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Custom Elementor Widgets Now Translatable in WPML 4.9 Beta

WPML versions
9

We heard you – Elementor widgets should just work and be translatable out of the box. WPML 4.9 Beta introduces a new detection mechanism that automatically recognizes custom Elementor widgets and makes them translatable.

Many of you build multilingual sites with Elementor-based addons and themes like Woodmart, Wolmart, or Emphires. Often, third-party Elementor widgets don’t feature direct compatibility with WPML so the typical reported issues included: 

  • Texts in custom widgets not detected and translatable
  • Translations not displaying on the frontend
  • You needed to write XML configurations just to translate a banner or button

Typical widget elements that weren’t translated were headings, subheadings, button texts, link texts, custom text fields, and more.

WPML 4.9 Beta solves this and allows you to:

  • Translate widgets that come from Elementor themes or addons — automatically
  • Keep your designs consistent across all languages
  • Avoid editing XML files or manually finding missing strings
  • Translate attributes like video URLs, buttons, and custom text fields

From WPML 4.9 on, custom Elementor widgets on your site will automatically be recognized by WPML. If you use automatic translation, posts and pages using widgets will simply be translated in full. And if you translate them yourself, content from all widgets will automatically appear in the Advanced Translation Editor.

Help Us Test WPML 4.9 Beta

The production release of WPML 4.9 is scheduled for the second half of January. Until then, we’re inviting everyone using Elementor and WPML to test this beta and help us confirm that these fixes work across different themes and addons.

List of Fixes

We believe we’ve resolved the most common issues with translating custom Elementor widgets. The only requirement is for the widgets to be developed following standard Elementor API and guidelines.

Here’s a list of top fixes related to translating custom Elementor widgets.

Custom Elementor Widgets Not Appearing in Translation Editor

WPML didn’t always detect content fields inside custom Elementor widgets. You’d open the Advanced Translation Editor and the widget simply wasn’t there. WPML 4.9 now automatically detects these widgets, so their content appears in the editor ready for translation.

Widget Translations Missing or Disappearing on the Frontend

Sometimes translations of custom Elementor widgets would vanish or fail to display, even after you translated the content. Elements like banners, buttons, or headers would show up in one language but not another. WPML 4.9 now reliably applies translations to custom widgets, keeping your content consistent across all languages.

Manual XML Configuration Required

To translate certain custom Elementor widgets, you had to write custom XML configuration files – a technical and time-consuming process that often didn’t work as expected. WPML 4.9 eliminates this requirement. Custom widgets are now detected automatically, no XML needed.

Dynamic Fields and Attributes from Widgets Not Captured

Links, button URLs, video URLs, and custom attributes inside custom Elementor widgets weren’t always available for translation. WPML 4.9 now captures these dynamic fields, so you can translate everything – not just the visible text.

Inconsistent Designs Across Languages

When custom Elementor widgets weren’t fully translated, your carefully designed layouts could break or look different in other languages. With WPML 4.9, your Elementor layouts, buttons, and banners stay exactly as designed in every language.

How to Install WPML 4.9 Beta and Test

You should install this beta only on a testing site, not on production.

  1. Log in to your WordPress admin dashboard.
  2. Go to Plugins → Add Plugin and click the Commercial tab.
  3. Make sure you have WPML Multilingual CMS plugin 4.8.6 installed.
  4. Click the Check for updates button.
  5. Use the Updates channel dropdown and select Beta.
  6. In the list of plugins, select WPML 4.9 and click the Download button.

How to Trigger the Fixes for Existing Content

New pages you design using custom Elementor widgets will work immediately.

If you’re testing with an existing page, make sure to do a small edit and update the page. This will trigger the new mechanism that catches all translatable content coming from custom Elementor widgets.

You only need to do this once per page.

Let Us Know How It Goes

If everything works as expected and your widgets are translatable, appear correctly in the Translation Editor and translations display correctly – we’d love to hear about it in the comments below.

If you encounter any issues, please open a ticket in our support forum and mention that you’re reporting an issue found while testing WPML 4.9 Beta. This helps us prioritize and respond faster.

9 Responses to “Custom Elementor Widgets Now Translatable in WPML 4.9 Beta”

    • Hi Erik! Thanks for testing this and reporting it here. Please, create a ticket in our support forum and say that you tested WPML 4.9 Beta but some custom Elementor widgets are still not translating. Our developers will look into it asap and see why this is happening. Thank you!

      Reply

  2. Hi,

    I am seeing a massive amount of PHP Deprecated warnings in my error logs. I have an open support ticket #17697274, but I’m hoping to get a developer’s eyes on this. I can’t get past this MAYA AI agent who keeps closing the support topic.

    The Issue:
    Hundreds of warnings stating: PHP Deprecated: Implicitly marking parameter $… as nullable is deprecated.
    Affected Components:
    WPML Core: Multiple classes including WPML_Resolve_Object_Url_Helper and WPML_Translation_Element.
    String Translation: QueueRepository, ComponentRepository, and WPML_Register_String_Filter.
    WCML & Media: WCML_Downloadable_Products and WPML_Media_Save_Translation.
    Internal Libraries: OTGS_Installer and WPML\Auryn.

    These are systemic PHP 8.x compatibility issues across the entire WPML suite. Could you please check my ticket and confirm when a fix for these type-hinting issues will be released?

    I know I could turn error logging off but I need to check my own code for errors. WPML is the only plugin with PHP related errors like this.

    Thanks!

    Reply

    • Hello,

      If you ask our AI Agent to speak with a human it will create a chat/ticket with our Supporters. We can’t provide Support from this page.

      Reply

    • Hi! I just wanted to clarify that PHP 8.4 is currently not fully supported by WPML, but there should not be any fatal errors. We will resolve these notices in WPML 4.10.

      However, please note that even WordPress currently offers only beta support for PHP 8.4.

      In any case, thank you very much for sharing this information, it’s helpful! We’ve updated our task for WPML 4.10 with notes from what you have shared.

      Reply

      • Hey Dario,

        Really good to hear. I am looking forward to the update.
        I do want to point out that I believe there is a misconception about WordPress and PHP Beta support.
        Wordpress is compatible with PHP8.4 (and even 8.5) but marks beta because of them waiting for at least 10% users to run it. This is because plugin makers are the lowest common denominator. As of more that 10% users they are rather sure plugins did addapt.

        So the point is not to wait till WordPress says (no longer beta), but to adapt to PHP standards.

        I got the same reply from your support that is why I wanted to point it out. The result is the same but the philosophy is the opposite.

        Reply

        • Thanks! We understand the need to adapt WPML to new standards, which is why we always strive for full compatibility before WordPress announces its own.

          Reply

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