How to Translate a WordPress Plugin into Your Language: An In-Depth Guide

Translating a WordPress plugin into your own language allows you to customize and enhance the user experience. With over 60% of WordPress installs being non-English, translation is key for global growth.

In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll provide insider tips and detailed instructions for translating plugins through different methods. Whether you want to contribute translations or translate plugins for your own site, this guide has you covered.

Why Should You Translate a WordPress Plugin?

Here are some of the top reasons to consider translating a WordPress plugin:

• Reach a global audience – According to WordPress stats, only 40% of WordPress sites are in English. Translating plugins expands your potential user base.

• Improve user experience – Users prefer browsing sites and using plugins in their own language. Providing translated plugins results in up to 25% higher user engagement and satisfaction.

• Give back to the community – Translating plugins enables millions more people to use WordPress. It‘s a great way to contribute and support the open source ecosystem.

• Gain valuable experience – Translating takes skill and attention to detail. It allows translators and polyglots to gain real-world experience and build impressive portfolios.

• Unlock customization – You may want to translate a plugin just for use on a client site or your own multilingual site, without distributing it wider.

No matter your reasons, translating a plugin has huge benefits for both users and developers. The WordPress community encourages translation contributions to make plugins globally accessible.

Method #1 – Contribute Translations to the WordPress.org Repository

The best way to translate a plugin for everyone‘s benefit is by contributing translations to the official WordPress.org plugin repository.

Many popular plugins hosted on WordPress.org are "translation-ready" meaning they are specially configured to allow translations.

Here‘s a step-by-step walkthrough:

1. Find the plugin page – Go to the plugin homepage on WordPress.org. Make sure it shows "Translation Ready" in the details.

2. Switch to the Development tab – This tab has options specifically for developers and translators.

3. Look for the translation link – There should be a link or button inviting you to help translate the plugin. Click it to start the process.

4. Visit Translating WordPress – If no link is shown, go to Translating.WordPress.org. Search for the plugin and click "Translate Project".

5. Select the sub-project – Choose "Stable (latest release)" to translate the current public plugin version.

6. Expand a string – Click the "Details" link to expand a text string you want to translate. A text box will appear.

7. Add your translation – Type your translation for the original string into the text box and click "Save" to submit it.

8. Repeat for all strings – Translate as many strings as you can. Make sure to periodically save your progress.

The submitted translations will go into the plugin for everyone to use once approved. Be sure to thoroughly test your translations before submitting.

Method #2 – Use the Loco Translate Plugin

If you just want to translate a plugin for use on your own WordPress site, the Loco Translate plugin simplifies the process:

1. Install and activate Loco Translate – Search for "Loco Translate" in Plugins > Add New. Click "Activate".

2. Access plugin translations – Go to Loco Translate > Plugins in your WordPress dashboard.

3. Choose your plugin – Click the plugin name you want to translate from the list.

4. Pick your language – If available, click "Edit" to modify existing translations. Or click "New language" to add a new one.

5. Select language and location – Choose your desired language. Also choose where to store the translations files.

6. Start translating – Translate the original strings one by one. Click "Save" periodically.

7. Check your site – The translated plugin should now display in your chosen language on your WordPress site front-end.

Loco Translate is a powerful translation tool you can reuse to localize themes, plugins, and more.

Method #3 – Translate Plugin Files Directly

You can also translate a plugin manually by editing the language files directly on your computer:

1. Download the plugin – Get the plugin ZIP file from WordPress.org and extract the contents.

2. Find the languages folder – Navigate into the plugin folder. Locate the "languages" folder.

3. Identify the .pot file – This .pot file acts as the translation template. If no languages folder or .pot file exist, the plugin may not be translation-ready.

4. Install Poedit – Download the free Poedit app to handle translating the files on your computer.

5. Import the .pot file – In Poedit, click "New", select the .pot file, and choose a translation language.

6. Translate the strings – Translate the original text strings one by one in Poedit‘s interface. Make sure to periodically save your progress.

7. Export translation files – When done, export your translations as .po and .mo files named for your language code (like fr_FR for French).

8. Add files to plugin – Put these exported translation files into the plugin‘s "languages" folder.

You can now use the translated plugin locally or share the translation files with the plugin author if you wish to contribute them.

Translation Method Comparison

Method	Pros	Cons
WordPress.org	Contributes translations to community	Approval process for translations
Loco Translate	Quickly translate for your own site	Translations not shared publicly
Poedit	No limitations for editing	More complex process

As you can see, each translation method has its own set of upsides and downsides. Contributing translations to the WordPress.org repository is best for giving back but takes time to be approved. Using a plugin like Loco Translate or file editor like Poedit offers more flexibility but your translations are not shared.

Expert Tips for Translating WordPress Plugins

Here are some pro tips to help your plugin translations go smoothly:

• Thoroughly test translations – Test that your translations display properly front-end after translating back-end.

• Stick to guidelines – Some plugins provide specific translation guides to follow. Adhere to any formatting rules.

• Use a consistent style – Maintain the plugin‘s tone and terminology in your translations.

• Translate documentation – In addition to plugin text, also localize any documentation or tutorials.

• Leave comments – Annotate your translations with comments explaining your word choice.

• Ask for clarification – If a string is unclear, ask the developer for context to improve translation accuracy.

• Use translation tools – Apps like Poedit, Google Translate, and Loco Translate smooth out the translation workflow.

With the right approach, you can produce professional plugin translations to help users around the world. The WordPress community always welcomes translation contributions.

Conclusion

I hope this guide provided an extensive overview of how to translate a WordPress plugin into other languages.

The steps and tools may vary, but the end result is a more accessible plugin for global users. Translation is crucial as WordPress continues expanding worldwide.

Consult the comparison table to decide the best translation method for your needs. And don‘t forget to utilize the expert tips for top-quality translations.

By translating plugins, you help strengthen the WordPress ecosystem. Have you translated any plugins before? I‘d love to hear your experiences in the comments!