How to Translate Your WordPress Theme into a Foreign Language: A Complete Guide

Translating your WordPress theme ensures your website resonates with a global audience, enhancing professionalism and user experience. Incomplete translations, like English phrases on a non-English site, can undermine credibility. Hosting your site on VPS.DO’s VPS hosting provides a reliable environment for managing translations. This SEO-optimized guide details two methods to translate your WordPress theme, ensuring a polished, multilingual site.

Why Translate Your WordPress Theme?

A fully translated theme improves accessibility and SEO for international audiences. Common untranslated phrases like “Read More” or “Search” can disrupt the user experience on non-English sites. VPS.DO’s high-performance VPS hosting supports the tools and processes needed for seamless theme translation, ensuring fast load times and secure file management.

VPS Hosting for WordPress Translation

Reliable hosting is essential for managing translation files and plugins. VPS.DO offers scalable VPS plans with SSD storage, ideal for WordPress sites with multilingual needs. Below are sample plans suitable for such sites:

VPS.DO’s hosting ensures efficient plugin performance and secure file uploads for translations.

Verify Your WordPress Language Settings

Before translating your theme, confirm the site’s language in WordPress:

• Go to Settings > General > Site Language in the WordPress dashboard.
• Select your target language (e.g., Spanish, Polish). The dashboard name changes accordingly (e.g., “Escritorio” for Spanish, “Kokpit” for Polish).
• Save changes to ensure WordPress uses the correct language foundation.

This step ensures compatibility with your theme’s translation files.

Method 1: Translate with Loco Translate Plugin

The Loco Translate plugin simplifies theme translation without requiring advanced technical skills. Follow these steps:

• Install Loco Translate: Navigate to Plugins > Add New, search for Loco Translate, install, and activate it.
• Access Loco Translate: Find the new Loco Translate tab in the WordPress dashboard, offering options for Themes, Plugins, and WordPress core translations.
• Select Your Theme: Go to Loco Translate > Themes, choose your active theme. If no translation template exists, select Create template. If a template exists, choose Edit template.
• Create a New Language: Click New language, select your target language, and choose the Custom directory for saving translations to prevent loss during theme updates.
• Enter Translations: In the translation editor, input translations for phrases listed under “Source text.” Save changes and use the Sync button to update translations when the theme is updated.

VPS.DO’s fast servers ensure Loco Translate runs efficiently, handling large translation files seamlessly.

Method 2: Translate with Poedit

For those preferring a manual approach or avoiding plugins, Poedit is a desktop application for translating theme files. Steps include:

• Install Poedit: Download the free Poedit application from its official site and install it on your computer.
• Locate Theme Files: Download your theme’s .po, .mo, or .pot files from the theme provider or find them in your VPS.DO server’s wp-content/themes/your-theme/languages directory using an FTP client like FileZilla.
• Edit Translations: Open the .po or .pot file in Poedit. If using a .pot file, create a new translation by selecting your target language. Enter translations in the provided fields and save as a .po file (e.g., de_DE.po for German). Poedit generates a corresponding .mo file.
• Upload Files: Upload the .po and .mo files to VPS.DO’s server in wp-content/languages/themes to preserve translations during theme updates.

VPS.DO’s secure FTP access simplifies file uploads for Poedit translations.

Troubleshooting Translation Issues

If a phrase isn’t translating, consider these solutions:

• Check Plugin Files: Some phrases may originate from plugins. Use Loco Translate to check plugin translation files.
• Hard-Coded Text: If a phrase isn’t in translation files, it may be hard-coded in the theme. Edit the theme’s PHP files via VPS.DO’s file manager, but back up files first.
• Missing Translation Files: For themes without .po/.pot files, use Poedit Pro to generate translation files or consider switching to a translation-ready theme.

Best Practices for Theme Translation

• Use Translation-Ready Themes: Choose themes with built-in .pot files for easier translation.
• Backup Before Changes: Use VPS.DO’s automated backups or plugins like UpdraftPlus before editing files.
• Test Translations: Verify translations across your site to ensure consistency.
• Update Safely: Save translations in wp-content/languages/themes to avoid loss during updates.

Conclusion

Translating your WordPress theme enhances your site’s professionalism and accessibility for global audiences. Using tools like Loco Translate or Poedit, you can easily translate phrases to match your target language. Hosting on VPS.DO ensures a fast, secure environment for managing translations, with robust VPS plans supporting your site’s needs. Follow these steps to create a polished, multilingual WordPress site that engages users worldwide.