the theme had proper multilingual integration. Moreover, any updates or fixes had to be handled manually, making the process prone to errors and difficult to maintain.

This old approach is inefficient, time-consuming, and prone to errors. With so many manual tasks involved, it’s easy to see why website owners and developers alike have sought more streamlined, automated solutions.

That’s where ConveyThis comes in. This platform simplifies the entire process, enabling you to quickly transform your WordPress theme into a multilingual site without the hassle of manual file handling, coding, or using complex software. Additionally, ConveyThis is compatible with a variety of WordPress plugins, including WooCommerce, making it an all-in-one solution for translating your website.

Benefits of Using ConveyThis for Translation

Now that we’ve explored the drawbacks of traditional translation methods, let’s take a closer look at the advantages of using ConveyThis to translate your WordPress theme.

• A Combination of Machine and Human Translation:

One of the key features of ConveyThis is its combination of machine and human translation. While machine translation offers quick and accurate translations for basic content, it may not always capture the nuances of language. ConveyThis allows you to review and refine machine-generated translations manually. If you prefer, you can collaborate with professional translators or invite team members to help fine-tune translations, ensuring that the final output meets your standards.

The platform integrates machine learning from top translation engines like Google Translate, DeepL, Yandex, and Microsoft, providing translations that are both accurate and contextually appropriate.

• Visual Editor Access:

ConveyThis includes a visual editor that lets you manually adjust translations directly on your website. This editor enables you to preview how your site will appear in different languages, giving you the flexibility to fine-tune text and design elements to maintain the aesthetic integrity of your site.

• Assured Multilingual SEO:

An important consideration when translating your WordPress site is SEO. Simply translating content isn’t enough—your site needs to be discoverable in multiple languages. ConveyThis automatically adjusts the URLs of your website to align with your new language offerings. For example, if your site is translated into Vietnamese, it will have a corresponding “VN” subdomain, ensuring that visitors from Vietnam see the site in their native language. This multilingual SEO setup helps improve user experience, engagement, and search engine rankings globally.

How to Translate a WordPress Theme Using ConveyThis

Getting started with ConveyThis on your WordPress site is straightforward. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you through the process:

1. Install ConveyThis for your theme translation

To begin using ConveyThis on your WordPress site, you first need to install the plugin. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to do that.

Start by logging into your WordPress admin panel. Once logged in, you’ll have access to all the features needed to install and configure the plugin.

In the left-hand sidebar of your dashboard, navigate to the “Plugins” section and click on “Add New Plugin”. This will take you to a page where you can search for and install new plugins to enhance the functionality of your website.

In the search bar on the top-right of the page, type “ConveyThis.” As you type, the plugin will appear in the search results. Click on the “Install Now” button next to the ConveyThis plugin.

After the installation process is complete, the “Install Now” button will change to “Activate“. Click “Activate” to make ConveyThis active on your WordPress site.

After activating the plugin, you will need to configure it to connect to your ConveyThis account. To do this, you will receive an email containing a link to your API key. This key is essential for the setup process, so make sure to keep it safe and secure.

If you don’t already have a ConveyThis account, you will need to create one. Visit the ConveyThis website, sign up for a new account, and log in. Once logged in, you can access your account dashboard, where you can manage all your website translations.

Now, head back to the WordPress dashboard, where you can find the ConveyThis plugin under “Settings” or “ConveyThis”. Click on it to open the plugin settings page.

• Enter Your API Key: Paste the API key that you received into the provided field. This will authenticate your website with your ConveyThis account.
• Source Language: This refers to the original language of your website. Make sure to select the correct one for proper translation.
• Target Language(s): Here, you can choose the languages your site will be translated into. You can select multiple target languages if you wish to create a multilingual site.

After pasting your API key and selecting the languages, click on the “Save Changes” button. This will save your preferences and apply them to your website.

That’s it. Go to your website and see the language-switch button at the bottom right. It might take a few minutes to appear, so don’t worry if you must wait a bit.

2. Start Translating your WordPress Theme

After installing the ConveyThis plugin, the next step is to select the languages you want your WordPress website to be available in. This can be done easily from your WordPress admin panel, where you can access the ConveyThis settings. You’ll have the option to choose multiple languages, allowing you to cater to a global audience by providing translations in various regions’ native languages.

For smaller websites, ConveyThis offers a forever-free plan, which is an excellent starting point. This plan allows sites with fewer than 2,500 words, 1 translated language, and up to 2,500 translated words, along with 10,000 monthly page views. With this free plan, machine translations are automatically applied to your content, and you don’t need to provide credit card details to get started. This makes it easy to test out the platform without any financial commitment.

As you explore the paid plans, you’ll notice they provide enhanced capabilities, such as support for multiple languages and more words for translation. These paid plans also come with additional features like human review options, priority support, and access to more advanced tools. The flexibility in the number of languages and content you can translate means that your website can grow with your business needs, and you can easily scale as you expand your multilingual audience.

3. Enhance your Translation with the Help of Other Collaborators

While machine translations are a great starting point, they may not always capture the subtleties and nuances of a language perfectly. This is where the collaborative features of ConveyThis come in. If you’re not satisfied with the automatic translations or need to refine certain aspects, you can invite collaborators or professional translators directly from your ConveyThis dashboard.

By inviting other users to assist with the translation process, you can ensure that the content is not only accurate but also culturally appropriate. Collaborators can review and adjust the translations as necessary, improving the overall quality. If you want a more polished translation, you can also hire professional translators who specialize in the languages you’re targeting. This is particularly useful for specialized content where accuracy is key, such as legal, technical, or marketing materials.

4. Preview your Website with the Visual Editor

Once your translations are in place, it’s important to ensure that everything looks right on your website. ConveyThis offers a powerful visual editor that lets you preview how your website will appear in different languages. This allows you to see the translations in context and check for any issues, such as text overflowing or misaligning.

If you notice any problems, the visual editor provides an intuitive interface where you can make adjustments manually. Whether it’s tweaking the position of a translated string or adjusting the layout to accommodate longer words in another language, the visual editor ensures that your translated site looks professional and well-designed. This feature is especially helpful in maintaining the aesthetic integrity of your website across different languages.

5. Advanced Features for WordPress Theme Translation

Once you’ve set up the basic translation for your WordPress theme using ConveyThis, you can explore some advanced features that will help elevate your website’s international presence even further. These features are designed to make the translation process smoother, more efficient, and more customizable, allowing you to deliver a truly localized experience for visitors from different regions.

With ConveyThis, you can manage multiple languages effortlessly and ensure that your content is both linguistically accurate and culturally relevant. Whether you’re looking to implement SEO-friendly URLs, adjust visual elements, or collaborate with professional translators, ConveyThis provides you with the tools you need to achieve a high-quality multilingual website. Explore these advanced features to optimize your WordPress site’s global reach.

Conclusion:

In today’s digital landscape, having a website that can cater to a global audience is not just a luxury, but a necessity. As the statistics indicate, a significant portion of internet users speak languages other than English, making it crucial for websites, particularly WordPress sites, to be multilingual. This is especially true if you’re aiming to expand your reach into international markets where language barriers can be a major obstacle. Whether you are targeting audiences in regions like Europe, Asia, or Africa, offering a website in multiple languages will significantly enhance user experience, increase engagement, and ultimately drive conversions.

Traditionally, translating a WordPress site was a complex and time-consuming process that required technical expertise and manual interventions. This old approach involved dealing with translation files, manually translating each text string, and constantly maintaining and updating the site’s multilingual components. The sheer amount of work involved, coupled with the risk of errors and inefficiency, made it clear that a simpler, more automated solution was needed. Thankfully, tools like ConveyThis have revolutionized the way WordPress site owners can approach translation. With its easy-to-use interface, ConveyThis removes the need for coding or hiring a web developer, offering an all-in-one solution for translating your website into multiple languages with minimal effort.

By choosing ConveyThis for your WordPress site translation, you are investing in the future of your website’s global reach. The ease of use, combined with the powerful translation tools, ensures that your website can effectively serve a diverse audience while maintaining its quality, user experience, and SEO performance. Whether you are looking to expand into new markets or simply provide a better experience for your international visitors, ConveyThis gives you the tools you need to succeed. Start translating and localizing your WordPress site today, and open up new possibilities for growth, engagement, and success on a global scale.

Additional Resources:

1. ConveyThis Integrations – To explore compatibility with WordPress.
2. How to Translate WordPress – For more guidance.
3. Help Guide for Translating WordPress Websites – For step-by-step support.
4. ConveyThis WordPress Plugin –  For making your WordPress website multilingual.