Problem: The client reported that Google only indexes the English pages of their multilingual site, even when manually indexing other languages. The '/EN/' slug appears despite other languages being set up, and WPML is configured correctly.
Solution: We recommended the following steps to address the issue: 1. Ensure the WPML SEO Add-on is active by checking under Plugins → Installed Plugins. If not present, install and activate it from Plugins → Add New → Commercial tab. 2. Verify the presence and correctness of 'hreflang' tags on translated pages by viewing the page source and searching for 'hreflang'. 3. Check the WPML's Language URL format under WPML → Languages and ensure 'Different languages in directories' is selected. 4. Disable the Browser Language Redirect temporarily under WPML → Languages to avoid confusion during indexing. 5. Re-save permalinks under Settings → Permalinks and re-submit sitemaps in Google Search Console.
Additionally, we advised against using the Browser Language Redirect feature as it does not distinguish between users and search engine bots, which can affect SEO and indexing. This is documented in our guides:
If these steps do not resolve the issue or if the information seems outdated, we highly recommend opening a new support ticket. Also, check related known issues at https://wpml.org/known-issues/, verify the version of the permanent fix, and confirm that you have installed the latest versions of themes and plugins. For further assistance, please visit our support forum.
Problem: The client is experiencing issues with the visibility of Footer Style 2 and difficulties in translating menus manually in different languages. Solution: 1. We have ensured that the header, footer, and contact form on the homepage are translated. We recommend the client to double-check these elements to confirm their translation. 2. To translate menus, follow the steps in our quick guide on translating menus. It's important to note that the translation seen in secondary languages might be related to the page titles included in the menu, not the menu items themselves. 3. To edit translated menus, navigate to Appearance -> Menus, select a menu, and click on the pencil icon to edit the menus in their corresponding language. 4. You do not need to create and translate the menus manually for each language. Menus can be automatically translated using the synchronization option, but manual edits can be made if specific adjustments are needed.
If this solution does not resolve your issue or seems outdated, 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 further assistance is needed, please open a new support ticket.
Problem: If you're experiencing issues where the original colors of elements are replaced with different colors after translating your website using WPML, this might be due to the theme's custom elements not being registered correctly for translation. Solution: We recommend adding the following CSS code in the Appearance -> Additional CSS section to fix the color of the specific element:
Additionally, to prevent this issue in the future, ensure that the theme authors register their custom elements for translation by following the steps described in our documentation: Registering Custom Elementor Widgets for Translation.
If this solution does not apply to your case, or if it seems outdated, 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 further assistance is needed, please open a new support ticket at WPML support forum.
Problem: When switching to English, all texts remain in German, and the header is not visible. Solution: If you're experiencing issues with texts not translating and headers disappearing when switching languages, it's likely due to unregistered Elementor widgets. We recommend registering your custom Elementor widgets for translation. You can learn how to do this by following our guide on registering page builder widgets.
We have registered the elements in your header and footer, and they should now appear correctly translated. If you encounter untranslated content on other posts or pages, you should contact the theme authors to ensure they register the custom elements they created. You can refer them to the same guide.
Additionally, you can add the necessary XML code for registration in WPML -> Settings -> Custom XML Configuration tab as outlined in the guide.
If this solution does not resolve your issue, or if it seems outdated or irrelevant to your 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 problems persist, please open a new support ticket.
Problem: The client reported issues with incorrect translations in the menu across all languages and problems with the placement and visibility of the language switcher, especially on mobile devices. Additionally, the flags added to the menu were causing the header to shift, and there were discrepancies in media visibility across different languages. Solution: 1) We corrected the menu translations. The client needs to manually edit the translated menus to include translations for specific strings like 'About Us'. 2) For the language switcher issues, we recommended checking the guide on language switchers to learn about adding them in different locations. 3) To address the footer not being translated, the client should navigate to Footer-> All Footers in their site's admin area and translate the footer. 4) For media not appearing correctly in other languages, we advised going to WPML-> Media Translation and referred the client to the media translation guide.
If this solution does not resolve your issues or seems outdated, we highly recommend checking related 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.
Problem: The client reported that the contact form is not available in any language and there are issues with some images not being properly integrated into the page. Solution: If you're experiencing issues with your contact form not appearing in different languages, we recommend that you go to WPML-> Translation Dashboard, select the form, and send it for translation. For detailed guidance on translating forms, please refer to this guide.
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 problem persists, please open a new support ticket.
Problem: After switching the WPML setup to use a directory for the default language (/de/), the homepage content partially disappeared. The header, main navigation menu, and all Elementor images and sections are missing on the German homepage, affecting the SEO as Google now sees /de/ as the canonical homepage. Solution: The issue might have occurred due to the site's rewrite base changing when the default language directory was updated, causing some URLs, especially those in Elementor's internal data, to retain the old path. To fix this, you can use the following command if your site runs on WordPress with WP-CLI installed:
If WP-CLI is not available, consider using a plugin like Better Search Replace. Always ensure to back up your site fully before running these commands.
If this solution does not apply to your case, or if it seems outdated, we recommend opening a new support ticket. We also 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. For further assistance, please visit our support forum at WPML Support Forum.
Problem: The client is using WPML with a custom theme (Nexis) and Elementor on their website. They are facing issues with language flags not displaying correctly on the Home and Contact pages in the German version and missing on all English pages. The flags appear correctly on other pages like 'Services' or 'Recruiting'. The sticky header displays the flags as expected. Solution: We recommended ensuring that the header templates used for the homepage or the contact page are fully translated. We advised following the method outlined in the WPML documentation for Elementor compatibility, which can be found here: https://wpml.org/documentation/plugins-compatibility/elementor/.
If this solution does not resolve the issue or seems irrelevant due to being outdated or not applicable to your 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 problems persist, please do not hesitate to open a new support ticket for further assistance at our support forum.
Problem: The client was using the WPML plugin for automatic translation on their website. After an update, the website's appearance was compromised: gibberish text appeared, the header disappeared, and the logo and language flags were no longer visible. Solution: We recommended checking the website's backend to identify any broken image issues or incorrect configurations. We suggested providing temporary access (WP-Admin and FTP) to a test site where the problem has been replicated to allow for thorough troubleshooting. It's crucial to ensure that the site is backed up before making any changes to prevent data loss. We recommended using the UpdraftPlus plugin for backup purposes. Additionally, we split the ticket to address the specific request of moving the language switcher next to the search icon, which can be followed up on this link.
If this solution does not resolve your issue, or if it seems outdated or irrelevant to your 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 further assistance is needed, please open a new support ticket.
