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[Resolved] WPML changes all my URL's

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

Problem:
The client's default language was changed from Hebrew to English after a plugin update, causing URL changes and SEO issues.

Solution:
1. We recommend checking the default language setting in WPML > Languages. If it's set to English, change it back to Hebrew.
2. Be aware that changing the default language will alter the URLs again, which may affect SEO.
3. Continue using WPML SEO to guide Google in indexing multi-language websites correctly.
4. After setting the correct default language, reindex the pages.
5. This should be a one-time issue, and once resolved by setting the correct default language, future SEO problems should not occur.

If this solution does not seem relevant or if further issues arise, please open a new support ticket with us.

This is the technical support forum for WPML - the multilingual WordPress plugin.

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This topic contains 1 reply, has 2 voices.

Last updated by Lucas Vidal de Andrade 1 year, 6 months ago.

Assisted by: Lucas Vidal de Andrade.

Author Posts
December 17, 2023 at 10:05 am #15078615

aviaS

Hi,

A few months ago I started translating my Hebrew blog into English as well.
On one of your plugin updates, for some reason it changed my default language from Hebrew to English what made all of my URL's change!
If the Hebrew URL was hidden link - it changed it to hidden link
and for the English from hidden link tot hidden link!

This hurt my SEO badly!! Still some things I cannot fix since all of my website was crawled showing redirects, or see some posts as duplicated now.

I've started indexing every post again, but some posts are still not showing on google or having trouble getting indexed.

How am I suppose to fix all of this?
How can I make sure your plugin is not continuing damaging my SEO?

Please help me fix this issue.

I can provide Screenshots of GSC on private.
December 18, 2023 at 8:36 pm #15087449

Lucas Vidal de Andrade
WPML Supporter since 11/2023

Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español ) German (Deutsch ) Portuguese (Brazil) (Português )

Timezone: America/Sao_Paulo (GMT-03:00)

Hello,

I apologize for the inconvenience, I understand the impact that problem has on SEO.

In your debug information, I noticed that English is still set as your default language. You can change that on WPML > Languages. If it's set to English, you can change it back to Hebrew. Please note that by doing this, your URLs will be changed again, what might impact your SEO. It's probable that during the set-up, English was set as the default language.

You are already using WPML SEO, which is enough to tell Google how to index multi-language websites. Once you have the right default language set, WPML should not impact your SEO negatively. Since this is an isolated issue — I haven't found any issues similar to yours in our records, so it shouldn't happen again. If your plan is to have Hebrew as the default language, I advise you change it and index your pages again.

Please let me know if that solves your issue and if you have any problems reindexing your website. Adjusting the default language should permanently solve it and you should not have any trouble in the future.

Best regards,
Lucas Vidal