[Resolved] Wrong category translation and missing category images
This thread is resolved. Here is a description of the problem and solution.
Problem: The client is facing issues with incorrect translations of category names and missing category images in a WooCommerce store. Specifically, the Hungarian translation for 'PRÍVESY' is incorrect, and not all categories are displaying images. Solution: First, we adjusted the configuration for product variations in WPML's settings. We recommend the client to take a database backup and then navigate to WooCommerce > WooCommerce Multilingual & Multi-Currency > Status > Troubleshooting to sync variable products. We also advised changing the setting for product categories to "Translatable - only show translated items" and translate all product categories at WPML > Taxonomy Translation. Additionally, we resolved the issue by using the option to sync product taxonomies at WPML > Support > Troubleshooting, removing ghost entries, and clearing the WPML cache. Although the screen is limited to 1000 items, the search field can be used to find all categories. Categories assigned to a product that are not yet translated will automatically translate the first time the products are translated using the WPML Translation Editor.
Please note that this solution might be outdated or not applicable to your specific case. We highly recommend checking related known issues at https://wpml.org/known-issues/, verifying the version of the permanent fix, and confirming that you have installed the latest versions of themes and plugins. If the issue persists, please open a new support ticket at WPML support forum.
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Background of the issue:
I am trying to ensure that category names are correctly translated and that category images are displayed properly on our website. The issue can be seen on this page: hidden link
Symptoms:
Some category names are incorrectly translated, and category images are missing. Specifically, the translation of 'PRÍVESY' in Hungarian is incorrect; it should be 'PÓTKOCSI' but is currently 'FORRÁSOK'.
Questions:
Could you review and correct the incorrect category translations?
Can you ensure that all categories have the appropriate images displayed?
I just wanted to clarify something regarding your statement:
"WordPress does not have images assigned to categories. It must be something added by a plugin."
You're absolutely right that WordPress core does not support category images. However, in this case, I'm referring specifically to WooCommerce product categories, which do support images by default. WooCommerce adds this functionality via the thumbnail_id term meta field on the product_cat taxonomy.
These images are visible when editing a product category under Products > Categories, and many themes and templates display them on the frontend.
My concern is with the translation of these category images. While the names and slugs are translatable through WPML, the thumbnail images do not seem to carry over or sync to translated categories. Is there a recommended way to handle the translation or duplication of these images in WPML?
I'm currently using WooCommerce and WPML (with WooCommerce Multilingual), and I want to ensure that translated product categories show the correct image.
Thanks again for your help — just wanted to be sure we’re on the same page regarding the functionality WooCommerce adds.
Languages: English (English )Spanish (Español )German (Deutsch )
Timezone: America/Lima (GMT-05:00)
Hello,
Usually, WPML will copy the image over from the original category automatically.
1) Please take a backup of your site.
2) Update all plugins and the parent theme, in any case where updates are available.
For WPML:
Go to Plugins > Add new and enter the "Commercial" tab. Click "Check for WPML Updates" and install and activate the latest versions of our plugins.
Also, please update WooCommerce and any further plugins.
Now, please test again.
About the product category images:
It might be that these images aren't copied over. Please go to Products > Categories and edit one of the affected categories. Now, in the bottom section access one of the translations.
Do you see that the translated category has an uploaded image?
If yes, then the translation worked, and the issue might be related to the templates that are displaying the categories. Have you already translated all Elementor Templates?
If there is no image, you could manually upload the image to the translated category to test if this solves the issue.
In doubt, please also test if clearing site and object cache can solve the issue.
I have updated all plugins, the parent theme, WPML (via the Commercial tab), and WooCommerce as instructed. However, I have encountered a couple of issues:
WPML Taxonomy Translation is not functioning correctly. Out of 1007 product categories, only 23 are visible in the Taxonomy Translation interface.
Hierarchy Synchronization does not appear to be working either.
These issues are preventing me from properly managing category translations and ensuring image synchronization across languages.
Do you have any suggestions on how to resolve this?
Languages: English (English )Spanish (Español )German (Deutsch )
Timezone: America/Lima (GMT-05:00)
Hello,
It appears there is a conflict between WPML and another plugin or the theme you are using.
I see you use a custom plugin, named "Custom WPML Product Translator".
Could it be that this plugin is causing the issue?
Could you please try running it with minimal setup to see if the issue persists?
1) Deactivate all additional plugins apart from WooCommerce, WPML, and our add-ons. Does the issue still persist?
2) If so, please switch to a standard theme like Twenty Twenty-One to see if the issue might be theme-related. If the issue will still occur, then please let me know at this point.
2) If the issue goes away on step 1), you will need to reactivate the plugins individually or activate them in small groups. This way, check where the issue recurs to identify the plugin causing the issue.
3) If this doesn't resolve the issue, you will need to enable the plugins one-by-once and test at which step the issue occurs again.
Once we identify the cause, we can then attempt to replicate the issue and then escalate it internally. In this case, I'll provide a test site with WPML.
Exception: The issue is related to custom code inside a plugin or child theme.
Languages: English (English )Spanish (Español )German (Deutsch )
Timezone: America/Lima (GMT-05:00)
Hello,
I would like to offer to take a closer look and request temporary access (wp-admin and FTP) to the website to investigate the issue further.
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Please be sure to back up your website and database before granting us access.
If you can't see the "wp-admin / FTP" fields, your post and website credentials will be set to "PUBLIC." DO NOT publish the data unless you see the required wp-admin / FTP fields.
I may need to install a plugin called "All In One WP Migration" to create a copy of the website so I can investigate the issue further.
However, I would also be very grateful if you could provide a staging site or a copy of the website from your server for this purpose.
If you have any questions about creating such a staging site, you can consult your hosting provider. Please note that WPML must also be registered on this staging site at https://wpml.org/account/websites/.
If you are unable to provide such a copy of the website for testing, please let me know on this ticket.
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Languages: English (English )Spanish (Español )German (Deutsch )
Timezone: America/Lima (GMT-05:00)
I found a configuration warning in WooCommerce Multilingual's status screen. See screenshot.
I have adjusted the config for product variations now inside WPML's settings.
Please take a backup of your database and then go to WooCommerce > WooCommerce Multilingual & Multi-Currency > Status > Troubleshooting to sync your variable products.
Also, I see you are using the setting "Translatable use translation if available or fallback to default language" for your products. You will only need this setting if you do not plan to translate products.
You further use the same setting for product taxonomies, which is also something I wouldn't suggest.
In this case, it would be expected that a product or product appears in site default language if it has not yet been translated.
Please try setting product categories to "Translatable only show translated items" and translate all product categories at WPML > Taxonomy Translation.
Hi, I think the synchronization is correct, but I can't translate the categories in 'WPML Taxonomy Translation' because it's still displaying only 23 categories out of 1000+.
Languages: English (English )Spanish (Español )German (Deutsch )
Timezone: America/Lima (GMT-05:00)
I was able to solve the issue using the option to sync product taxonomies at WPML > Support > Troubleshooting. I also removed the ghost entries and cleared the cache in WPML.
Note, that the screen is limited to 1000 items, but you will be able to use the search field to find all categories.
Also, any category that is assigned to a product and not yet translated will be translated the first time you translate the products with the WPML Translation Editor.
