WPML + Yoast SEO Conflict: Product Category meta-data fallback to primary language (Estonian)

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

Problem:
The client is experiencing issues where product category pages are showing default language (Estonian) meta-data instead of the translated English meta-data. Despite synchronizing taxonomy translations and clearing caches, the issue persists. The client also faces a critical issue where they cannot edit or delete some product categories, receiving a "You need higher-level user permissions" error due to a taxonomy lock caused by a conflict between Yoast SEO and WPML.

Solution:
1. Go to WPML -> String Translation and search for the Estonian meta-data text using the domain filter 'admin_texts_wpseo_taxonomy_meta'. Translate the text into English, mark the translation as complete, and save.
2. In WPML -> Taxonomy Translation, select 'Product categories' and ensure all Yoast SEO meta fields are fully translated and saved.
3. If using custom layouts or templates (Woodmart Child theme and Elementor), ensure they are fully translated.
4. Install and activate the Yoast Test Helper plugin, go to Tools -> Yoast Test, and reset the Indexables tables & migrations. Then, start SEO data optimization in Yoast SEO -> Settings or use WP-CLI to reindex.
5. If permission errors persist, run WPML troubleshooting actions like clearing cache, removing ghost entries, and fixing element_type collation in WPML -> Support -> Troubleshooting. Also, synchronize metadata for product categories in WooCommerce -> WCML -> Status.
6. Check for any conflicts between Woodmart Popups or HTML Blocks categories and product categories, resolve any conflicts, and refresh permalinks.

If these steps do not resolve the issue or if the solution becomes outdated, we recommend checking related known issues at https://wpml.org/known-issues/, verifying the version of the permanent fix, and confirming that you have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: Known issue

This topic contains 8 replies, has 1 voice.

Last updated by Carlos Rojas 1 month ago.

Assisted by: Carlos Rojas.

Author	Posts
July 11, 2026 at 4:12 pm #18153002
faridi-3	Product category pages are showing the default language (Estonian) meta-data instead of the translated English meta-data. I have already synchronized the taxonomy translations and cleared caches, but the issue persists.
July 11, 2026 at 6:01 pm #18153095
faridi-3	Following your previous instructions, I have completed all the recommended database cleanup actions (removing ghost entries, fixing collation, synchronizing metadata, etc.), but the "Vajad kõrgema taseme kasutajaõigusi" (You need higher-level user permissions) error persists. Critical Finding: I have identified that this issue is specifically tied to the use of Yoast SEO. I manage multiple sites; the sites using Rank Math SEO do not experience this taxonomy lock or permission issue at all. It appears that Yoast SEO is interfering with the product_cat and wd_popup_cat taxonomy mapping in a way that triggers a permanent "translation lock" within WPML. Technical Details: Conflict Trigger: Yoast SEO seems to be attempting to index or manage SEO data for the wd_popup_cat taxonomy, which creates a collision with my WooCommerce product categories (product_cat). Symptom: Because Yoast is trying to map these categories for translation/SEO simultaneously with WPML, the translation database becomes locked, preventing me from editing or deleting translated categories in Estonian and English. Comparison: On my sites where I use Rank Math instead of Yoast, this taxonomy collision does not occur, and category management works perfectly. Request: Since standard WPML troubleshooting has failed, could you please advise how to resolve this specific conflict between Yoast SEO's taxonomy management and WPML's translation database? Is there a filter or a specific configuration I should disable in Yoast to stop it from indexing wd_popup_cat or conflicting with the category translations? I am ready to provide temporary admin access to my site so your team can inspect how Yoast and WPML are interacting in the database.
July 11, 2026 at 6:04 pm #18153097
faridi-3	Additionally, I noticed that the SEO Title and Meta Description fields for these categories are only visible and editable in the default language (Estonian); they do not appear in the translated versions even after a translation is created.
July 11, 2026 at 9:22 pm #18153176
faridi-3	I have an update: I am now able to delete categories, so the "higher-level user permissions" error seems to be resolved. However, the core issue persists: The SEO Title and Meta Description fields for the translated categories are not appearing. Even when I open the translation for a category, these fields are blank or showing the default language data, and they are not saving correctly for the English version. Technical context: Since I can now manage the categories, it is clear that this is a data mapping issue specifically between WPML's translation of term meta and Yoast SEO. Even though I am on version 2.2.5, the translated Yoast term meta is not being correctly indexed or linked to the translated category ID. Please investigate why the Yoast SEO meta fields are not being registered for the translated taxonomy terms.
July 11, 2026 at 9:41 pm #18153192
faridi-3	I have identified the pattern of this bug: It only affects newly created categories. My old, existing categories are working perfectly. However, for any new category I create: When I translate it via WPML, the data is saved in the back-end correctly. On the front-end, all languages (English, etc.) display the Estonian (default) SEO metadata. This clearly indicates that the translation_id mapping for the new Yoast indexables is failing. The front-end query is unable to link the newly created translated terms to their respective SEO metadata and is defaulting to the Estonian data for all languages. Since this works for my old categories, please compare the database structure (wp_icl_translations and wp_yoast_indexable) of an old, working category vs. a new, failing one. It is evident that the new terms are not being correctly indexed by WPML-SEO for the front-end. Please repair the mapping for my new taxonomy terms.
July 11, 2026 at 11:32 pm #18153283
faridi-3	I am writing to update you on the issue regarding SEO metadata in my store. After further investigation, I have confirmed that my store is experiencing the exact same "Known Issue" described in your official Errata page: "WordPress SEO - Issues translating Yoast SEO term meta." As documented on your support site, the issue where manual translations are overridden or incorrectly displayed by the "string package" indexer—especially for newly created categories—matches my situation perfectly. Since your team has noted that this is a known bug tagged for the upcoming WPML SEO 2.3.0 release, but with no confirmed ETA, I am currently unable to manage SEO for my new categories, which is impacting my business operations. Could you please provide a manual database patch or a temporary workaround to bypass this string package indexing for my new categories? I would appreciate your technical team's assistance in resolving this so I can continue managing my store without waiting for the future release.
July 12, 2026 at 1:18 am #18153342
faridi-3	Additionally, I noticed a deeper issue: My new categories appear in 'String Translation', but they are 'ghost entries'. Even when I provide the translation in String Translation, it does not propagate to the front-end or even update the SEO metadata correctly. This confirms that the String Translation package is completely disconnected from the actual taxonomy term metadata. Please stop suggesting standard translation methods, as this is a fundamental indexing error where WPML is failing to link String Translations to Taxonomy terms for new categories.
July 12, 2026 at 1:49 pm #18153648
faridi-3	I have found a manual workaround: After translating the data in 'String Translation', if I go to the category edit page and click 'Update' without changing anything, the SEO metadata finally displays correctly on the front-end. It seems that triggering a manual save forces WPML to link the string package to the taxonomy term correctly.
July 13, 2026 at 10:00 am #18154513
Carlos Rojas WPML Supporter since 03/2017 Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español ) Timezone: Europe/Madrid (GMT+02:00)	Hello, Thank you for contacting us As you correctly found, this is a known issue, and our developers are working on a final solution. In the meantime, the solution provided is the same you applied to your site and is the recommended one: "editing the translated terms". The solution to this issue should be included in the next release of our plugins and will appear in the changelog. Please let me know if there is something else I can help you with. Have an excellent day! Best regards, Carlos