404 Errors for Multilingual Pages and Capitalisation Issues on WordPress Website

This thread is resolved. Here is a description of the problem and solution.

Problem:
The client is experiencing 404 errors on their multilingual WordPress site managed with WPML. These errors are reported in Google Search Console and include pages in different languages that seem to be improperly generated or missing. The client also noted issues with URLs due to case sensitivity.
Solution:
We reviewed the sitemaps and confirmed that the problematic URLs provided by the client do not appear in the sitemaps, indicating that the issue might not be related to WPML. We suggest asking Google to recrawl the site to address the 404 errors showing in the Google Search Console. Additionally, we recommend following Google's methods for fixing 404 errors, which can be found here: Fixing 404 Errors on Google.

If this solution does not resolve the issue or seems irrelevant due to being outdated or not applicable to your specific case, we highly recommend checking related known issues at WPML Known Issues, verifying the version of the permanent fix, and confirming that you have installed the latest versions of themes and plugins. If problems persist, please open a new support ticket with us for further assistance.

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Tagged: Documentation request

This topic contains 6 replies, has 3 voices.

Last updated by Itamar 3 months, 3 weeks ago.

Assisted by: Itamar.

Author	Posts
August 27, 2024 at 9:07 pm #16112176
borislavM	Background of the issue: I am dealing with several issues on my WordPress website, which uses WPML. I have encountered a significant number of 404 errors related to pages in different languages that seem to be improperly generated or missing. Following advice from my hosting provider, I also deleted the sitemap to address these issues, but the problems persist. Symptoms: Here are some examples of the 404 errors reported in Google Search Console: hidden link hidden link hidden link hidden link Additionally, I've noticed that some URLs are causing 404 errors due to case sensitivity. For example, URLs with "Характеристика" result in a 404 error, while "характеристика" works as expected. Questions: What is the root cause of these multilingual 404 errors? How can I resolve the issue with case sensitivity in URLs? What is the proper handling of sitemaps with WPML to prevent these issues? How can I configure WPML with the Houzez theme to avoid such problems in the future?
August 28, 2024 at 5:53 am #16112480
Dražen Supporter Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Europe/Zagreb (GMT+01:00)	Hello, Thanks for contacting us. While you wait for my colleague to take over the ticket, let me try to help you with the issue quickly. Can you please disable WPML plugins and check if the same issue with capital letters also happens? For example hidden link This is to check and confirm if the issue is WPML related. Let us know how it goes. Regards, Drazen
August 30, 2024 at 7:10 am #16123071
borislavM	Hello, Drazen, thank you for your reply! The issue of the capitalisation seems to persist when the plugin is disabled.
August 30, 2024 at 7:15 am #16123215
borislavM	Here is an example of the errors related to translations: Page that google find as 404: hidden link And the actual page: hidden link
September 1, 2024 at 8:12 pm #16129526
Itamar Supporter Languages: English (English ) Hebrew (עברית ) Timezone: Asia/Jerusalem (GMT+02:00)	Hi, I'll continue to help you with this issue. Thanks for trying my colleague's suggestion. Since the capitalization problem persists when WPML is disabled, it is not a problem caused by WPML. In this ticket, we will focus on the 404 and Google problems. Can you please explain to me where and how you found that Google marks hidden link as 404? If you can, please share a screenshot. Also, please let me know if you now have active sitemaps and which plugin added them. Regards, Itamar.
September 2, 2024 at 8:57 pm #16133506
borislavM	Hello, Itamar, Thank you for your reply. I am currently working on fixing SEO issues, and part of that involves addressing 404 pages, which may negatively impact the positioning of my website. As Google is the primary source of traffic to my site, I am using Google Search Console to identify problematic pages. This is how I discovered the issues. I’ve attached a screenshot from Google Search Console for your reference. Additionally, I can share the link to the list of 404 pages: hidden link — As for the sitemap, I’m using one generated by Yoast Plugin. Best Regards
September 3, 2024 at 9:20 am #16134667
Itamar Supporter Languages: English (English ) Hebrew (עברית ) Timezone: Asia/Jerusalem (GMT+02:00)	Thanks! I've just checked the sitemaps of your site. I could not find the links you gave as an example. On hidden link, I searched for hidden link, and it is not there. On hidden link, I searched for hidden link, and it is not there. So, as far as I see, there is no problem with WPML. Moreover, I can also see links to the default language in the Google search console, for example, hidden link. This link doesn't exist on the site map, so the problem with what you see in the search console is not specific to the other languages, meaning a problem with WPML. Since the sitemap seems to have been corrected now, what shows on the Google Search Console is out of our hands. You may want to ask Google to recrawl your site. This might fix the 404 links showing in the console. If this does not help, you may also want to fix the 404 links using the methods Google has explained here. hidden link Please let me know your thoughts about the above. Regards, Itamar.