I need help with syncing menus between my original language (Chinese) and the translated English ver...

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

Problem:
You need help syncing menus between your original language (Chinese) and the translated English version. After selecting the option to sync the menu to the translated language pages, the English menu is not created or updated.
Solution:
If you're experiencing this issue, we recommend you try the following steps:
1. Go to Appearance >> Menus.
2. Choose the Main Menu.
3. Click on the secondary language menu icon to open up the secondary language menu.
4. Delete the empty English language menu.
5. Sync the menus from WPML >> WP Menu Sync.
After following these steps, please check if the menu now works correctly.

This solution might be irrelevant if it's outdated or not applicable to your case.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 the issue persists, please open a new support ticket at WPML support forum.

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: Exception

This topic contains 4 replies, has 0 voices.

Last updated by chun-haoH 10 months ago.

Assisted by: Noman.

Author	Posts
September 14, 2025 at 5:02 pm #17400217
chun-haoH	Background of the issue: I need help with syncing menus between my original language (Chinese) and the translated English version. I am trying to add an English menu for my translated pages. My original language menu has already been created, and I clicked the option to sync the menu to the translation language pages. The issue can be seen here: hidden link. Symptoms: Nothing happens after I select the option to sync the menu to the translated language pages. The English menu is not created or updated. Questions: Why is the English menu not being created or updated after selecting the sync option? Is there a specific step I am missing to ensure the menu syncs correctly?
September 14, 2025 at 5:51 pm #17400271
Noman	Hi, Thank you for contacting WPML Support. To translate the menu items correctly, please follow the below steps: 1. Take a backup of your site first for safety reasons. 2. Go to WPML >> WP Menu Sync page and press the Sync button. 3. Select all the menu items and press the “Apply Changes” button. 4. Please make sure to complete the translation of custom menu links from WPML >> String Translation using the link on WP Menu Sync page as you can see in the attached screenshot. 5. After translating the custom links, go to WPML >> WP Menu Sync page and press the Sync button again. If the issue persists, please try to follow the below procedure: 1. Go to the Appearance >> Menus page. 2. Choose the header/Main menu. 3. Click on the secondary language icon to open up the secondary language menu. 4. Please make sure the menu items are translated correctly in secondary language and press the Save Menu button. Here is a doc for more details about menu translation: https://wpml.org/documentation/getting-started-guide/translating-menus/ Kindly let me know the results, Thank you
September 15, 2025 at 1:43 pm #17402622
chun-haoH	I did the things you mentioned above, but the translation menu still doesn’t appear. When I tried syncing, it seemed ineffective. Could you please directly access my backend and check the cause of the issue? Thank you.
September 15, 2025 at 2:35 pm #17402915
Noman	Thanks for trying the above steps. To take a closer look at this issue, please provide temporary access (WP-Admin and FTP Login info) to your site (preferably staging site), so that I can look into your setup and debug the issue. Your next answer will be private, meaning only you and I can access it. === Please backup your database and website === ✙ I would need your permission to deactivate and reactivate Plugins and the Theme and to change configurations on the site. This is also a reason the backup is essential. Thank you
September 15, 2025 at 3:34 pm #17403292
Noman	Thanks for providing the login details. It looks like the secondary language menu was corrupted somehow, so I followed the below steps: 1. Went to the Appearance >> Menus. 2. Choose the Main Menu. 3. Click on the secondary language menu icon to open up the secondary language menu. 4. Deleted the empty English language menu. 5. Sync the menus from WPML >> WP Menu Sync. And now it works correctly. Could you please check and confirm? Thank you for your cooperation
September 15, 2025 at 4:38 pm #17403509
chun-haoH	Yes, the problem has been resolved. I’ll make a note of the steps so that if this issue happens again in the future, I can handle it myself. Thank you very much for your assistance!