Website does automatic translated with content that is already translated

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

Problem:
The client reported that their website automatically re-translates content that has already been translated, overwriting the existing translations. This issue persisted even though the relevant plugin, WPML Multilingual & Multicurrency for WooCommerce, was up-to-date.
Solution:
We first suggested updating the WPML Multilingual & Multicurrency for WooCommerce plugin from version 5.5.5 to 5.5.6, but the client confirmed it was already updated. We then advised checking the WPML settings to ensure that the automatic translation is configured correctly:
1. Navigate to WPML -> Settings.
2. Click on the Automatic Translation tab.
3. Adjust settings to 'Translate only future content' to prevent existing translations from being overwritten.
Additionally, for products marked as 'needs update' after stock changes, we recommended:
1. Go to WPML -> Settings -> Custom Fields Translation.
2. Locate fields related to stock, such as _stock, _stock_status, _manage_stock.
3. Set these fields to Copy, not Translate, to ensure they are synchronized and not translated.

If these steps do not resolve the issue, or if the solution becomes outdated, we highly recommend checking related known issues at https://wpml.org/known-issues/, verifying the version of the permanent fix, and confirming that you have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 the problem persists, please open a new support ticket for further assistance.

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Tagged: Not WPML issue

This topic contains 6 replies, has 0 voices.

Last updated by Carlos Rojas 1 month, 1 week ago.

Assisted by: Carlos Rojas.

Author	Posts
June 3, 2026 at 9:22 am #18077906
Sven Bosch	Website does automatic translated with content that is already translated
June 3, 2026 at 12:07 pm #18078594
Carlos Rojas WPML Supporter since 03/2017 Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español ) Timezone: Europe/Madrid (GMT+02:00)	Hello, My name is Carlos, and I will continue working on this ticket Can you elaborate a little more so we can have a better understanding of the issue? You can create a video and share the link in your next message. Looking forward to your message.
June 3, 2026 at 1:14 pm #18078890
Sven Bosch	I do have pages that are already translated. When they are in concept and I publish them he will rewrite the whole page automatically. Even when there is a good and active language. Same for products. When I update a product it will say the translation needs to be updates aswell. As I only have updated the stock quantity for example. Also when I select auto translate the whole website what I actually want it calculates all the products but I manually updated those at the beginning. for that reason I dont turn on this setting.
June 3, 2026 at 3:29 pm #18079306
Sven Bosch	I already have pages that are translated. However, when those pages are still in draft/concept mode and I publish them, the system automatically rewrites the entire translation, even when there is already a valid and active translation available. The same happens with products. If I update a product, the system marks the translation as needing an update as well, even when the only change is something minor, such as the stock quantity. I also noticed that when I enable the option to automatically translate the entire website, it includes all products in the translation process. The issue is that I manually translated many of those products at the beginning, and I do not want those translations to be overwritten or recalculated. For this reason, I currently do not enable the automatic website translation setting. Is there a way to keep existing translations intact and only translate content that is new or has actually changed?
June 4, 2026 at 7:24 am #18080246
Carlos Rojas WPML Supporter since 03/2017 Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español ) Timezone: Europe/Madrid (GMT+02:00)	Hello Sven, Thank you for the detailed explanation. What you describe is expected in part: when Translate Everything Automatically is enabled for the whole site, WPML can translate existing untranslated content and then keep translating new/updated content in the background. You can instead choose “Translate only future content” so existing/manual translations are not included in the initial automatic translation batch. For products being marked as “needs update” after stock changes, this is usually related to product fields/custom fields. Stock/quantity fields should normally be copied/synchronized, not translated. Please check: Go to WPML → Settings → Custom Fields Translation. Look for WooCommerce/product stock-related fields, for example _stock, _stock_status, _manage_stock. Make sure those are set to Copy, not Translate. Numeric/non-text values should use Copy so they stay synchronized and don’t appear in the translation editor. Then update one product and check if the translation is still marked as needing an update. For automatic translation, please use: WPML → Translation Dashboard → Translate Everything Automatically → Translate only future content This way, WPML will translate newly created content going forward, instead of processing all existing products/pages again. Please test this with one product/page first and let me know the result. If it still marks translations as needing update after only changing stock, please share temporary admin access so I can check the field translation settings directly.
June 5, 2026 at 11:58 am #18083833
Sven Bosch	I've set it up this way. however it just doesnt detect that it is translated. but on my end I can see everything is working. for this reason it will update the product. the website is: hidden link
June 5, 2026 at 1:10 pm #18084024
Carlos Rojas WPML Supporter since 03/2017 Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español ) Timezone: Europe/Madrid (GMT+02:00)	Hi, 1.- Please share the access credentials to the site in your next message so I can take a closer look at the issue and double-check the WPML configuration. Confirm you have created a full site backup that you can restore if necessary. 2.- Also, it would be ideal if you could create a video showing how to reproduce the problem on the site. It will allow us to reproduce the same steps on our end to isolate the cause of the issue. You could use any online tool to create a video, like Loom or Kommodo, and share a link to the video in your next message.