there are several ways to create a multilingual (multilingual) sitewith WordPress. you can set up a single website to support multiple languages so that visitors can view your content in their preferred language.
1οΈβ£ 3 Ways to Create a Multilingual Site
the top 3 ways to create a multilingual WordPress site:
method | description | recommended for |
---|---|---|
use a plugin | the easiest way, automatic translation support | πΉIf you want to make it fast and easy |
use multisite functionality | you can run separate sites for each language | πΉIf you need complete independent translation |
manual translation (utilizing subdomains / subdirectories) | create separate pages for each language | πΉIf you want the best SEO and performance |
create a multilingual site with 2οΈβ£ plugin (easiest way)
π‘ Recommended plugins:
wordPress has many powerful multilingual plugins.
plugin | price | features |
---|---|---|
WPML | paid | the most powerful multilingual plugin (SEO ready) |
Polylang | free / Paid | simple and lightweight plugin |
TranslatePress | free / Paid | enables real-time front-end translation |
Weglot | paid | AI automatic translation support |
the easiest way: use TranslatePress or Polylang π
β Method 1: Create a multilingual site with Polylang (free)
π Features:
- powerful features even in the free version
- simple to use and offers a language switcher (toggle button)
- requires you to manually enter the content to be translated
π Installation and setup
1οΈβ£ Add
WordPress Plugins β
Search for Polylang
and install it
2οΈβ£ Settings β Add Languages
- add the desired language
in Settings β Languages
(e.g. Korean π°π·, English πΊπΈ, Japanese π―π΅, etc.)
3οΈβ£ Add content to translate pages β Create a new post
, then copy the existing page to create the translation
4οΈβ£ Add language switcher (switch button)widgets β Add language selector
(can be placed in menu or sidebar)
5οΈβ£ SEO Settings- Use with
Yoast SEO
orRankMath
for multilingual SEO optimization
β Method 2: Create a multilingual site with TranslatePress (free)
π Features:
- real-time translation on the frontend (site screen)
- Supports AI translation (Google Translate API)
- easy to use even for beginners
π Installation and setup
1οΈβ£ Add
WordPress Plugins β
Search for TranslatePress
and install it
2οΈβ£ Settings β Add Languages
- set default language + additional languages
in Settings β TranslatePress
translate live on your site at 3οΈβ£ - click “Translate Site” in the top bar and translate directly
4οΈβ£ Automatic translation (optional) - Support automatic translation when connected to Google Translate API
5οΈβ£ Add Language Switcher - add to menu or widget
in Settings β Language Switcher
β Method 3: Create a multilingual site with WPML (Paid)
π Features:
- most powerful multilingual plugin (recommended for businesses)
- WooCommerce (shopping mall) multilingual support
- Excellent SEO features
π Installation and setup 1οΈβ£ Purchase and install the WPML plugin
2οΈβ£ Settings β Add Language
3οΈβ£ Translate your content
- translate manually or utilize the translation manager feature
4οΈβ£ SEO optimization - Use with Yoast SEO, RankMath
3οΈβ£ Multilingual SEO optimization (search engine optimization)
sEO optimization is important when running a multilingual site.
β Set up your URL structure (SEO optimization)
- subdirectories (recommended):
example.com/en/
,example.com/en/, example.com/en/
- usesubdomains:
en.example.com
,ko.example.com
- use separate domains:
example.kr
,example.com
β Add the hreflang tag
you need to add the hreflang
tag so that search engines recognize the correct language page.
example:
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en" href="https://example.com/ko/" /> <link rel="alternate" hreflang="en" href="https://example.com/en/" />
β Use an SEO plugin
- Yoast SEO or RankMath plugin offers multilingual SEO optimization
4οΈβ£ Multilingual site performance optimization
multilingual sites can become slow due to the large number of translated pages.
use the following methods to optimize speed
1οΈβ£ Use a caching plugin β LiteSpeed Cache, WP Rocket
2οΈβ£ Apply a Content Delivery Network (CDN) β Use Cloudflare
3οΈβ£ Optimize images β Smush or ShortPixel plugin
4οΈβ£ Remove unnecessary plugins
5οΈβ£ Recommendations for building a multilingual site
recommendation | description | recommended for |
---|---|---|
Polylang | simple free plugin, requires direct translation | πΉPersonal blogs, small sites |
TranslatePress | real-time translation support, AI translation available | πΉEnterprise sites, easy to translate |
WPML | powerful features, WooCommerce support | πΉLarge businesses, shopping malls |
π Easiest way to get started: TranslatePress + Google Translate API π
π₯ Final Summary
β
Easiest way: use Polylang or TranslatePress plugin
β
Need automatic translation? Use TranslatePress + Google API
β
Want a fully multilingual site? Use WPML
β
SEO optimization is a must: add hreflang
tags, utilize SEO plugins
β
Optimize for speed: apply caching, CDN, image compression
π Now you can create a multilingual site with ease! π