Different languages in different domains

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

Problem:
The client wants to change the default language of their multilingual website to Spanish and ensure that the domains for each language are set up correctly, while also transitioning from WPMUDEV's SEO SmartCrawl to RankMathPro for better compatibility with WPML.

Solution:
We confirmed that the client can change the default language to Spanish. After this change, the Spanish content will appear on the main domain without a language prefix (e.g.,

mallorcaguru.es/page

). Other languages will have new URL structures, such as

mallorcaguru.es/en/page

for English, or they can use their assigned domains.

This change might temporarily affect SEO visibility due to URL structure changes. We recommend consulting an SEO specialist for a deeper analysis. WPML supports mixing custom domains and subdomains for different languages, allowing configurations like:
- Spanish →

mallorcaguru.es

- Catalan →

ca.mallorcaguru.es

- German →

immobilienmallorcaportal.com

- Swedish →

fastighetermallorcaportal.com

- English →

mallorcapropertyportal.com

For more details on domain and subdomain configurations, visit our guide at https://wpml.org/documentation/getting-started-guide/language-setup/language-url-options/how-to-use-wpml-with-different-domains-per-language/

RankMath Pro is compatible with WPML for managing metadata, sitemaps, and hreflang tags for each language/domain. More information can be found here:

If this solution does not apply to your case, or if it seems outdated, we highly recommend checking related known issues at https://wpml.org/known-issues/, verifying the version of the permanent fix, and confirming that you have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 https://wpml.org/forums/forum/english-support/.

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: Documentation request

This topic contains 1 reply, has 0 voices.

Last updated by abigailT-2 4 months, 1 week ago.

Assisted by: Bruno Kos.

Author	Posts
April 14, 2025 at 12:25 pm #16929225
abigailT-2	Background of the issue: I have a website at mallorcaguru.es set up in five languages: Spanish, Catalan, German, Swedish, and English. Currently, the default language is English. All domains are hosted by WPMUDEV, routed through Cloudflare, and point to the main domain name mallorcaguru.es. They have been running in different directories. I want to change the SEO to RankMathPro as the WPMUDEV built-in SEO SmartCrawl is not very compatible with WPML. Swedish - fastighetermallorcaportal.com German - immobilienmallorcaportal.com English - mallorcapropertyportal.com Symptoms: I am concerned about changing the default language and setting up domains correctly. Questions: Can I change the default language to Spanish without problems? Can I add domains for the following languages, leaving Spanish and Catalan pointing to the original link domain name like this: ca.www.mallorcaguru.es, es.mallorcaguru.es?
April 16, 2025 at 2:02 pm #16939358
Bruno Kos WPML Supporter since 12/2018 Languages: English (English ) German (Deutsch ) French (Français ) Timezone: Europe/Zagreb (GMT+02:00)	Hi, Yes, you can change the default language to Spanish in WPML. After the change, Spanish content will appear on the main domain without a language prefix (e.g., `mallorcaguru.es/page`). Other languages will have new URL structures — for example, English pages will change from `mallorcaguru.es/page` to `mallorcaguru.es/en/page`, or their assigned domains if you're using separate ones. This change affects how URLs are structured, which can impact SEO visibility temporarily. While WPML handles language switching and links automatically, some ranking fluctuation may occur as search engines reindex the updated URLs. Please note that we’re not SEO experts, so we recommend consulting an SEO specialist if you want a deeper analysis. You can also mix custom domains and subdomains for different languages — WPML fully supports this. For example, you can use: - Spanish → `mallorcaguru.es` - Catalan → `ca.mallorcaguru.es` - German → `immobilienmallorcaportal.com` - Swedish → `fastighetermallorcaportal.com` - English → `mallorcapropertyportal.com` For details on mixing domains and subdomains, we have a guide here: https://wpml.org/documentation/getting-started-guide/language-setup/language-url-options/how-to-use-wpml-with-different-domains-per-language/#can-i-use-a-mix-of-domains-and-directories-parameters-for-example-my-main-site-is-example-com-for-italian-i-have-domain-com-it-and-for-german-domain-de As for SEO setup, RankMath Pro works well with WPML and allows you to manage metadata, sitemaps, and hreflang tags for each language/domain. You can find more information on that here: - https://wpml.org/documentation/plugins-compatibility/optimize-multilingual-websites-using-rank-math-and-wpml/ - hidden link
April 16, 2025 at 4:56 pm #16940528
abigailT-2	Hello Bruno Thank you for your help Abi