Best wordpress translation plugins

How to choose the best website translation plugin for WordPress

The internet is a vast space where you can reach any audience anywhere in the world, expanding the reach of your business into new international markets - you just need the right WordPress translation plugin to help you do it.

With WordPress, you can translate your entire website into multiple languages, providing rich content to your target market with a translation plugin. However, there are many different translation plugins available for WordPress, all with different features, functionality, quality and price.

This can lead to a dilemma: which WordPress translation plugin is best for your business?

To help you in your decision-making process, we'll take a closer look at the important factors to consider when choosing a translation plugin for your website. We'll also learn why Weglot stands out as the leading WordPress translation plugin for any kind of online business.

So, how do you approach choosing the best WordPress translation plugin for your business?

Reading reviews and publications is a good place to start. Despite their similarities, these posts will give you a feel for the 'terrain', especially because there are some translation plugins that are more popular and provide a better translation than others.

You'll then want to choose one or two that you think best suit the needs of your business and try them out. The only way to know if a WordPress translation plugin is right for you is to set it up, study how it works, and determine its pros and cons.

To help you determine which WordPress translation plugin is best for your business, there are several factors to consider.

1. Languages supported

Does the plugin support all the languages you want to translate your content into?

Most plugins advertise support for dozens of languages, which is impressive, but doesn't tell you exactly which languages are supported. Instead of assuming popular languages such as German, English or French are supported, check the plugin's website to make sure the languages you want are actually available.

It's also important to plan for any countries or markets you may want to expand into in the future, so make sure any languages you may need later are also available.

2. automatic or manual translation

With WordPress translation plugins, two main translation methods are available: automatic translation and manual translation.

Method 1: machine translation

If you've used Google Translate, you're already familiar with one of the most popular examples of automatic translation. This type of translation relies on online services (such as Google Translate) and translation packages to translate your content into other languages.

Automatic translation is just words translated by machine translation. No human intervention or editing, makes this type of translation fast and often free. The only problem with automatic translation is that because machines cannot catch the nuances of languages, such as context, they can sometimes produce errors. 

While first-generation online translation tools have been derided in the past for outputting gibberish, tech giants such as Google, Microsoft, Amazon and IBM have in recent years invested huge resources in neural machine translation algorithms. Using AI, modern automated translation can produce excellent results.

Method 2: Human translation

Human translation is done by real people - experienced, professionally trained translators who are fluent in the target language at a native speaker level. Human translations are accurate and sound more natural as they are able to interpret the cultural nuances of languages much better than a machine.

Translators can interpret the context and grasp the intended meaning rather than simply translating words. They can interpret creative and colourful uses of language, such as puns, sayings, sarcasm, idioms and metaphors. People can also discern words whose literal translation is not possible and find suitable alternatives.

Choosing a WordPress translation method.

WordPress translation plugins usually offer one or both of the above methods. You can also use a hybrid method, in which you use machine translation to automatically convert your content into another language and then manually edit any errors. This is your best option as it is incredibly efficient.

3. Free or Premium

How much does a plugin cost?

When choosing a WordPress translation plugin, price will definitely be an important factor. It's important to consider your budget - how much are you willing to pay? Do you want a free solution for your small business or blog, or are you willing to pay a monthly fee for a high-quality translation?

There are many free WordPress translation plugins available to download from the WordPress.org plugin repository. These options, while free, are usually quite simple and provide automatic translation. Many plugins use the automatic translation service Google Translate.

Automatic translation is faster and cheaper, but if you have a large website and providing high-quality translated content to your audience is important, it's recommended to focus on premium WordPress translation plugins.

Many free WordPress translation plugins offer premium or pro versions, which you can access for a monthly or annual fee. Prices start at $5 to $9 per month, with better translation plugins charging more.

Do you need access to professional translations?

It's also important to consider the cost of human translations. While you can use automated translations as the basis for translated content on your site, you may want some of your most important translations, such as the top-level pages of your site, to be reviewed by an experienced and accredited human translator.

While working with a translator or professional translator may seem like an unnecessary expense, this investment more than pays for any initial outlay if quality content is a top priority for your business.

4. Content to be translated

What kind of content do you need translated?

It is important to consider the types of content on your website and what you need translated. Do you need to translate your entire website or just parts of it? Do you have a large site with hundreds of pages of content or a small site with only a few pages?

For example, your website may contain the following types of content

• webpage

• blog posts

• landing pages

• docs

• forums

• WooCommerce (product descriptions, shopping cart, checkout)

• member area

• downloadable files such as PDFs

For each piece of content you need to decide how you want it translated - automatically or manually? 

Examples of using machine translation:

when you have content, you need a translation and the overall meaning is sufficient

when you translate documents for internal use within your business, 100% accuracy is not required

when you want to partially translate content so that the translator can improve it

Examples of when to use human translation

when the accuracy of your content is crucial

when translating the most important pages of your website, including your homepage and top-level pages

when you have an obligation to provide accurate translations, e.g. of legal documents, product/service manuals, medical manuals

when translating marketing material or other content that uses creative writing

5. Quality and clarity
How important is quality and clarity of translated content to your business?

When it comes to choosing a WordPress translation plugin, quality and clarity are two vital factors.

For some businesses, where the quality of the translated content is not an obstacle, machine translation will do. These might be portfolio websites, personal websites and small e-commerce businesses that only sell a few products.

However, for larger websites or businesses offering certain professional services, only human translation should be considered. For example, does your business sell products or services where there is no room for confusion, and clear and precise wording is non-negotiable? This might include businesses involved in medicine, law or finance.

For corporate-level businesses venturing into new markets internationally, building reputation and credibility is key. Thus, the quality of your translations will be reflected in the quality of your business, so it is very important that a human translator reviews your content.

Another thing to consider with any translation is the cost of possible errors. Translation of confidential content for legal documents, medical devices, user manuals and e-commerce product descriptions for high-money items requires 100% accuracy. In such cases, errors can be costly and may cause irreparable damage to your company's image.

Therefore, when choosing a WordPress translation plugin, make sure it provides access to professional translators and/or translation services. This will not only make it easier to have your content professionally reviewed, but will also make it easier to manage your translations.

6. Ease of use
How intuitive is the plugin?

You'll want to choose a WordPress translation plugin that not only has all the features you need, but is also easy to use. Every member of your team using your website should feel comfortable using the solution you choose.

No one wants to have to deal with code or translation packages when translating your website, so find a plugin that simplifies the process. Ease of use goes beyond the initial installation process. 

Here are a few things to consider:

installation process. Is the plugin easy to set up? How long does it take to set up? Do you need help from a developer, or is the plugin easy enough for anyone with a basic knowledge of WordPress to set up?

website integration. Does the plugin integrate easily with your WordPress site? Does it integrate and automatically translate your plugins and themes?

user interface. What kind of interface does the plugin have? Is it intuitive or confusing?

language installation. How does installing a new language work? Can you "set and forget" or is extra work required to switch languages?

editing and reviewing translations. What does editing translations involve? Is there an interface for editing translations or do you need to upload files manually? Can you edit and review translations in the interface?

Updating SEO meta-headings and descriptions. What does editing SEO-related text entail? Is there an interface for SEO content? Does the plugin event support SEO?

Is the plugin provided with premium support? Is there documentation available?

If you are part of a large team, you should choose a WordPress translation plugin that provides team collaboration features.

7. Design and customization
How does the plugin affect the design of your website? Does the plugin allow you to customize the appearance of the language switcher on your website interface?

Offering website content in multiple languages can add many new levels of complexity to web design. Translating text is one thing, but how you adapt it to your website design is another important factor.

You'll want to choose a WordPress translation plugin that integrates seamlessly with your website and automatically translates your web pages. It's also important that whatever solution you use also integrates with your plugins and themes.

If you give visitors to your site the option to choose their preferred language, make sure that the plugin provides options to customise the design of the external language switch. If you need access to advanced settings, you'll need a solution that allows you to control the appearance of your switch with additional CSS rules.

8. SEO
The plugin allows you to translate meta titles and descriptions?

Translated content on your WordPress site along with translated meta titles and meta descriptions allows you to set up targeting for a wider range of keywords. This increases your chances of getting listed on Google, as well as other search engines that are more popular in other countries, such as Baidu in China and Yandex in Russia.

Make sure that the WordPress translation plugin you intend to use complies with Google SEO best practices and offers the ability to translate and update metadata.

It's also worth making sure that the plugin you choose allows you to easily add hreflang variables to your pages. This ensures that the most relevant versions of your pages for different languages will appear in search results depending on the language or region of the user.

9. Updates and support
Does the plugin have access to support and updates?

Setting up translations for the first time may seem like a minefield, so it's important to consider whether you may need access to customisation guides, documentation and/or premium support.

The free plugins you can download from WordPress.org usually don't provide support, but you can try your luck in the WordPress support forums.

For premium WordPress plugins, check what support methods they offer - is there documentation? A guide on how to get started? Can you email or call premium support?

Regularly updated WordPress translation plugins not only ensure you have access to the latest translations available, but also protect you from potential security vulnerabilities.

Finally, don't hesitate to contact the support team for any plugins you're interested in and ask lots of questions. Before settling on a WordPress translation plugin, it's important that any questions or minor issues you have are fully addressed. Contacting the support team will also give you an idea of the quality of help you can expect.