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#19 - WordPress & Polylang

WordPress Translation Plugin

2025-03-10

Dear Reader,

Do you have a WordPress site that needs to be translated? I would like to recommend to you a plugin I recently used called Polylang with a short step by step guide to get you started.

How to Use Polylang with WordPress: A Step-by-Step Guide

Creating a multilingual website is a great way to reach a wider audience and improve user experience. Polylang is one of the best free plugins for adding multiple languages to a WordPress site. In this guide, we’ll walk through the entire setup process, from installation to configuring language-specific menus.

Step 1: Install Polylang (Free Version)

Polylang offers both free and premium versions, but the free version is a great starting point for most users.

To install Polylang:

  1. Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
  2. Navigate to Plugins > Add New.
  3. Search for Polylang.
  4. Click Install Now, then Activate.

Once activated, Polylang will add a Languages tab to your WordPress dashboard.

Step 2: Follow the Initial Setup

After activation, a setup wizard will guide you through the basic steps:

  1. Select your primary language – This is the default language of your site.
  2. Add additional languages – Choose from the list of available languages.
  3. Skip content duplication for now – You’ll handle translations manually.

Click Finish to complete the initial setup.

Step 3: Set Your Default Language

Now that Polylang is installed, you need to assign a default language for your website.

  1. Go to Languages > Languages in the WordPress dashboard.
  2. Click the star icon ⭐ next to the language you want as your default language.

This ensures that visitors will see the correct language when they land on your site.

Step 4: Configure URL Structure

Polylang allows you to customize how URLs look for different language versions of your site.

  1. Navigate to Languages > Settings.
  2. Choose how URLs should appear: 
    • Different URL for each language (example.com/en/ or example.com/fr/)
    • URL without a language code (only if using one language per domain)
    • Language added as a URL parameter (example.com?lang=en)

The best practice is to use separate URLs for each language (example.com/en/, example.com/fr/), as this is best for SEO and user experience.

Step 5: Create Language-Specific Menus

Each language should have its own menu for navigation.

  1. Go to Appearance > Menus.
  2. Create a new menu for each language (e.g., English Menu, French Menu).
  3. Assign the correct menu to each language.
For example:

  • The English menu might have "Music" as a tab.
  • The French menu should have "Musique" as its corresponding tab.

Be sure to assign each menu to the correct language so that users see the appropriate navigation.

Step 6: Translating Pages & Posts

Once Polylang is installed, you’ll notice a translation column when viewing pages or posts.

  1. Navigate to Pages > All Pages or Posts > All Posts.
  2. You’ll see a “+” icon in the translation column next to each post/page.
  3. Click the “+” next to a page or post to create a translated version.
  4. Enter the translated content (most content will be a duplicate, except for text changes).
  5. Click Publish.

This process ensures that each page has a language-specific counterpart.

Step 7: Assign Translated Pages to the Right Menus

Now that you’ve created translated pages, you need to assign them to the correct menus.

  1. Go to Appearance > Menus.
  2. Select the English Menu and add the English pages (e.g., "Music").
  3. Select the French Menu and add the translated pages (e.g., "Musique").
  4. Make sure each menu is set to the correct language and assigned as the Primary Menu for that language.

This ensures that when a user switches languages, the correct navigation menu appears.

Step 8: View Your Site & Test Translations

After setting everything up, preview your site to make sure everything works correctly:

✔️ Switch between languages using the Polylang language switcher.
✔️ Check if menus update correctly when changing languages.
✔️ Ensure translated content is properly linked.

If anything looks off, go back and check:

  • Menu assignments in Appearance > Menus
  • Page translations under Pages > All Pages

Final Thoughts

Using Polylang, you can effortlessly create a multilingual WordPress site without coding. By following these steps, you’ll have a fully translated website with proper menus, URLs, and navigation.

Thanks for reading! 
Ilia 😊


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