{"id":5292,"date":"2025-09-20T12:11:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-20T10:11:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tulipemedia.com\/?p=5292"},"modified":"2025-09-20T14:17:53","modified_gmt":"2025-09-20T12:17:53","slug":"multilingual-wordpress-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tulipemedia.com\/en\/multilingual-wordpress-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"My top translation plugins for WordPress"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Translating a WordPress site can quickly become a headache if you choose the wrong multilingual plugin. This simple and up-to-date guide presents the <strong>best translation solutions for WordPress<\/strong>, with their <strong>forces<\/strong>, <strong>weaknesses<\/strong> And <strong>impacts on performance<\/strong>. Perfect for beginners and web pros alike.<\/p>\n<h2 dir=\"ltr\">How do I know my needs in terms of translated words?<\/h2>\n<p dir=\"auto\">When choosing a translation plugin, it is essential to <strong>carefully estimate the number of words to be translated to select the appropriate package<\/strong>. However, most people make a mistake in their estimation and end up underestimating their needs.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"auto\">The &quot;number of words translated&quot; generally corresponds <strong>to the source words (the original content of your site) multiplied by the number of target languages (excluding the original language)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"auto\">For example, a site with 10,000 source words translated into 3 target languages will generate 30,000 translated words. To assess your needs, <a href=\"https:\/\/wordcounter.net\/website-word-count\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">count the words in one of your articles and one page<\/a> and make an extrapolation.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"auto\">For example, if your site contains 50 articles of 600 words each and 20 pages of 400 words, or 38,000 source words, and you target 4 languages, you will have 152,000 words translated, which also encourages you to be concise and concise from now on in the articles you publish \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n<p dir=\"auto\">Compare this total to the limits of paid plans offered by translation services to avoid overruns and optimize your costs.<\/p>\n<h2>\ud83c\udf10 Local storage or external solution?<\/h2>\n<p>Before choosing your translation solution, it is important to understand that there are <strong>two large families of plugins<\/strong> translation for WordPress:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The \u201cclassic\u201d multilingual plugins<\/strong> (WPML, Polylang, TranslatePress, Multilingual Press\u2026)\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Translations are stored in WordPress<\/strong> (in the site or multisite database).<\/li>\n<li>Each translated content exists locally, as an article or page linked to the original.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u2705 Advantage: you keep total control and everything stays at home.<br \/>\n\u274c Disadvantage: the database can become cumbersome on large sites.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>THE <strong>outsourced solutions<\/strong> (Weglot, ConveyThis, Linguise, etc.)\n<ul>\n<li>Translations are not stored in WordPress.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Content is sent to an external platform<\/strong> which generates the translations and returns them for display, often via a script.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u2705 Advantage: Fast and lightweight installation for WordPress.<br \/>\n\u274c Disadvantage: you become dependent on the external service, with a recurring subscription.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\ud83d\udc49 In summary:\n<ul>\n<li>Classic = everything stays local in WordPress.<\/li>\n<li>Outsourced = everything is managed remotely by a third-party service.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A plugin like Polylang or WPML <strong>stores translations in your site<\/strong> WordPress, which gives you complete control. A solution like Weglot <strong>outsources everything<\/strong>, which lightens your site but makes you dependent on a third-party service.<\/p>\n<p>Generally, the second family of plugins, a little more powerful but resource-intensive for the service provider, costs a little more than the first, but it has the advantage of being simpler and faster to set up, and lighter for the database. However, it necessarily induces a dependency on a third party.<\/p>\n<p>In this market of the best translation plugins for WordPress, here is my top pick, knowing that I have tested all the solutions. They all have their pros and cons.<\/p>\n<h2>\u2728 The Best Multilingual WordPress Translation Plugins<\/h2>\n<h3>1. <a href=\"https:\/\/weglot.com\/?fp_ref=ziyad42\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Weglot<\/a><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Translation system<\/strong> : outsourced (external SaaS)<\/li>\n<li>\u2705 Advantages: Ultra simple, high-quality auto-translation, high performance<\/li>\n<li>\u274c Disadvantages: Depends on a paid external service<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/tulipemedia.com\/en\/weglot-test-review-demo-price\/\"><em><strong>\u2192 Find my article entirely dedicated to Weglot here.<\/strong><\/em><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/weglot.com\/?fp_ref=ziyad42\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em><strong>\u2192 Visit the Weglot website for more information<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>2. <a href=\"https:\/\/multilingualpress.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">MultilingualPress<\/a><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Translation system<\/strong> : internalized<\/li>\n<li><strong>Special feature<\/strong> : each language is an independent site and you must therefore activate WordPress Multisite<\/li>\n<li>\u2705 Advantages: Very light, clean structure thanks to WordPress multisite (no postmeta overload), SEO-friendly<\/li>\n<li>\u274c Disadvantages: Technical installation, multi-site required<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/multilingualpress.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em><strong>\u2192 Visit the MultilingualPress website for more information<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>3. <a href=\"https:\/\/polylang.pro\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Polylang<\/a><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Translation system<\/strong> : internalized<\/li>\n<li><strong>Special feature<\/strong> : Translation by duplicate post<\/li>\n<li>\u2705 Advantages: Lightweight, autonomous, free in basic version<\/li>\n<li>\u274c Cons: No native auto-translation (except via paid add-on)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/polylang.pro\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em><strong>\u2192 Visit the Polylang website for more information<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>4. <a href=\"https:\/\/translatepress.com\/?ref=702\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">TranslatePress<\/a><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Translation system<\/strong> : internalized<\/li>\n<li><strong>Special feature<\/strong> : Inline visual translation in frontend<\/li>\n<li>\u2705 Advantages: Simple, intuitive, supports auto-translation<\/li>\n<li>\u274c Disadvantages: Can become heavy on large sites (storage not optimized)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/tulipemedia.com\/en\/translatepress-wordpress-review\/\"><em><strong>\u2192 Find my article entirely dedicated to TranslatePress here.<\/strong><\/em><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/translatepress.com\/?ref=702\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em><strong>\u2192 Visit the TranslatePress website for more information<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>5. <a href=\"https:\/\/wpml.org\/?aid=12771&amp;affiliate_key=kgt3rx2ztxfl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">WPML<\/a><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Translation system<\/strong> : internalized<\/li>\n<li><strong>Special feature<\/strong>\u00a0: Complex architecture with dedicated tables<\/li>\n<li>\u2705 Advantages: Very complete, compatible with everything<\/li>\n<li>\u274c Disadvantages: A bit heavy, complex to maintain, difficult migrations (high technical dependence)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/tulipemedia.com\/en\/wpml-translation-test-review-price\/\"><em><strong>\u2192 Find my article entirely dedicated to WPML here.<\/strong><\/em><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/wpml.org\/?aid=12771&amp;affiliate_key=kgt3rx2ztxfl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em><strong>\u2192 Visit the WPML website for more information<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>6. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conveythis.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ConveyThis<\/a><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Translation system<\/strong> : outsourced<\/li>\n<li><strong>Special feature<\/strong> : translation injected via javascript<\/li>\n<li>\u2705 Advantages: Very simple, quick start without effort<\/li>\n<li>\u274c Disadvantages: Dependence on a third-party service<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conveythis.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em><strong>\u2192 Visit the ConveyThis website for more information<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>7. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linguise.com\/?_from=ziyad93\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Linguistics<\/a><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Translation system<\/strong> : outsourced (external SaaS)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Special feature<\/strong> : SEO optimized, with a cache system for translations<\/li>\n<li>\u2705 Advantages: Quick installation, centralized management, very SEO-friendly and above all, it is by far the cheapest plugin!<\/li>\n<li>\u274c Disadvantages: Dependence on external service<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linguise.com\/?_from=ziyad93\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em><strong>\u2192 Visit the Linguise website for more information<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>\ud83c\udfc6 Rankings by criteria<\/h2>\n<h3>\ud83d\udcaa Performance (lightness for WordPress)<\/h3>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Plugin<\/th>\n<th>WP Performance<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Weglot<\/td>\n<td>\ud83d\udfe2 Ultra-light<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>ConveyThis<\/td>\n<td>\ud83d\udfe2 Ultra-light<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Linguistics<\/td>\n<td>\ud83d\udfe2 Ultra-light<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>MultilingualPress<\/td>\n<td>\ud83d\udfe2 Very light<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Polylang<\/td>\n<td>\ud83d\udfe1 Moderate<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>TranslatePress<\/td>\n<td>\ud83d\udfe0 Medium to heavy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>WPML<\/td>\n<td>\ud83d\udd34 Heavy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h3>\ud83d\udd27 Technical complexity<\/h3>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Plugin<\/th>\n<th>Ease of use<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Weglot<\/td>\n<td>\ud83d\udfe2 Very simple<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>ConveyThis<\/td>\n<td>\ud83d\udfe2 Very simple<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Linguistics<\/td>\n<td>\ud83d\udfe2 Very simple<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>TranslatePress<\/td>\n<td>\ud83d\udfe2 Simple<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Polylang<\/td>\n<td>\ud83d\udfe1 Medium<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>WPML<\/td>\n<td>\ud83d\udd34 Complex<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>MultilingualPress<\/td>\n<td>\ud83d\udd34 Complex (multi-site)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h3>\u26d4 External dependency<\/h3>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Plugin<\/th>\n<th>Dependence<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Weglot<\/td>\n<td>\ud83d\udd34 Strong<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>ConveyThis<\/td>\n<td>\ud83d\udd34 Strong<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Linguistics<\/td>\n<td>\ud83d\udd34 Strong<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>WPML<\/td>\n<td>\ud83d\udfe2 None (but strong internal technical dependency)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>TranslatePress<\/td>\n<td>\ud83d\udfe2 None<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Polylang<\/td>\n<td>\ud83d\udfe2 None<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>MultilingualPress<\/td>\n<td>\ud83d\udfe2 None<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2>\ud83d\udd0d In short<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Are you looking for performance and simplicity?<\/strong> Choose <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conveythis.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>ConveyThis<\/strong><\/a>, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linguise.com\/?_from=ziyad93\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Linguistics<\/a><\/strong> Or <a href=\"https:\/\/weglot.com\/?fp_ref=ziyad42\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Weglot<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>Do you want total autonomy?<\/strong> Choose for <a href=\"https:\/\/polylang.pro\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Polylang<\/strong><\/a> Or <a href=\"https:\/\/multilingualpress.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>MultilingualPress<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>Are you looking for stability and robustness?<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/wpml.org\/?aid=12771&amp;affiliate_key=kgt3rx2ztxfl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>WPML<\/strong><\/a> Or <a href=\"https:\/\/translatepress.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>TranslatePress Pro<\/strong><\/a> will do the trick<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Need help choosing or configuring? Leave me a comment below this article and I&#039;ll be happy to answer you!<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Translating a WordPress site can quickly become a headache if you choose the wrong multilingual plugin. This simple, up-to-date guide presents the best translation solutions for WordPress, in my opinion, with their strengths and weaknesses. Perfect for beginners and web pros alike!<\/p>","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":2386,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[159],"class_list":["post-5292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-plugins","tag-wordpress-multilingue"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tulipemedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tulipemedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tulipemedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tulipemedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tulipemedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5292"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/tulipemedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5292\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5920,"href":"https:\/\/tulipemedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5292\/revisions\/5920"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tulipemedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tulipemedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tulipemedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tulipemedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}