introductory page with languages to redirect users

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

Problem:
The client is planning to create an introductory page where site visitors can choose either English or German, and then be redirected to the respective language version of the site. They are also concerned about whether this setup will affect the SEO of their multilingual website.
Solution:
We recommend using the built-in features of WPML for language redirection, so there is no need to purchase an additional plugin. You can set up a language directory by following the instructions here: Setting up a language directory.
Additionally, we confirm that using WPML for this purpose will not negatively impact your website's SEO.

Please note that this solution might be irrelevant if it's outdated or not applicable to your specific case.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 you still encounter issues, 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.

This topic is split from https://wpml.org/forums/topic/faq-english-to-german-translation-issue/

Tagged: Documentation request

This topic contains 4 replies, has 0 voices.

Last updated by Quick Easy 1 week, 1 day ago.

Assisted by: Kor.

Author	Posts
January 9, 2026 at 9:34 am #17715369
Quick Easy	We're planning to have an introductory page where the site visitor can choose either English or German and will be redirected to the said language site. Does this WPML have that option? or we have to purchase any suitable plugin for this. If yes which plugin best suited for this Also, this shouldn't affect SEO
January 9, 2026 at 10:06 am #17715487
Kor WPML Supporter since 08/2022 Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Asia/Singapore (GMT+08:00)	Thanks for your patience. You don’t need a third-party plugin to achieve this, as this feature is already built into WPML. You can follow the instructions here to set up a language directory: https://wpml.org/documentation/getting-started-guide/language-setup/directory-default-language/
January 9, 2026 at 10:44 am #17715574
Quick Easy	Thank you for your support. I believe this setup will not affect the SEO of the multilingual website.
January 9, 2026 at 10:45 am #17715575
Kor WPML Supporter since 08/2022 Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Asia/Singapore (GMT+08:00)	Thanks for your reply. Correct, it will not affect your Website SEO.
January 13, 2026 at 3:05 am #17723484
Quick Easy	Hi Kor I have one issue in Language switcher. Can you create new ticket for this. My issue is: I have already created a language landing page in HTML (hidden link). After selecting a language (e.g., English - hidden link), the next time the website directly redirects to the previously selected language (hidden link) and does not prompt the user to select the language again. Can I save this preference using cookies?