How to use WPML ?

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

Problem:
The client's website is in English and Chinese, and they are using WPML to manage translations. They observed that WPML creates a separate Chinese version of every English web page and product, which automatically appears when switching to Chinese. However, the layout of the copied web page does not fully match the English version, requiring significant adjustments.
Solution:
We confirmed that WPML indeed creates a separate version of the primary language page for translations. For instance, the English homepage at https://365onsale.com/ will have a Chinese counterpart at https://365onsale.com/zh-hans/. This setup means that in the backend, there are two versions of the homepage, each in a different language. To understand more about why WPML operates this way and its benefits over other plugins, you can read our comparison guide here: https://wpml.org/home/comparing-wpml-free-paid-alternatives/.

If this solution does not fully address your issue or seems outdated, we recommend opening a new support ticket. We also highly suggest 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. For further assistance, please visit our support forum at https://wpml.org/forums/forum/english-support/.

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Tagged: Not WPML issue

This topic contains 3 replies, has 2 voices.

Last updated by Kor 7 months ago.

Assisted by: Kor.

Author	Posts
November 1, 2024 at 7:39 pm #16355932
fanZ	Background of the issue: My website is in two languages, English and Chinese. I need to translate English to Chinese using WPML. I noticed that WPML creates a Chinese version of every English web page and product, which is automatically located when the language is switched to Chinese. Symptoms: The layout of the copied web page is not 100% restored to the English version, requiring a lot of time to adjust. Questions: Am I right to understand that WPML copies a Chinese version of every English web page and product? Is there an easier way to use WPML for translation without creating another version of the web page?
November 4, 2024 at 7:00 am #16358840
Kor WPML Supporter since 08/2022 Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Asia/Singapore (GMT+08:00)	Thanks for contacting us. Sorry, I'm not so sure what you mean there. Could you share some screenshots and some links here so that I could check this out for you?
November 4, 2024 at 8:50 am #16359357
fanZ	What I mean is, if my website has English and Chinese versions, does WPML work by generating Chinese pages based on the English version? In other words, the website has two sets of pages? Some other translation plug-ins （Weglot）will not generate another set of pages. Instead, directly replace the text on the English page with Chinese. Both working principles have pros and cons. WPML is more troublesome when editing web pages, but the web page access speed will be faster. Because it is directly calling another set of pages. Instead of replacing text in real time. Do I understand correctly? this is my website：365onsale.com
November 4, 2024 at 9:57 am #16359776
Kor WPML Supporter since 08/2022 Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Asia/Singapore (GMT+08:00)	Thanks for your reply. Yes, WPML creates another version of the primary language page and translates the contents. For example, hidden link will be in English as your primary language page. hidden link will be in Chinese as your secondary language page. This means, that in the backend, you have two homepage versions with different languages. You can read more about the comparisons here https://wpml.org/home/comparing-wpml-free-paid-alternatives/ that explains why WPML is your choice for a multilingual site.