If you managed to make the copy of my website work on your server but then the solution is not working on the live server, there is a high chance the problem is due to the setup of the host, which is using a new Cloud hosting service from Bluehost.
I had problems with other plugins that had their write access to certain files blocked due to how the Bluehost Cloud hosting is setup, and they could not open it just like that, they had to submit a change request to allow for it, and that change request could take months to be processed.
So maybe we should be coordinating our efforts with the Bluehost support to figure it out?
I just talked to Bluehost support about the .htaccess file and they told me the .htaccess file applies for websites hosted on an Apache web server, where the new Cloud hosting uses a NGINX server that does not use a .htaccess file.
Thank you for your efforts. Indeed, usually in this scenario, the cause of the issue is server related. I checked again on a fresh local copy, repeated the solution, and the issue is not happening there.
Please reach out to BlueHost's support again and explain the issue you're experiencing. Make sure to clarify that the issue is only happening at the live website and that you're in touch with us. Let's see if there's something that can be done from their side.
Meanwhile, can you please setup a staging version of your website on the same server? I recommend you use WP Staging for that, it's quick and easy to use: hidden link
Please make sure to have a full website backup, before performing any of the recommendations shared here I'll wait for your feedback.
Can you be a bit more specific in terms of what I need to ask from Bluehost support? Something they need to activate or do? Some questions to ask?
For the staging site it is not an easy thing, I think they told me I cannot do staging sites because my account can only allow 1 site, and a staging site counts for 1 all by itself, so it would be over my limit
I just talked to Bluehost support and got this message from them:
So unfortunately, it looks like WPML Multilingual CMS is not compatible with Cloud. It technically creates two sites in one file to translate it, which is considered a multi-site which is not supported here.
Any ideas what we can do here? I will keep talking to them and see what they say
I think it might be best if you try contacting Bluehost support to ask them more specifically about their new Bluehost Cloud hosting plans and see if there is some way of making WPML work on it.
They say a plugin developer will need to know their Cloud hosting usese Nginx servers with no .htaccess.
Try calling Bluehost Cloud support if you want to ask them directly specific questions. Their US number is 844-206-2096
There's not much I can recommend you to ask from Bluehost, besides explaining the issue. I think their answer is unrelated to the issue, it seems it's just a generic answer. If that was the case, WPML wouldn't be working at all on your website.
I cannot get in touch with Bluehost, as I'm not directly their client, and they're not an official partner from WPML.
I talked to my colleagues and there are a few things I still want to check on your live website, as they recommended. I tried login in again, but the login link wasn't working like previously, I could not access the Back End. Can you please verify?
Hi I thought you were done with the login link so I cloaked it to avoid getting spam signups. But since you need it I opened it again.
I kind of agree with you that Bluehost support is not understanding the full situation, but they also cannot go much further on their own without more specific comments from your side on what you want them to check on or do.
Hopefully whatever you had on your mind will do the trick. Right now the menu bar kind of works, the first few times I try translating a page it works, but then after a few times it stops working and redirects to the home page. Let's see what you come up with.
I just posted a new post today and noticed that apart from the usual problem, it did not translate the category correctly for the Italian and the Greek translations. Not sure why, maybe related to the ongoing problem? It is strange though because the other newly translated posts at least had the correct category.
From our side, we checked and did everything possible to try and fix the issue. I created another copy, on a live server, so you can check that it's working in other environments (it's a slow server, but you can check that the language switcher works): hidden link
Unfortunately, there's nothing more we can do, apart from recommending you to reach out again to your hosting support, or changing servers. I hope you understand the situation and apologize for the experience you had with WPML on your server.
Changing server is not really an option right now. Could it have something to do with the built in CDN of the new host?
Since I cannot change server, my only alternative might be to change language translation plugin unfortunately. What is the simplest way of deactivating WPML but not losing all the translations I have done so far?
We have no information that indicates that the issue is CDN related. That's the problem, from our side there's not much to check or do, since the error happens on the server and not on the client side.
If you deactivate WPML, your translations will still be saved in your DB. If you want to export the translated content, there are many ways to do that, suited to different scenarios.
