Background of the issue:
I’m facing a serious issue after activating the WPML Multilingual CMS plugin on my WordPress website, hosted on Hostinger. After activating the plugin, the front-end of the site completely breaks and shows a 404 – Page Not Found error. The WordPress admin dashboard (/wp-admin) remains accessible, and I can manually deactivate the plugin from there. Several warning and error messages have appeared related to WPML and the database. Error Messages Received: 1. From the WPML dashboard: "There is a problem with the String Translation table in your site. This problem is not causing a problem running the site right now, but can become a critical issue in the future. WPML support team knows how to fix it." 2. Technical error message: "We have detected a problem with some tables in the database. Please contact WPML support to get this fixed." Details: Table 'u951138726_hyAjh.wp_icl_strings' doesn't exist Array ( [language] => en [context] => WP Endpoints [gettext_context] => [domain_name_context_md5] => fca9619cc784f1554a10770c1ef8e59d [name] => wc/file/transient [value] => wc/file/transient [status] => 0 [translation_priority] => optional [allow_empty_value] => ) Website: hidden link
Symptoms:
The front-end of the site breaks and shows a 404 – Page Not Found error after activating WPML. Error messages indicate a missing wp_icl_strings table.
Questions:
How can I fix the missing wp_icl_strings table issue?
Is there a way to prevent the front-end from breaking after activating WPML?
Also I wonder if you have a backup of the website.
What I guess is that the website was using WPML before and it was deactivated and the content is changed and now that it is installed all the content is not the same and causing the issue.
For the error you have mentioned about the string translation table please do as follows:
- IMPORTANT STEP! Create a backup of your website. Or better approach will be to test this on a copy/staging version of the website to avoid any disruption of a live website.
- Add the code below to functions.php file of your theme:
- Make sure WPML String translation and WPML Multilingual CMS are active
- Load the front end of the website once.
- Remove the code from functions.php
I’ve followed the instructions exactly as described:
I added the code to the functions.php file.
Ensured both WPML Multilingual CMS and WPML String Translation plugins are activated.
Opened the front-end of the site.
Then I removed the code from the file.
Here’s what happened after following the steps:
The 404 error on the homepage is gone, which is a small improvement.
However, the site layout is completely broken – styles and design are not loading properly.
The footer is missing, and overall, the front-end looks corrupted.
The WPML plugin is still not functioning – I can't access or use its features properly.
Also, the error about the missing table wp_icl_strings is still showing in the admin dashboard.
Since I already provided admin credentials earlier in this ticket, feel free to log in and verify the issue directly.
If you need FTP or database access, I’m happy to provide that as well.
Please advise on the next steps to fully restore WPML functionality and fix the database issue.
Yes, I have a complete backup of the website, and I confirm that you are permitted to reset WPML and the languages to start over — I understand that this will result in the loss of the existing translations.
Regarding Loco Translate, I’ve already deactivated it as per your suggestion.
However, please note the following:
The homepage no longer returns a 404 error, which is an improvement.
But the frontend design is completely broken, the footer is missing, and the WPML plugin is still not functioning correctly.
The original error message still appears.
I have already sent you the login credentials and screenshots earlier. Please check and take a closer look at the current issues.
Looking forward to your support in resolving this.
I’ve completed the WPML configuration as instructed, and the plugin is now active.
However, after the reset, the website’s design and theme layout have been completely destroyed. The homepage looks broken, the footer is missing, and the overall structure is no longer the same. It’s clear that the theme styling has been heavily affected.
This issue did not exist before the WPML reset — the site’s layout was intact, even when WPML was throwing database-related errors. Now, after following the suggested fix, the front-end is visually broken and unusable.
Please see the attached screenshot of the homepage for reference.
This is a live website, and restoring the visual integrity is urgent.
Kindly review and advise on how to resolve this as soon as possible.
I deactivated WPML completely and the layout issue that you have mentioned is still there. So even when WPML is not active, the issue is there.
Also please consider that WPML does not have anything to do with the layout of the website, specifically on the default language.
I am not sure what might be the problem cause but resetting WPML does not have anything to do with the layout of the website.
Please restore a backup of the website so you will have the previous layout.
After that please contact your hosting ervice provider to provide a staging/copy version of the websit and I will create a video on what I do to reset WPML and steps Itake.
I wanted to let you know that a newer version of the website theme is now available.
Would you like me to send you the updated theme files so you can test them on the staging environment,
or should we wait until the current troubleshooting process is complete before applying any updates?
Please advise on the best approach so we don’t interfere with your ongoing work.
First of all, I would like to sincerely thank you for the great effort and support you have already provided. The video explanation was very helpful and now WPML is working properly on the website.
However, one issue still remains. In the WordPress dashboard, I still see the following error messag
What I have tried so far:
From WPML → Support → Troubleshooting, I used the option to recreate String Translation tables.
I deactivated and reinstalled the WPML String Translation plugin.
Unfortunately, the message is still showing.
Could you please advise on the next step to completely fix this issue?
Thank you again for your continued help and patience.
