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Updated
January 23, 2024

Google Translate can automatically translate your WordPress site to over 130 languages. With WPML, you can complete this process in just a few minutes. 

Google Translate is included in the pricing for WPML, so for small and medium websites – automatic translation is free. For bigger sites, WPML offers convenient and affordable plans.

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Why use Google Translate with WPML?

Google Translate is a cost-effective way to translate a website, which is why many WordPress users choose it as their preferred translation engine. 

When using Google Translate, you can expect:

  • Access to any language you need
  • Near instant automatic translation
  • Affordable pricing

As you can imagine, access to these features can make website translation considerably easier – which is why we included all of them (and more) in WPML. 

When translating with WPML, you get full access to all Google Translate capabilities, plus unique features that simplify your translation process: 

  • No API Keys – enjoy direct access to Google Translate, right within your WordPress admin dashboard. 
  • Consistent Translations – WPML’s Glossary helps you get translations that match your site’s terminology.
  • Translation Memory – Avoid paying twice for words you already translated. 
  • Complete Localization – WPML translates everything in the site and not only texts visible on the front-end (email content, validation messages, checkout process, user account, and more).
  • Free Translation Credits – Automatically translate your site with automatic translation credits, included for free in WPML plans. 
  • SEO Optimized Translations – WPML translates URLs and metadata and sets hreflang links for excellent SEO with no effort by you.

Finally, WPML is compatible with hundreds of plugins and themes, ensuring seamless integration with the tools you already use on your site. 

Visit our compatible Plugins and Themes directories for the full list of compatibility partners.

How to Translate your WordPress Site with Google Translate and WPML

To translate your WordPress site with Google Translate and WPML, you need the WPML CMS or Agency plan. You can learn more about WPML plans on our pricing page

1. Choose Languages for Translation

Before you can automatically translate your website, you need to decide which languages you want to add. If you haven’t decided yet, consider –

  • Who’s your target audience?
  • Where do they live?
  • What languages do they speak?

Remember that Google Translate is capable of translating your site into any language. And with WPML, there’s no limit to how many languages you can add. 

If you haven’t yet decided which languages you want to translate your site into, start by choosing your most important ones. WPML lets you add (or remove) languages at any moment, so you can always add more later.

To learn more about adding languages with WPML, visit our Language Setup guide.

2. Translate Everything or Specific Content

WPML offers two ways to translate your website: Translate Everything Automatically – or, Translate What You Choose.

Translation mode

With Translate Everything Automatically, WPML sends all your website content to Google Translate, which will automatically translate it into your chosen languages.

How long does automatic translation take?

The translation time depends on the amount of content you have. It usually takes a few minutes to complete a full site translation. If you have a big site, it may take slightly longer. 

With Translate What You Choose, WPML will only send the content you specify to Google Translate. 

For instance, if you have a big site, or simply don’t want to translate all your pages, you can use this option to send only specific content for automatic translation. The rest of your site won’t be translated and will appear in your default language. 

In both options, WPML lets you translate all content on your website, including: 

  • Pages and posts
  • Custom post types
  • Custom fields (native WordPress, ACF or others)
  • Forms
  • Menus
  • Taxonomies
  • Images
  • WooCommerce products
  • Page-builder designs (Elementor, Divi, Avada, …)
  • and anything else you’re using…

3. Review Translations

Google Translate is great for translating your entire site at a good quality. To make sure that translations are perfect, WPML lets you review and edit the automated translations. You can review the translations yourself or invite others to review.

The review starts on the front-end, where you can see how translations will look, before publishing them.

Translation review front end editor

If translations are ok, you publish them by clicking the Accept this translation button. If you want to make changes to your translations, you can edit them in WPML’s Advanced Translation Editor

WPML Advanced Translation Editor

Reviewing translations yourself is useful when you’re fluent in the language you’re translating into. For languages that you aren’t, or simply don’t have time to review, you can add new users to your site and let them review your translations. 

To protect your site, WPML only shares the specific content you want to be reviewed. This limits the access reviewers receive to your WordPress site, and makes sure private information is out of reach.

The Cost of Using Google Translate with WPML

When you buy WPML, you receive a free package of translation credits. This lets you automatically translate an average website – at no additional cost.

Both the CMS and Agency plans include the necessary credits needed to add 2-3 languages. So if you run an average size website, automatically translating it with Google Translate and WPML is free.

Need more credits than what’s included in your WPML plan? Use our automatic translation cost calculator to find how much your additional credits will cost. 

On average, translating one word to one language with Google costs $0.0015. For comparison, a human translator charges on average $0.15 for one word. For the cost of translating one page manually, you can translate a whole book with Google.

Translating with WPML

Every year, WPML helps thousands of WordPress websites translate their content. In 2023 alone, WPML translated over 2.5 billion words with Google Translate! 

For reference, Google Translate accounts for just 14% of the total number of words WPML automatically translates every year – over 18 billion.

Top languages WPML translates

Whether you want to enter a new international market, or simply add a new language to your website – WPML has you covered.  

Get Started with Google Translate & WPML

Automatically translating your website with Google Translate and WPML is easy and fast. With native support for Google Translate and powerful features to assist your translation process, WPML can help you automatically translate your site with ease – and at an affordable budget.  

As the leading plugin for translating WordPress sites, WPML is the go-to solution for over a million websites. 

To start using Google Translate in WPML, you need the WPML CMS or Agency plan. If you already have WPML – you can get started straight away. For specific instructions on using the automatic translation feature, follow our automatic translation guide

If you don’t yet have WPML, visit our pricing page to find the right plan for your website. You can also reach out to our pre-sales team if you have any questions – we’ll be happy to help!

Considering other translation engines?

For the most accurate machine translation, use DeepL 
For the most affordable machine translation, use Microsoft Azure