most common mistakes done in multilingual sites created with WordPress, examples and good practices included

1. 10 common mistakes
WordPress developers
make
when building multilingual sites

2. Agnes Bury
present
● community specialist at
OnTheGoSystems
● responsible for WPML
showcase
● WordPress blogger
past
● WordPress freelancer

3. Agenda
1. Common mistakes
a. description, real life
examples
b. disadvantages
c. how to do it right and
how you benefit
2. Experience exchange
3. Prizes for winners
Prizes for active attendees
● one WPML license
WordPress Multilingual Plugin
● two Toolset licenses
Toolset Plugins Let You Develop
WordPress Sites Without PHP
more at wp-types.com

4. Is this site multilingual?
Source: niromusic.com

5. 1. Not inserting a language switcher
Possible reasons
1. Oops. I did
forgot.
2. There is a
language
switcher, you
just didn’t
notice it.
3. I don’t need a
language
switcher
source: http://foto-factory.com/

6. Browser language based redirection
If you rely on redirection
instead of using a
language switcher
● your site might not get
indexed
● you may irritate your users
● if not all pages have
translations, users might
feel lost
● users might not realise
that the site in available in
other languages

7. How to do it right?
● Insert your language
switcher for each page
● Make sure it stands out
● Cross link all your pages
● If you want to redirect
your visitors, do it right:
○ use js and cookies
approach
○ do it only if a
translation exists
source: destibationvarsovie.com

8. Redirections done right

9. 2. Using automated translations
Why people use
automated translations
1. This the easiest way (not
recommended!)
2. They don’t think about
search engines
3. They don’t know how to
find professional
translators
source: jamespaulphotography.co.uk

10. 2. Using automated translations
Disadvantages
● poor quality content
● translations might not
get indexed
How to do it right
● keep each page
translated on a separate
URL
● always provide good
quality translations made
by a human
Source: http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2010/03/working-with-multilingual-websites.html

11. 3. Mixing languages on the same page
The reasons users mix
languages
1. they don’t know how to
translate specific
elements
2. their multilingual plugin
does not support
translation of all
elements
3. they don’t think about
search engines
source:http://kjjdentaloffice.co.il/

12. 4. Not translating media
Common
mistakes
● ignoring titles
and alts
● all media titles
and alts in the
site main
language
● uploading the
same image for
each language
source: http://oneferro.com source: http://ricette.donnaecasa.com

13. 4. Media translation: how to do it right
● upload your image
once
● provide its
alternative text and
title for each
language

14. 5. Not translating widgets
Common mistakes
● all sidebar strings in site
main language
● language “mix” in titles
● side by side translation
source: fotomarathon.desource: oneferro.com

15. 5. Not translating widgets
Make your widgets
translation ready
● WordPress default
widgets will appear in
WPML String translation
● custom widgets coded
correctly (apply_filters
for widget_title and
widget_text) will appear
in String translation
● use Widget Logic plugin
for all other cases
using Widget Logic plugin
using WPML panel

16. 6. Not translating theme dependant strings
Frequently skipped strings
● ‘posted in’
● ‘category’
● ‘Error 404 - page not
found’
● ‘no comments’
● ‘read more’
● strings coming from
your theme options
Source: http://www.eliplay.eu/nl/blog/

17. How to translate theme strings
● using .po/.mo files and
GetText editors
● from the WPML panel

18. How to translate theme options
● use wp_options and
wpml-config.xml
● check your theme in our
Compatibility program

19. 7. Hard coding language dependent strings
● Bad
<?php echo ‘Error 404: Page not found’;
?>
<input type=”button” name=”buy-
button” value=”Buy now!” />
● Good
<?php _e(‘Error 404: Page not found’,
‘my-textdomain’) ?>
<input type=”button” name=”buy-
button” value=”<?php esc_attr_e(‘Buy
now!’, ‘my-textdomain’) ?>” />
source: www.studying-in-england.org

20. i18n and what to internationalize
● Basic strings _e, __
● Variables printf(__( 'Your
city is %s.', 'my-theme'
),$city);
● Plurals _n, _n_noop
● Context _x
● Handling JavaScript files
wp_localize_script()
● Escaping strings
esc_html_e() esc_attr_e()
● Date and number functions
number_format_i18n(),
date_i18n()
Source: https://make.wordpress.org/docs/plugin-developer-handbook/15-internationalization/

21. 8. Ignoring non-techie users’ needs
● can you copy from the
original?
● can you change your
admin language?
● how about menu
synchronization?
● how easy will you add
another language?
● turn ordinary users into
translators

22. 9. Ignoring eCommerce trends
source: http://trends.builtwith.com/shop/

23. WooCommerce Multilingual plugin
● The number of WP
eCommerce shops is
rapidly growing
● check ahead if your
multilingual plugin
supports eCommerce
● don’t discourage your
customers with an
untranslated checkout
process

24. 10. Ignoring WordPress compatibility
● Don’t let new
WordPress releases be
a surprise for your
multilingual site
● Make sure your
multilingual plugin is
kept up to date with
WordPress releases

25. What would you add? Discussion