#Polylang language switcher how to

#Polylang language switcher how to

Next, go through how to style it using CSS for advanced customizations. Let’s show you how to set up a simple WordPress language switcher with Weglot.

For example, instead of using the English forms of “German” and “Chinese”, label them as “Deutsch” and “中文”. The Flags are not languages blog, about designing global user experiences, recommends always using the name of a language in its local format. There’s also an issue where visitors might not recognize a flag because of the icon size, or they might be confused by similar looking flags.

In this example, choosing a flag is a difficult decision, and could alienate or confuse almost everyone who speaks the actual language. It also has cultural presence (in both traditional and creole variants) in India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, the ABC islands in the Caribbean, and the Indonesian island of Flores. It’s the official language in Portugal, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Angola, São Tomé & Príncipe, East Timor, Equatorial Guinea, and Macau. This throws up various problems.įor instance, consider Portuguese. While flags are tempting for designers to use for many reasons (they’re colorful, iconic, and space-efficient), flags aren’t designed to depict languages. Placing your language switcher somewhere that is easy to find will go a long way to helping you achieve this.For example, check out how prominent WordPress development agency Human Made’s language switcher is – with only one language no less:Ĭountry flags are often used to represent different languages for language switchers. On the whole, you want bilingual and multilingual visitors to your site to feel welcome and comfortable browsing and accessing your content, no matter their native language. This is another area where those users who leave out of frustration affect your overall SEO. Users who aren’t native speakers of your site’s default language may have trouble finding your language switcher if it’s difficult to find or in an unusual position. Your website designs should avoid straying too far from these established norms. For mobile devices, you often find language switchers in the main navigation as a menu item. It’s a good idea to place your language switcher in the header or footer of your page – both are great locations. It shouldn’t take visitors more than a couple of seconds to find your language switcher. The fewer and more targeted your languages, the better. In other words, the greater number of languages you offer, the more content you’ll need to review for mistranslations and cultural nuances. As such, if you run a WooCommerce store, think about the territories you sell to.īeing selective about the languages you offer on your site will also ensure you don’t create extra work for yourself and your team. Smaller companies often provide a handful of languages, while big brands and multinationals such as Apple and Microsoft will offer myriad languages and even regional websites.

Also consider any new overseas markets you’d like to expand your company into in the future. This means taking the time to consider your target audience and the languages they speak. Instead, look to only activate the languages you need. Though, just because you can enable every language doesn’t mean you should. Unlike WPML and Polylang, Weglot offers over 100 languages. Multilingual plugins for WordPress such as WPML and Polylang often provide automatic translations (or machine translations) in dozens of different languages. We’ll show you lots of real-world examples, some best practice tips, and how to create and customize a language switcher using Weglot. In this guide, you’ll find everything you need to know when it comes to adding a WordPress language switcher to your site. To make the most of the benefits – including the high ROI – it’s crucial to make it simple for visitors to change languages on your site with an easy-to-find, well-designed, and intuitive-to-use WordPress language switcher. This is a 2,500 percent return! As such, it’s something you should consider if you want to better position your company for success in overseas markets. According to the Industry Specification Group for Localization (ISG), for every US$1 spent on localization, a business will make a return of $25. For example, it can help you reach new markets, provide greater opportunities for Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and online visibility, and help you establish trust with new audiences.įor a minimal investment of your time and money, the Return On Investment (ROI) of a WordPress multilingual website is also attractive. Translating your content so visitors can read it in their own language offers enormous benefits for your business. Are you thinking about adding a WordPress language switcher to your website? If so, keep reading!