Possible bug: WPML overcounts words for products

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

Problem:
You are trying to verify the word count for your products using WPML and found that the total word count seems excessively high. You have around 350 products, each with approximately 1,000 characters of text, but WPML estimates the total word count to be around 500,000 words. You followed the steps: WPML → Translation Management → Translation Dashboard, selected all products, and clicked 'Recalculate word count'.

Solution:
WPML includes a built-in translation memory that automatically reuses existing translations for repeated text segments, which helps reduce translation costs by avoiding charges for content that has already been translated. You need to translate at least one product that contains the product category description in question and complete the translation. After that, WPML will reuse this translation automatically for other products containing the exact same text, so you won’t be charged again for the same segment. However, if a product has a different category description, it will be treated as new content and translated separately. For more details, visit how WPML keeps track of your translations.

If this solution does not apply to your case, or if it seems outdated, we recommend opening a new support ticket. We also 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.

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Tagged: Exception

This topic contains 3 replies, has 0 voices.

Last updated by Andrey 2 weeks, 6 days ago.

Assisted by: Andrey.

Author	Posts
October 30, 2025 at 2:59 pm #17533233
tomaszS-59	Background of the issue: I am trying to verify the word count for my products using WPML. I have around 350 products, each with approximately 1,000 characters of text, but WPML estimates the total word count to be around 500,000 words, which seems too high. I followed the steps: WPML → Translation Management → Translation Dashboard, selected all products, and clicked 'Recalculate word count'. The total showed ~500,000 words. Here is the link to a page where the issue can be seen: hidden link Symptoms: WPML overcounts words for products, estimating ~500,000 words, which seems incorrect given the product details. Questions: Could you check if shortcodes/meta/hidden fields are being counted?
October 30, 2025 at 9:12 pm #17534423
Andrey WPML Supporter since 06/2013 Languages: English (English ) Russian (Русский ) Timezone: Europe/Kyiv (GMT+02:00)	Thank you for contacting WPML support. Since WPML 4.8, the word count calculation has been improved. Could you please check what results you get if you select a smaller sample of products — for example, the word count for 1, 5, or 10 products? You can also verify which custom fields are included in the translation by following these steps: 1. Go to WPML → Settings → Custom Fields Translation. 2. Enable the option “Show Multilingual Content Setup meta box on the post edit screen” and save the settings. 3. Edit a product in the original language, then scroll down to the Custom Fields section and click Show system fields. 4. You will now see all the custom fields associated with that product. Any fields set to Translate will be included in the translation, along with the product’s title, description, and short description.
October 31, 2025 at 8:13 am #17534890
tomaszS-59	WPML/ATE adds category description blocks (e.g., “Product Cat Description”) to every product translation task, which inflates the word count. With automatic translation, the same category description was translated multiple times, leading to higher-than-expected charges. Could you please: Review and adjust billing/credits for the repeated translations of the same content.
November 3, 2025 at 1:18 pm #17541215
Andrey WPML Supporter since 06/2013 Languages: English (English ) Russian (Русский ) Timezone: Europe/Kyiv (GMT+02:00)	Thank you for providing additional information. WPML includes a built-in translation memory that automatically reuses existing translations for repeated text segments. This helps reduce translation costs by avoiding charges for content that has already been translated. You can find more details here: https://wpml.org/documentation/translating-your-contents/how-wpml-keeps-track-of-your-translations/ The key point is: WPML’s translation memory updates only after all translations in a batch are complete. If you’re translating multiple pages that share content, start by sending just one for translation. Once it’s fully translated, the translation memory will update. You can then send the remaining pages, and the existing translations will be reused automatically. In your case, you’ll need to translate at least one product that contains the product category description in question and complete the translation. After that, WPML will reuse this translation automatically for other products containing the exact same text, so you won’t be charged again for the same segment. However, if a product has a different category description, it will be treated as new content and translated separately.