Translating a WordPress Plugin into Your Own Language – A Guide

Are you interested in translating a WordPress plugin into another language? By translating a WordPress plugin into different languages, you can make it accessible to a wider audience. This allows users from various countries to use the plugin in their native languages. In this article, we will show you how to easily translate a WordPress plugin into your preferred language.

Why Translate WordPress Plugins?
WordPress is available in multiple languages by default and can be used to create a multilingual website with the help of plugins. Similarly, most popular WordPress plugins are also translation-ready. You can contribute to translating these plugins into other languages by reaching out to the plugin authors. Translating a plugin can increase its reach and create a larger user base. It can also attract more installations, feedback, and exposure for the plugin. Additionally, it can help you establish yourself in the WordPress community and provide networking opportunities with other developers, translators, and businesses in the industry. You can even add the translation to your portfolio to showcase your skills and contributions to the WordPress community.

With that being said, let’s explore how to easily translate WordPress plugins in your language. This article will cover several methods, and you can use the quick links below to jump to the method of your choice:

Method 1: Translate a WordPress Plugin Into Your Language for Everyone

If you want to translate a WordPress plugin in a way that helps others use the plugin in their languages, this method is for you. WordPress.org currently hosts a web-based translation tool that allows anyone to contribute translations for plugins within the WordPress repository.

First, visit the plugin’s page on the WordPress.org website. Then, switch to the “Development” tab at the top. Here, you will find a link asking you to help translate the plugin into your language. Simply click on the link to start contributing to the plugin translation. If the link is not available, visit the Translating WordPress website. You will see a list of languages on the screen. Find your language and click the “Contribute Translation” button under it. This will take you to a new screen where you need to switch to the “Plugins” tab. Then, search for the plugin you want to translate using the search field and click the “Translate Project” button under it. This will direct you to the plugin translation page where you must select the “Stable (latest release)” sub-project from the left column. If you want to translate the plugin’s development or readme files, you can choose those sub-projects from the list instead. Finally, you will be taken to a new page where you will see the original strings in one column and the translations in another. Remember to log in to your WordPress.org account to contribute translations. From here, click on the “Details” link in the right column to open the string you want to translate. A text field will open where you can add a translation for the original string. Once you are done, click the “Save” button to submit your translations.

Method 2: Translate a WordPress Plugin for Your Own Website

If you only want to translate a WordPress plugin for your own website, this method is for you.

First, install and activate the Loco Translate plugin. For detailed instructions, refer to our beginner’s guide on how to install a WordPress plugin. Once activated, go to the Loco Translate » Plugins page in the WordPress admin sidebar. Here, you will see a list of installed plugins on your website. Click on the plugin you want to translate. This will take you to a new screen where you will see a list of available languages for the plugin, along with the translation progress status for each language. If the language you want to translate the plugin into is listed, click the “Edit” link under it. If not, click the “New language” button at the top. This will direct you to a new page where you can start by selecting a language. You can choose the “WordPress language” option and select your language from the dropdown menu. This option will automatically use the language file if a user sets the WordPress admin area in this language. Alternatively, you can select the “Custom Language” option if you don’t want to use a WordPress language. Next, choose where you want to store the translation files. By default, Loco Translate recommends saving the files in its own folder, but you can change that to WordPress languages or the plugin’s languages folder. After making your selection, click the “Start translating” button to continue. This will take you to a new screen where you will see a text source section and a translation field. Start by adding a translation for the source string and then select the next string to translate. After translating the plugin, click the “Save” button at the top to store your settings.

Method 3: Translate a WordPress Plugin on Your Computer

If you prefer to translate a WordPress plugin on your computer using gettext translation apps, this method is for you. Remember that you can also submit these translations to plugin authors for inclusion in their plugins.

First, download the plugin you want to translate onto your computer. Then, double-click the plugin zip file to extract it. Open the plugin’s folder and find the “languages” folder. Inside this folder, you will find a .pot file. This is the translation template file that you need to translate the plugin. If the plugin doesn’t have a .pot file or a languages folder, it is likely not translation-ready. In that case, reach out to the plugin author and inquire about their plans for translating the plugin. Once you have the .pot file, you are ready to translate the plugin into any language.

Next, download and install the Poedit app on your computer. Poedit is a free translation app available for Mac and Windows. After installation, open the app. This will launch the Poedit home screen where you can click “Create New”. Your computer’s file manager will open, allowing you to find and select the .pot file for the plugin you want to translate. After selecting the file, choose a language for translation from the dropdown menu and click “OK”. Poedit will display the translation interface, showing you the list of available strings. Select a string, provide a translation in the “Translation” field, and move on to the next string. After translating the plugin, go to File » Save from the menu bar and name your file using the language name and country code. For example, if you are saving a French translation, name the file “fr_FR”. Poedit will save your translation as .po and .mo files. Place these files in your plugin’s languages folder to start using the translated plugin on your website.

We hope this article has helped you understand how to easily translate a WordPress plugin. For more information, check out our beginner’s guide on translating your WooCommerce store and our top picks for the best WordPress translation plugins. If you enjoyed this article, please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also…