Skip Navigation

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

Problem:
If you're experiencing issues where switching to the Arabic version of your website results in a broken layout or rendering, it might not be related to RTL formatting but could be more severe.
Solution:
We recommend following these steps to diagnose the issue:
1. Ensure you create a full site backup before proceeding.
2. Activate the debug mode on your WordPress site. You can find guidance on how to do this here: Debugging in WordPress.
3. Visit any page in Arabic that is showing the error.
4. Check the

debug.log

file in the wp-content folder for any Fatal Error messages and share these details.

If these steps do not resolve the issue or if the solution seems outdated or irrelevant to your case, we highly recommend checking related known issues at WPML Known Issues, verifying the version of the permanent fix, and confirming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.

This is the technical support forum for WPML - the multilingual WordPress plugin.

Everyone can read, but only WPML clients can post here. WPML team is replying on the forum 6 days per week, 22 hours per day.

Tagged: 

This topic contains 1 reply, has 0 voices.

Last updated by Carlos Rojas 2 weeks, 5 days ago.

Assisted by: Carlos Rojas.

Author Posts
May 26, 2025 at 10:33 am #17072308

matthiasM-36

Background of the issue:
I'm currently facing a critical issue with the Arabic version of our website. All other languages and their translations are functioning perfectly, and the Arabic version was working correctly during the translation process. However, the following day, switching to Arabic results in a completely broken website. This does not appear to be an RTL (right-to-left) formatting issue — it seems to be something more severe affecting the layout or rendering. The website is live, and this issue is impacting usability. Default English version: hidden link. You can test other languages via the language selector in the navigation bar.

Symptoms:
Switching to Arabic results in a completely broken website, affecting layout or rendering.

Questions:
What could be causing the Arabic version of the website to break?
How can I resolve the issue with the Arabic translation affecting the layout or rendering?

May 26, 2025 at 10:53 am #17072681

Carlos Rojas
WPML Supporter since 03/2017

Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español )

Timezone: Europe/Madrid (GMT+02:00)

Hello,
Thank you for contacting us

Please follow these steps to get more information about the issue:
- Create a full site backup
- Activate the debug mode as described in this guide: https://developer.wordpress.org/advanced-administration/debug/debug-wordpress/
- Visit any page in Arabic throwing the error
- Share the last Fatal Error message in the debug.log file located within the wp-content folder

Looking forward to your message.
Regards,
Carlos