Problem: The client is experiencing issues with duplicate content and poor indexing for Belgium and the Netherlands, and an hreflang test error due to incorrect 'lang' attribute settings. The client asked how to make .fr and .be domains visible in Belgium and how to correct the hreflang error where the 'lang' attribute is 'bel', which differs from the specified Hreflang 'nl-be'.
Solution: We advised the client to change the 'Default locale' setting from 'bel' (Belarusian) to 'nl_BE' for Dutch (Belgium) to address the hreflang error. Regarding the visibility of .fr and .be in Belgium, we clarified that all languages are available regardless of the visitor's country. If the client has set up different domains for each language, such as .fr for French and .be for Dutch Belgium, and wants to display French on the .be site, they could consider using a subdomain like fr.belgiumdomain.be. For more details on setting up different domains per language, visit WPML documentation on language URL options.
If this solution does not apply to your case, or if it seems outdated, we highly recommend checking related known issues at https://wpml.org/known-issues/, verifying the version of the permanent fix, and confirming that you have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 issues persist, please open a new support ticket at WPML support forum.
