uninstall WPML

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

Problem:
The client wanted to uninstall WPML from their site as they no longer needed the English language. Despite removing WPML, elements in English and some errors remained.
Solution:
We advised the client to follow the steps outlined in our documentation to fully remove WPML and its data. This process involves more than just disabling the plugin; it requires a reset to remove all translated content and settings. The documentation can be found here: WPML Reset Documentation.
After further investigation, it was discovered that taxonomies were not being deleted due to a known issue, which requires manual removal. More details on this issue can be found here: Known Issue on Taxonomies.

If this solution does not resolve your issue, or if it seems outdated or irrelevant to your specific case, we highly recommend checking related known issues at https://wpml.org/known-issues/, verifying the version of the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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Tagged: Exception

This topic contains 9 replies, has 2 voices.

Last updated by Mihai Apetrei 5 months, 2 weeks ago.

Assisted by: Mihai Apetrei.

Author	Posts
October 10, 2024 at 8:32 am #16273458
danielaH-13	Background of the issue: I would like to uninstall WPML from my site as I no longer need the English language. The technical person removed it from the test version of the site, but I see that many things remain in English. The site I need help with is hidden link. Symptoms: There are also a few errors and bugs. Questions: How can I completely uninstall WPML from my site? Why are there still elements in English after removing WPML?
October 10, 2024 at 12:19 pm #16274954
Mihai Apetrei Supporter Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Europe/Bucharest (GMT+03:00)	Hi there. To fully remove content that was translated with WPML, to fully remove the WPML settings and correctly reset everything, you will need to follow the exact steps from this documentation that we have at the URL below: - https://wpml.org/documentation/getting-started-guide/language-setup/deleting-languages-and-plugin-data-by-doing-a-wpml-reset-on-your-site/ Just disabling WPML and removing it from the site won't remove the data. I hope that you will find this information helpful. Mihai Apetrei
October 16, 2024 at 9:06 am #16294262
danielaH-13	Hello, A test environment has been created for the site perfume-echoes.fr, which is available at the following address: hidden link In the test environment, it is not possible to delete the English translations made for the WPML plugin. I tried following the steps from the following address: https://wpml.org/documentation/getting-started-guide/language-setup/deleting-languages-and-plugin-data-by-doing-a-wpml-reset-on-your-site/ I kindly ask you to check and provide more information regarding the issue on how to correctly remove the additional languages and the plugin. How can I send you send you the acces in private ?
October 17, 2024 at 9:30 pm #16302107
Mihai Apetrei Supporter Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Europe/Bucharest (GMT+03:00)	Hi there. Thank you for the update. I would like to request temporary access (wp-admin and FTP) to your site so I can better examine the issue. The needed fields are below the comment area. When you log in to leave your next reply, the information you enter is private, meaning only you and I can see and access it. Our Debugging Procedures I will check various settings in the backend to see if the issue can be resolved. Although I won't be making changes that affect the live site, it is still good practice to back up the site before providing us access. In the event that we do need to debug the site further, I will duplicate it and work in a separate, local development environment to avoid affecting the live site. Privacy and Security Policy We have strict policies regarding privacy and access to your information. Please see: https://wpml.org/purchase/support-policy/privacy-and-security-when-providing-debug-information-for-support/ IMPORTANT - Please back up the site files and database before providing us access. If you do not see the wp-admin/FTP fields, your post and website login details will be made PUBLIC. DO NOT post your website details unless you see the required wp-admin/FTP fields. If you do not, please ask me to enable the private box. The private box looks like this: hidden link I will be waiting for your response. Mihai
October 18, 2024 at 9:14 pm #16306543
Mihai Apetrei Supporter Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Europe/Bucharest (GMT+03:00)	Hi, and thank you for the credentials, Daniela. I can confirm that I was able to log in successfully. I am spending more time on this and will get back to you as soon as I have more feedback. I will leave the ticket assigned to myself for now. PS: If I don't have any updates to share in the upcoming 2 hours, please note that I won't be working over the weekend, but I will be able to get back to you at the beginning of next week. Mihai
October 21, 2024 at 10:36 pm #16314570
Mihai Apetrei Supporter Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Europe/Bucharest (GMT+03:00)	Hi there, and thank you for your patience. Also, I am sorry for the delay in responding. There has been a weekend, and most of us do not work on weekends. I could see and reproduce the issue in the staging environment throughout my investigation. There's a good amount of English content, so there's a chance the wizard fails because it reaches server memory resources or specific server limits. To help troubleshoot the issue further, I would like to replicate your website on a local environment. Before proceeding, I will need your written approval to duplicate your site using a plugin called "Duplicator" and test it on a testing environment. Could you please confirm if this is acceptable to you? Please create a full backup of your website before responding. Once the issue is resolved, the duplicate site will be deleted. I will be waiting for your response.
October 22, 2024 at 10:32 am #16316510
danielaH-13	Hello, We created a backup for our website and I'm Ok for duplicating my site. Thanks Daniela
October 22, 2024 at 10:26 pm #16319506
Mihai Apetrei Supporter Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Europe/Bucharest (GMT+03:00)	Thank you for the confirmation, Daniela. I will get back to you when I have updates on this.
October 23, 2024 at 10:07 pm #16323711
Mihai Apetrei Supporter Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Europe/Bucharest (GMT+03:00)	Hi there. I wanted to let you know that I'm still investigating this matter. As I promised: I will get back to you as soon as I have updates.
October 28, 2024 at 4:10 pm #16338821
Mihai Apetrei Supporter Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Europe/Bucharest (GMT+03:00)	Hi there, and thank you for your extraordinary patience, Daniela. After much testing and checking in with the developer's department, I came to some conclusions I would like to share with you. After migrating the site to a local environment and disabling all the other plugins except WPML (and switching to a default WordPress theme), I was able to remove all the translated content except taxonomies. However, we have an issue at the moment (which is known by our developers and they are working on it currently) where taxonomies need to be removed manually: https://wpml.org/errata/taxonomies-are-not-deleted-with-the-delete-content-from-database-option/ You will see two screenshots: one from my local and one showing how far I've gotten on the dev site you shared. But I think the active plugins from the dev site (and possibly the active theme) are stopping WPML from completely removing all the content. I hope that you will find this information helpful.