This is important because with the rise of ecommerce, it became easier than ever to acquire customers from all over the world. And translating your website is the first step to reaching international audiences and growing your business. Luckily, the process of translating your website is fast and hassle-free with Weglot.
You don’t need any experience or coding skills. Just follow these 3 easy steps and you’ll have a multilingual Pirenko theme by the time you’re done reading this article!
So let’s dive right in!
Installing Weglot on your WordPress site
Step 1
First things first; you need to install Weglot. Simply, go to your WordPress dashboard > ‘Plugins tab’ > ‘Add New’ and search for Weglot within the search bar.
Do you see us? Perfect, click install. Once the installation is done, don’t forget to click on the activate button.
Step 2
Now is the fun part: Choosing which languages to translate your site into.
To do this, enter the unique API key that is available on your Weglot Dashboard> ‘Settings’ Tab > ‘Setup’ (don’t forget to create a Weglot account to get access to this).
Then simply select the original language of your site and the new languages you want to translate your site into. Click ‘Save Changes’.
Step 3
Okay, now is the time to go back to your website and check out your brand new language switcher that allows users to display your site in different languages!
You can also customize your language switcher to fit your website design. The good news is you don’t need any code for this either — you can do it through your Weglot tab on your WordPress Dashboard!
You also have the option to automatically redirect your visitors by their browser language. Just make sure that “Auto-switch” is turned on in the “Settings” section within the Weglot Dashboard!
By default, the language switcher will appear in the bottom right corner of your website but there’s also the option to change this too.
Managing your translations
With Weglot you’ll have a fully translated website in minutes thanks to the fast first layer of automatic translation. Then you can check your translations and easily make changes through your Weglot Dashboard if you need to.
But if you prefer a professional translator to do the editing instead, you can order this directly from your Weglot Dashboard as well. Or, if you have a colleague that speaks the language, you can add them to your translation project and work together!
When it comes to managing your translations with Weglot, there are two options: The Translations List and the Visual Editor. The first option allows you to see your translations on a list, side by side, and make changes.
The second option — the Visual Editor — is a handy tool that allows you to edit your translations on a live preview of your website. This way you can make sure that your translated pages are visually appealing and in cohesion with your page structure. Any changes you make here will be automatically applied to your site once you’ve clicked ‘OK’.
Translating images
To have a truly translated page, you need to take the non-textual components on your website such as images and videos into account. Translating these elements will allow you to offer a truly localized experience to your foreign visitors.
To display a different form of media on your translated page, simply go to your translations list, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click “Add a media translation.”
Then you’ll see a pop-up. Just put the URL of the image on the original page and the URL of the image you want to display on your translated page. Click add and you’ll have a different image displayed on your translated page.
You can translate media elements through the visual editor too. Just make sure to add a media translation from the Translation List first, as explained above.
Then go to the visual editor from the translations tab:
Next to your images, you’ll see a blue pen icon. By clicking this icon, you can access the pop-up that allows you to change the image URLs — just like we did in the Translations List. Simply put the original image URL and the URL of the image you’d like to use for your translated page and click ‘OK.’.
Similarly, you might also want to change other media elements, such as the videos on your website. The process is exactly the same — simply click on the blue pencil icon next to your video and put the video URL to link to the new video.
You’re good to go!
Well, this was it! Now you have a fully translated website that allows international customers to navigate your website as easily as your domestic customers. As you go, Weglot will automatically detect the changes you make to your translations and always keep things up to date. The only thing left for you is to enjoy your enhanced visibility and growth!
Here is a 10-day free trial to jumpstart your multilingual journey with Weglot!
