[Closed] How to Translate Elementor Text Widgets inside Theme Builder Template

Hi,

Thank you for contacting WPML Support. I completely understand your frustration, and I’m sorry for the time this has already taken. I’ll do my best to help you get this sorted quickly.

Just to clarify, anything added inside Elementor (like Text Widgets, Buttons, or Forms) can only be translated through WPML’s Translation Editor or the default WordPress Editor, as explained here: https://wpml.org/documentation/plugins-compatibility/elementor/

Alternatively, you can create a custom shortcode in your theme’s PHP file and wrap those texts with the gettext( __() ) function. This way, the strings will appear in WPML >> String Translation, and you can then use the shortcode inside your Elementor template. This approach might help you keep a single template for all languages.

Here you can find more details about gettext function: https://wpml.org/documentation/support/how-to-use-gettext/

Thank you for your cooperation

I was able to achieve this using the following steps:

1. Added a shortcode with the static text I wanted to display in the Archive template inside the functions.php file of the theme:

function static_text_shortcode() {
    return __( 'English language text goes here', 'themedomain' );
}
add_shortcode( 'static_text_shortcode', 'static_text_shortcode' );

2. Went to WPML >> Theme and plugins localization and scanned the active theme.

3. Went to WPML >> String Translation, searched for the string “English language text goes here”, and added its translation.

4. Created an Elementor Archive template and inserted the shortcode using the Shortcode widget:

[static_text_shortcode]

5. On the frontend, the translated text now appears correctly based on the selected language.

You can check it here:
- Default language: hidden link
- Secondary language: hidden link

If needed, here’s an auto-login URL to the test site for reference:
hidden link

Please check and confirm if it works similarly on your end.

Thank you for your cooperation and patience

I understand, thanks for clarifying.

By default, static text added directly inside Elementor widgets isn’t automatically registered for translation unless the template itself is translated using WPML’s Translation Editor or default WP Editor. Scanning the theme or Elementor plugin won’t detect those strings because they’re stored in the database, not in the PHP files.

The only ways to make them translatable are:

1. Translate the template using WPML’s Translation Editor as mentioned in our doc, or
2. Use shortcodes (so WPML can register them in String Translation).

Elementor currently doesn’t expose static text from templates for translation in WPML >> String Translation, and this is a known limitation.

You may try to achieve it using custom code, but that would be beyond our support scope, in that case, you might consider hiring a developer for a tailored solution.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation