Building a multilingual website using WordPress is a simple way to expand your reach and enter new markets. Despite the common assumption that most internet users communicate in English, only 25% actually use it online.
In fact, over 70% of internet users prefer to browse websites in their native language and are more likely to make a purchase if product information is presented in that language. This makes creating a multilingual WordPress site a smart business decision.
Not only does it add a personal touch for visitors, but it also makes your website appear more trustworthy. Additionally, multilingual WordPress sites have a better chance of reaching untapped audiences, allowing you to stay ahead of the competition.
Having a multilingual website can also lead to increased customer conversions, stronger SEO, and increased sales.
To make the process easy, we will discuss the use of Polylang – one of the top WordPress plugins for creating multilingual websites. The plugin allows for multiple languages and language versions of posts, pages, categories, custom post types, widgets, and menus. By the end of this post, you will have a clear understanding of how to set up a fully functional multilingual WordPress site using Polylang.
Here are the steps to set it up:
- Install the Weglot plugin: You can install the Weglot plugin through the WordPress repository, or by uploading the plugin files to your website. Once the plugin is installed, you’ll need to activate it.
- Create an account with Weglot: After activating the plugin, you’ll be prompted to create an account with Weglot. This is where you’ll manage the translation settings for your website.
- Configure your languages: Once you’ve created an account, you’ll need to configure the languages you want to use on your website. You’ll need to specify the default language of your website, as well as the languages you want to add.
- Select the pages and posts to translate: Next, you’ll need to select which pages and posts you want to translate. You can either select them manually or have the plugin automatically select them for you.
- Translate your content: Once you’ve selected the pages and posts to translate, you can use Weglot’s built-in translation editor to translate the content yourself, or you can opt to use machine translation.
- Customize your language switcher: Weglot allows you to customize the appearance and behavior of the language switcher, including the position and the style.
- Publish your translated content: Once you’ve finished translating your content and customizing your language switcher, you can publish your translated content and it will be visible on the front end of your website.
Once you’ve completed these steps, your website should be fully multilingual and users will be able to switch between languages using the language switcher provided by Weglot.
Your website is now capable of supporting multiple languages, giving you the power to fully tailor it to the specific needs of any audience you choose. The integration of a multilingual plugin, such as Weglot, will eliminate language barriers and open up new opportunities to connect with global markets.
By making the effort to communicate with your customers in their preferred language, you will differentiate yourself from competitors and show your visitors that you value their cultural preferences.
Using a plugin like Weglot will make the process of localization effortless, while also providing a personalized experience for international visitors. With Weglot, you can customize the language-switching button to match the look and feel of your website. Additionally, you can go a step further and cater to cultural nuances by providing native customer support, displaying local working hours, observing business etiquette, and/or celebrating local holidays.
In short, by creating a localized and personalized experience for your visitors, you will increase your website’s visibility, drive sales, and foster customer satisfaction.