unstable URLs/permalinks on a multilingual WordPress website using WPML - WPML

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Last updated by szymonB-4 2 days, 21 hours ago.

Author	Posts
May 13, 2026 at 10:30 am #18032544
szymonB-4	Hello, I have a problem with unstable URLs/permalinks on a multilingual WordPress website using WPML with “Different domains per language”. Main language: * Polish → dungito.pl Secondary language: * Romanian → dungito.ro I previously used Automatic Translation (ATE) in WPML for: * posts, * pages, * custom post type job listings. Later I disabled automatic translation and switched back to the normal/manual editor for these content types. Since then, I have experienced unstable URL behavior only on the Romanian version of the site. Examples: * taxonomy URLs sometimes work and sometimes return 404, * sometimes they redirect to a random/similar job offer, * after refresh the same URL may work again or fail again. Affected URLs include: * /locuri-de-munca/ * /caracteristici-oferta/ * /locatie/ * single job URLs under /oferte-de-munca/ The Polish version works correctly and stably. Important observations: * WPML translated slugs seem configured correctly, * permalink settings were flushed multiple times, * issue affects taxonomies and custom post type URLs, * issue appeared after switching away from Automatic Translation, * URLs are unstable/intermittent, not permanently broken. Could this be related to: * WPML rewrite rules, * translated taxonomy slugs, * cached permalink structures, * or previous Automatic Translation configuration? Do you have a recommended procedure to rebuild or refresh WPML rewrite/permalink structures safely without affecting existing manual translations? Thank you.
May 13, 2026 at 11:08 am #18032642
szymonB-4	After disabling redirect_canonical for RO job routes, redirects stopped, but URLs still return 404. This confirms WordPress/WPML does not resolve translated rewrite rules for job_listing taxonomies/CPT on Romanian domain.
May 13, 2026 at 11:13 am #18032680
szymonB-4	Additional observations and tests: * The issue affects all translated job-related taxonomies and CPT URLs on the Romanian domain: * /locuri-de-munca/ * /caracteristici-oferta/ * /locatie/ * /oferte-de-munca/ * The Polish domain works correctly and consistently. * Translated slugs in WPML settings appear correct: * job_listing_category → locuri-de-munca * job_listing_type → caracteristici-oferta * job_listing_location → locatie * I tested changing the Romanian taxonomy base slug temporarily to a completely different slug (for example: locuri-munca-test), but the issue persisted. * Flushing WordPress permalinks multiple times did not help. * Clearing WPML cache did not help. * Restarting PHP / OPcache did not help. * Disabling custom child theme archive link filters did not help. * The issue started after switching away from WPML Automatic Translation Editor (ATE) back to manual/classic editing for posts, pages and job listings. * I also tested disabling redirect_canonical for Romanian job routes. After disabling it, redirects stopped, but the URLs still returned 404. This suggests WordPress/WPML does not resolve translated rewrite rules correctly for Romanian CPT/taxonomy routes. Could this indicate corrupted or incomplete translated rewrite rules for CPT/taxonomies after switching away from ATE? Is there a safe way to rebuild/re-register WPML translated rewrite rules for custom post types and taxonomies without affecting existing manual translations?
May 13, 2026 at 11:25 am #18032693
szymonB-4	Since the Polish URLs work correctly and only Romanian URLs fail, I suspect the issue may be related to WPML translation records for the job taxonomies, not the slugs themselves. Could you please check whether the Romanian terms have correct language information, TRID relationships and taxonomy assignments in WPML tables? The translated slug settings look correct in the admin panel, but WordPress still does not resolve Romanian taxonomy URLs. Could this happen if the translated terms exist but are assigned to the wrong language or have broken translation relationships after using ATE?