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

Problem:
The client reported that links with '/en' still appeared in the sitemap even though these pages were supposed to be deleted. Additionally, upon deleting the English version of a page, the language switcher button disappeared, which normally would redirect users to the homepage if a translation in the selected language was not available.
Solution:
1. We confirmed that the translations existed and were not technically incorrect. To remove unwanted pages from the sitemap, the client should delete the posts in the secondary language from the WordPress admin, similar to how they would in the default language.
2. To address the missing language switcher button, the client needs to enable the option in WPML to redirect missing translations to the homepage. This setting is found under WPML > Languages.
3. For the issue with redirects, it was suggested to use more unique slugs for each language version of the pages to avoid conflicts, as using identical slugs in different languages can cause issues with WordPress and the server.

If this solution does not resolve your issue, or if it seems outdated or irrelevant to your specific case, we highly recommend checking related known issues at https://wpml.org/known-issues/, verifying the version of the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 further assistance is needed, please open a new support ticket at WPML support forum.

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This topic contains 6 replies, has 0 voices.

Last updated by Kethan sriram 3 days, 8 hours ago.

Assisted by: Dražen.

Author Posts
May 5, 2026 at 5:57 am #18012279

Kethan sriram

Hello,
Thank you for assistance in this matter, but the links with /en still exist in sitemap of the website.
if these links no longer exist how do they still end up in the sitemap.
please clarify on this matter

regards
Kethan

May 5, 2026 at 6:01 am #18012283

Dražen
Supporter

Languages: English (English )

Timezone: Europe/Zagreb (GMT+02:00)

Hello,

I checked this further and the translations actually do exist, and the posts are already translated. So there is nothing technically wrong here.

If you don’t want these pages to appear, you can simply go to your WordPress admin and delete those posts in the secondary language, the same way you would delete them in the default language.

Video: hidden link

English posts: hidden link

Let me know if anything is unclear.

Regards,
Drazen

May 7, 2026 at 10:17 am #18019901

Kethan sriram

Hello,

Thank you for your input. This could potentially solve our issues, let me test these out on one or two links and will get back to you shortly

regards,
Kethan

May 7, 2026 at 10:54 am #18020022

Dražen
Supporter

Languages: English (English )

Timezone: Europe/Zagreb (GMT+02:00)

Hello,

Sounds good, please test it on a few links and let me know how it goes.

Regards,
Drazen

May 8, 2026 at 2:18 pm #18023296

Kethan sriram

So i tested this but as soon as i delete the english version the language switcher button doesn't exist anymore, in normal cases when there isn't an english translation for chinese pages it just takes us to the home page but in this case the switcher is missing.

is there a way to still keep the language switcher button in the page

May 8, 2026 at 2:46 pm #18023359

Kethan sriram

Also right now the slugs with /en/ redirects to the chinese version,incase we translate all the chinese pages in English would the redirect still exist?

May 11, 2026 at 6:04 am #18025726

Dražen
Supporter

Languages: English (English )

Timezone: Europe/Zagreb (GMT+02:00)

Hello,

thanks for getting back.

1) You do not have enabled option to show and lead the missing translation to homepage. You need to enable it from WPML > Languages. Image attached.

2) As for redirects most likely it is because you are using complete same slugs in both languages so it causes issue with WordPress and server, you should use a bit more unique slugs and it should work. For example I add here nn at the end, you can add en or similar and it works fine then.

- hidden link

Regards,
Drazen

Languages-‹-Enspyre-—-WordPress-05-11-2026_08_00_AM.jpg
May 11, 2026 at 12:16 pm #18027468

Kethan sriram

Thank you for your assistance so far. This will help us clean up many bad links across the site.