Creating Multilingual WordPress Themes

Posted on 20th June 2023

What is a multilingual WordPress theme?

A multilingual WordPress theme is a theme that has been created to be used with WordPress sites that are available in multiple languages. WordPress is available in over 70 languages, and there are over 100 million WordPress sites around the world.

Why create a multilingual WordPress theme?

There are a few reasons why you might want to create a multilingual WordPress theme:

• To reach a larger audience – If your theme is available in multiple languages, it will be more accessible to a wider audience.
• To make it easier for users to switch between languages – If your theme is multilingual, users will be able to easily switch between languages without having to install a separate theme for each language.
• To make it easier for you to update your theme – If your theme is multilingual, you will only need to update your theme in one language and the changes will be automatically applied to all other languages.

Creating a multilingual WordPress theme

Creating a multilingual WordPress theme is not much different from creating a regular WordPress theme. The only difference is that you need to take into account the fact that your theme will be used in multiple languages.

Here are a few tips for creating a multilingual WordPress theme:

• Use translation-ready themes – If you want to make sure that your theme is fully translated into multiple languages, you should use a translation-ready theme. These themes are designed to be easily translated into multiple languages.
• Use language files – When you create your theme, you should create a separate language file for each language that your theme will be available in. These language files should be placed in a /languages/ directory in your theme.
• Use gettext – Gettext is a software tool that allows you to easily translate your theme into multiple languages. Gettext is already built into WordPress, so you don’t need to install anything to use it. You can find more information about using gettext here: https://codex.wordpress.org/I18n_for_WordPress_Developers.
• Use WordPress localization functions – WordPress has a number of functions that you can use to easily localize your theme. These functions include __() and _e(). You can find more information about these functions here: https://codex.wordpress.org/Function_Reference/__ and https://codex.wordpress.org/Function_Reference/_e.

Making your theme available in multiple languages

Once you have created your multilingual WordPress theme, you need to make it available in multiple languages. The easiest way to do this is to use a WordPress plugin like WPML or Polylang.

These plugins will allow you to easily translate your theme into multiple languages and will also handle the task of making your theme available in multiple languages.

WPML

WPML is the most popular plugin for creating multilingual WordPress sites. WPML is a paid plugin, but it is well worth the cost. WPML is very easy to use and it comes with a lot of features.

Polylang

Polylang is a free plugin that allows you to create multilingual WordPress sites. Polylang is very easy to use and it comes with a lot of features.

Multilingual WordPress Themes

When you create a multilingual WordPress site, you need to make sure your theme supports multiple languages. A theme that is not multilingual will only display content in one language, which can be a problem for international users.

There are two ways to create a multilingual WordPress theme:

1. Use a WordPress plugin like WPML

2. Manually create a multilingual theme

Using a WordPress Plugin

The easiest way to create a multilingual WordPress theme is to use a WordPress plugin like WPML. WPML is a plugin that allows you to easily create a multilingual WordPress site.

With WPML, you can add multiple languages to your WordPress site and manage them from one central location. WPML also comes with a wide range of features, including:

The ability to translate pages, posts, and custom post types

The ability to create language-specific menus

The ability to manage translations with an intuitive interface

Integration with popular WordPress plugins and themes

WPML is a premium plugin that starts at $29 for a single site license.

Manually Creating a Multilingual Theme

If you don’t want to use a WordPress plugin, you can also manually create a multilingual WordPress theme. When you manually create a multilingual theme, you need to:

1. Create a separate folder for each language

2. Duplicate your theme files in each language folder

3. Create a language-specific header file

4. Modify your theme’s template files

5. Add language-specific text domains

Creating a Folder for Each Language

The first step is to create a folder for each language you want to support. For example, if you want to support English and French, you would create two folders:

/english

/french

Duplicating Theme Files

Next, you need to duplicate your theme files in each language folder. For example, if your theme has a file called header.php, you would need to create a header.php file in both the /english and /french folders.

Creating a Language-Specific Header File

Next, you need to create a language-specific header file. This header file will be used to load the correct language files for your theme.

For example, if you want to support English and French, you would create two header files:

/english/header.php

/french/header.php

In each header file, you would include the following code:

This code will load the correct header file for each language.

Modifying Theme Template Files

Next, you need to modify your theme’s template files. For example, if your theme has a file called header.php, you would need to modify the header.php file in both the /english and /french folders.

In each template file, you would need to add the following code:

This code will load the correct template file for each language.

Adding Language-Specific Text Domains

Finally, you need to add language-specific text domains. A text domain is a unique identifier for a set of translated strings.

For example, if you want to support English and French, you would need to add the following text domains:

/english/languages/en_US.mo

/french/languages/fr_FR.mo

Conclusion

Creating a multilingual WordPress theme is a great way to reach a wider audience. There are two ways to create a multilingual WordPress theme:

1. Use a WordPress plugin like WPML

2. Manually create a multilingual theme

If you want to reach a wider audience, we recommend using a WordPress plugin like WPML. WPML is a plugin that allows you to easily create a multilingual WordPress site.