Translating menu items in WordPress can be efficiently managed using plugins. Here are some popular methods and tools to achieve this:
Using Plugins
1. TranslatePress**
- Installation: Install and activate the TranslatePress plugin from the WordPress plugin directory.- Setup: Go to TranslatePress â Settings â General to configure your multilingual setup. Choose the default language and the languages you want to translate into.
- Translation Process: Click the Translate Page link in the top admin bar. Hover over each menu item, click the blue pencil icon, and input the translation in the sidebar. Repeat this for all menu items and subitems[1][2].
2. Weglot**
- Installation: Install and activate Weglot from the WordPress plugin directory.- Setup: Enter your Weglot API key in the plugin settings. Define your source language and target languages.
- Translation Process: Weglot automatically translates your menu items once you save your settings. You can use Weglot's in-context editor to adjust translations if needed[5].
3. Polylang**
- Installation: Install and activate Polylang.- Setup: Create separate menus for each language. Use conditional code to switch between menus based on the selected language[3].
4. WPML (The WordPress Multilingual Plugin)**
- Installation: Install and activate WPML.- Setup: Configure WPML to manage translations. WPML allows you to translate menu items directly within the plugin's interface[8].
Manual Approach
If you prefer not to use plugins, you can manually create separate menus for each language and use conditional code to switch between them based on the user's language selection[3].Additional Tools
- Loco Translate: Useful for editing translation files directly in your theme or plugin, but not specifically designed for menu translations[7].Each plugin has its strengths, so choose the one that best fits your needs based on ease of use, features, and compatibility with your WordPress setup.
Citations:
[1] https://translatepress.com/translate-wordpress-menu-into-multiple-languages/
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_khaamby14
[3] https://wordpress.stackexchange.com/questions/174885/how-to-translate-menu-items
[4] https://stackoverflow.com/questions/10102752/how-can-i-translate-my-navigation-menus-links-with-qtranslate-on-wordpress
[5] https://www.weglot.com/blog/how-to-translate-a-wordpress-menu
[6] https://wordpress.org/support/topic/how-to-translate-menu-item-strings/
[7] https://www.reddit.com/r/Wordpress/comments/14f3ijn/need_help_changing_the_language_of_menu_items_on/
[8] https://wpml.org/forums/topic/cannot-translate-the-menu/