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Updated
October 2, 2023

The WordPress default editor is called Gutenberg or the Block Editor. WPML is fully compatible with Gutenberg, making it easy to translate content built with it.

Using the Gutenberg Block Editor on Multilingual Sites

With Gutenberg, you use elements called blocks to build content visually.

Building page with Gutenberg blocks

Check out this WordPress Gutenberg tutorial for more information on how to build a site using the Gutenberg editor.

The following video shows how simple it is to translate a specific page yourself using the Advanced Translation Editor:

Translating Content Created Using Gutenberg

Creating content with Gutenberg is easy, and WPML offers several options to translate it:

Getting Started

First, you need to install the main WPML core plugin, which contains the Translation Management feature. This feature is only available for WPML Multilingual CMS and WPML Multilingual Agency accounts.

If you have the WPML Multilingual Blog account, you can only translate your content using manual translation.

Translating Your Whole Site Automatically

WPML allows you to translate your entire site automatically using the Translate Everything Automatically mode. This includes posts, pages, and custom post types created with Gutenberg, and any taxonomy terms assigned to them.

To enable Translate Everything Automatically, you can either choose it when going through the setup wizard, or choose it from WPMLSettings. You can also choose if you want to review the translations before or after you publish them.

Choosing Translate Everything Automatically in the Setup Wizard

Choosing Translate Everything Automatically in WPML → Settings

Once you select it, WPML immediately starts translating your content. You can monitor the progress on the Translation Management Dashboard.

Viewing the status of your automatic translations

Sending Content for Translation

From the WPML Translation Management page, you can send content for automatic translation in bulk or for translation to your own local translators or a translation service.

Automatic Translation in Bulk

Before sending your content for automatic translation, make sure you are signed up for pay-as-you-go or have assigned translation credits to your site.

From the Translation Management Dashboard, select a group of pages or posts you want to translate and the languages you want to translate them into.

Then, select the Translate automatically option and click on the Start translating button.

Sending multiple posts and pages for automatic translation

You or your site’s translators can then review the automatic translations by going to WPML → Translations.

Assigning Translations to a Translator

To assign content for translation from your Translation Management Dashboard:

  1. Select the content to send for translation.
  2. Select the languages you want to translate the content into.
  3. Choose the Assign to a translator option. If you’re the only translator on the site, click the button to Translate selected content. You can then go to WPMLTranslations to translate it. If there are other translators on the site or you use a professional translation service, click Add to Translation Basket.
Choosing the pages you want to send for translation
  1. Go to the Translation Basket tab and click Send all items for translation.
Sending translation jobs to translators

That’s it! When translators finish the job, it will be available in your site.

At any time, you can check if there are finished translations and apply them to your site. To do this, go to the WPML Translation Management page and click the Check status and get translations button.

Translating the Content Yourself

If you are the site’s only translator you can start translating any page in two ways:

The plus icon in the Language box when editing a page

The plus icon located under the flag in Pages → All pages

In both cases, clicking on the plus icon takes you to the Advanced Translation Editor, where you’ll see the translations automatically filled in. You can review and accept the automatic translations. If you prefer to translate by yourself, you can click the Undo translation button. This also gives you back the translation credits.

Translating content using WPML’s Advanced Translation Editor

Manual Translation

If you have the WPML Multilingual Blog account, you don’t have access to the Translation Management feature that allows you to send content for translation or use the Advanced Translation Editor.

In this case, you can only use manual translation for your Gutenberg-designed content:

  1. Create or edit the page in the default language.
  2. Click the plus button in the Language section of the Gutenberg editor’s sidebar.
  3. Recreate the same page in the secondary language.
Creating the page again in the secondary language

Translating Reusable Blocks

WordPress Block Editor allows you to save any content block and reuse it later in other pages. WPML allows you to easily translate these reusable blocks.