[Resolved] Beaver Builder HTML translations get incorrectly filtered; should remain original

Thanks for the detailed analysis — you’re right that the <br> tags are already present in wp_icl_string_translations. That confirms the formatting happens when the content is saved through the Classic Translation Editor, not later during rendering.

However, this is expected behavior. Classic does not store raw code; it stores translated strings as formatted WordPress content. When HTML, comments, or shortcodes are pasted into Classic, WordPress normalizes line breaks, which results in <br> being inserted. The table is therefore storing exactly what Classic produced.

Because of this, Classic cannot guarantee preservation of raw HTML or shortcode blocks with original newlines. This isn’t a database issue or a regression — it’s a limitation of using a text-based translation editor for code-like content.

If the content must remain exact, it needs to be handled outside the Classic editor (e.g. editing the translated page directly in Beaver Builder, duplicating instead of translating, or using the Advanced Translation Editor, which handles builder data differently).

Since you mentioned previously that Advanced Translation Editor isn’t an option for you, the safest workaround is to duplicate the page and translate it directly in Beaver Builder, rather than using the Classic Translation Editor for this content. This avoids WordPress formatting filters entirely and preserves the HTML exactly.

If the WPML Classic Editor must be used, the only reliable alternative is to remove all line breaks and store the content as a single line, as any newline entered into Classic will be normalized into <br>. For example:

[dealer_map_top]<!-- GERMANY -->[dealer_marker ...][dealer_marker ...][dealer_map_bottom]

Use <!-- --> comments sparingly or remove them
Warnings for this method:
-Very hard to read and maintain
-One accidental newline reintroduces the problem
-Not recommended long-term, but technically valid

Unfortunately, Classic Editor cannot preserve raw HTML or code-like content with original formatting, and this cannot be changed at the database or editor level.

Thanks for explaining your view — I understand why using the Code tab makes this behavior unexpected.

However, even in Code view, the Classic Translation Editor stores content as translation strings, not protected raw code. The Code tab only affects how the field is displayed in the editor; it does not bypass the processing that occurs when the translation is saved. That’s why the <br> tags are already present in wp_icl_string_translations.

While this may have appeared to work differently in the past, Classic has never guaranteed preservation of newline-sensitive code blocks. This behavior is expected and cannot be changed at the database or editor level.

At this point, the available options remain the workarounds already outlined (duplicating and editing in Beaver Builder, isolating the content, or formatting without line breaks). Unfortunately, Classic cannot reliably preserve this type of code content by design.

I have marked this entire ticket as private to make sure no private content from this discussion is reused going forward.

Thank you for your detailed explanations and patience.

To make sure we’re giving you a completely accurate answer, I’ve escalated this to our 2nd tier/dev team so they can take a closer look. I want to verify internally whether this behavior is expected under Classic or if there’s something we’re overlooking.

We’re definitely not trying to sidestep your concern — quite the opposite. I want to make sure we review this thoroughly and give you a confident, well-confirmed response. I’ll update you as soon as I hear back.

That reply has been marked as private. Our development team highly encourages switching to the Advanced Translation Editor, and I explained that was not an option for your site. In order to further troubleshoot to see what is expected behaviour from the classic editor, I will need a copy of your site or a migration of your site. You can use the Duplicator plugin to create a copy, or I can set up a cloudways server site and we can migrate a copy of your site there if that's possible. Just let me know and I will send instructions if you prefer the migration. Otherwise, I have marked the next reply as private so that you can share the Duplicator files and credentials that we can log in to the duplicated site with.

Thanks — I followed your suggested approach on a clean sandbox (single Beaver Builder page, shortcodes separated by newlines, translated via Classic).

I can confirm the behavior: the translated string stored in wp_icl_string_translations contains <br> between shortcode lines (e.g. [dealer_map_top]<br>[products …]<br>…) rather than preserving newline characters as entered. So yes, we were able to reproduce what you’re seeing, and it occurs at the time the Classic translation is saved.

I’ve added these reproduction details to the escalation so our 2nd tier/dev team can confirm whether this is expected behavior for Classic or if there’s a path to store these fields without newline normalization. I will update here as soon as I have more information.