How To Make Woocommerce Multilingual

How to Make Your WooCommerce Store Multilingual: Reaching a Global Audience

Want to sell your amazing products to customers worldwide? Expanding your WooCommerce store to offer multiple languages is a game-changer. Not only does it open up new markets, but it also significantly improves user experience by allowing customers to browse and buy in their native language. This guide is designed for WooCommerce newbies, walking you through the process step-by-step, ensuring you create a multilingual store that resonates with international shoppers.

Think of it this way: imagine you’re traveling in a foreign country, and you stumble upon a shop where everything is in your language. You’d be much more likely to buy something, right? That’s the power of multilingualism!

Why Make Your WooCommerce Store Multilingual?

Before diving in, let’s solidify why this is important:

• Reach a Larger Audience: The most obvious benefit! Expand your customer base beyond your current language’s limitations.
• Improved User Experience: Customers are more likely to purchase when they understand product descriptions, checkout processes, and support information in their own language. Think of it as removing a major barrier to purchase.
• Increased Conversions: Better understanding leads to higher confidence and ultimately, more sales. People trust what they understand.
• Enhanced SEO: A multilingual site allows you to target keywords in different languages, improving your search engine rankings in various regions.
• Competitive Advantage: Standing out from the competition by catering to international customers shows you value their business.

Choosing the Right Multilingual Plugin

Several plugins make WooCommerce multilingual. We’ll focus on two popular and reliable options:

1. WPML (WordPress Multilingual Plugin): A robust and feature-rich plugin considered an industry standard. It offers comprehensive translation management and supports various translation methods. It’s a premium plugin, meaning you’ll need to pay for it.

2. Polylang: A free and open-source alternative that’s easy to use and offers essential multilingual features. It’s a great starting point for smaller stores.

For this guide, we’ll generally outline the steps applicable to both but note specifics where Read more about How To Add Downloads Back To Produce After Deleting Woocommerce one plugin shines or differs significantly.

Step-by-Step Guide to Setting Up a Multilingual WooCommerce Store

Here’s a general outline of how to make WooCommerce multilingual. The specific steps will vary slightly depending on the chosen plugin (WPML or Polylang).

1. Install and Activate Your Chosen Plugin:

• WPML: Purchase and download the plugin from their official website (wpml.org). Upload and activate it through the WordPress admin panel (Plugins > Add New).
• Polylang: Search Read more about How To Center Woocommerce Products for “Polylang” in the WordPress plugin directory (Plugins > Add New) and install and activate it.

2. Configure Your Plugin:

• WPML Setup Wizard: WPML offers a user-friendly setup wizard to guide you through the initial configuration. You’ll define your default language, add additional languages, and choose how you want to handle URL structure.
• Polylang Configuration: Go to Languages > Settings. Add the languages you want to support. Polylang uses different URLs per language (e.g., `/en/`, `/fr/`).

3. Translate Your Content:

This is where the magic happens! You’ll need to translate everything from product descriptions and categories to page content and even your WooCommerce emails.

• Products:
• WPML: When editing a product, you’ll see a language box in the right sidebar. Use the “+” icon to create a translation for each language. You can either translate the content manually or send it to a professional translator through WPML’s interface.
• Polylang: When editing a product, you’ll see language tabs above the main editor. Click on the tab for the language you want to translate and enter the translated content.
• Categories & Tags: Both WPML and Polylang allow you to translate categories and tags in a similar way to products. Navigate to Products > Categories/Tags and edit each one to add translations.
• Pages & Posts: The process for translating pages and posts is the same as translating products.
• WooCommerce Emails: WooCommerce sends out various emails (order confirmation, shipping updates, etc.). You’ll need to translate these as well.

 // Example: Translating WooCommerce email subject using WPML add_filter( 'woocommerce_email_subject_new_order', 'translate_new_order_subject', 10, 2 ); 

function translate_new_order_subject( $subject, $order ) {

return __($subject, ‘woocommerce’); // Uses WordPress translation functions

}

4. Translate WooCommerce Strings:

Some text in WooCommerce comes from the core WooCommerce plugin and theme. These are called “strings.”

• WPML: WPML’s “String Translation” module allows you to translate these strings. You can find it under WPML > String Translation.
• Polylang: Polylang relies on WordPress’s built-in translation features (using `.po` and `.mo` files). This requires a bit more technical knowledge, but you can find tutorials online. Also, Polylang integrates well with Loco Translate plugin, which makes translating strings easier through a visual interface.

5. Set Up Language Switcher:

You need to provide your visitors with a way to switch between languages.

• WPML: WPML offers various language switcher options, including a dropdown menu, a list of languages, and flags. You can add the language switcher to your menu, widget area, or anywhere on your site.
• Polylang: Polylang provides a language switcher widget that you can add to your sidebar or other widget areas.

6. Test and Refine:

Important: Thoroughly test your multilingual site to ensure everything is working correctly. Switch between languages, check product descriptions, and go through the checkout process.

Real-Life Example

Let’s say you’re selling handmade jewelry. You’re currently based in the US and only have an English website. By adding Spanish, you can target the huge Hispanic market in the US and Latin America. You’d translate your product descriptions, category names, and checkout process into Spanish. You would use keywords in Spanish to improve your search engine rankings in those regions. This significantly expands your potential customer base.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Machine Translation Only: While machine translation tools are improving, they’re not a substitute for human translation. Relying solely on machine translation can result in inaccurate and unnatural-sounding content that damages your brand’s credibility. Always review and edit machine translations, or better yet, hire a professional translator.
• Ignoring SEO for Other Languages: Don’t just translate your content; optimize it for search engines in each language. Research relevant keywords and use them strategically in your product descriptions and meta descriptions.
• Not Translating Everything: Make sure you translate all aspects of your store, including email confirmations, legal pages (like Terms and Conditions), and even error messages.
• Forgetting Currencies and Payment Gateways: While not directly related to translation, remember to set up appropriate currencies and payment gateways for each region you’re targeting.

Conclusion

Making your WooCommerce store multilingual is a powerful way to grow your business and reach a global audience. By following these steps and avoiding common mistakes, you can create a user-friendly and effective multilingual store that appeals to customers around the world. Remember to choose the plugin that best suits your needs and budget, and always prioritize high-quality translations for a professional and trustworthy experience. Good luck, and happy selling!