Background of the issue:
I am working on a new website where Dutch is the main language and English is an additional language. I encountered issues with translations disappearing in the back-end for some pages, including the 'store' page. The translations are visible on the front end, but when I make adjustments, the fields for the English translation become empty, requiring me to re-enter all translations. This issue has occurred multiple times, including on a blog page.
Symptoms:
Translations disappear from the back-end after making adjustments, even though they are visible on the front end.
Questions:
What could be the problem causing translations to disappear in the back-end?
How can I prevent translations from disappearing again?
Before proceeding further, may I ask you to try the following please?
1) Take a full backup of your site and database before proceeding. It is highly advised to try these on a dev or staging site first, so your live site isn't compromised.
2) Deactivate all plugins except WPML, String Translation, ACF and ACFML.
3) Switch to a standard WordPress theme like 2021 or 2024.
4) Check for the issue if it still happens.
5) Then start activating plugins one by one while keep checking for the issue. This way you 'll be able to pinpoint a conflict when & where it starts creating the problem.
6) If after activating all plugins you see that it still works fine, then switch to your theme and see if that's causing it.
Please let me know and I'll try my best to help you further on the matter.
I put an export of the website into a test environment. First did a test on a page where I entered a missing field and saved it. Afterwards opened the page again and found that the field I had just filled in is empty again. When I fill in the field and all other fields are also filled in, the progress indicator is at 90% However, all fields are filled in. Closing page and opening it again gives the same result.
Afterwards, I set the WordPress default theme Twenty Twenty-Five instead of the Avada theme and disabled all plugins except those of WPML. Did another test, but unfortunately with the same result.
i made a screencast. Can I forward it to you? In it you can see the actions I did.
I can also get you a login so you can check it out for yourself at the test site.
Thank you for the updates and taking time to do all those tests.
Yes please it'd be great to share the screen recording. You can upload anywhere suitable and share the link.
I also need to take a closer look at your site. So I request temporary access (WP-Admin and FTP), preferably to a test site where the problem has been replicated.
Your next answer will be private, to share this information safely.
Also provide detailed steps to reproduce the issue and links to pages in the admin and on the frontend.
IMPORTANT: Please take a complete backup of the site to avoid data loss. I may need to activate/deactivate plugins also.
Thank you for the updates, I am working on this and 'll get back to you as soon as I find something or have a solution.
For the other issue, I recommend opening a separate ticket because as per forum policy we can only handle one issue per ticket. So you can get more to the point help, without mixing up several issues in one long ticket.
Thank you for your patience and cooperation. I've escalated the matter to our 2nd tier team for further investigation. I'll update you as soon as I hear back.
The issue has already been escalated to our dev team and meanwhile our team suggests to use the old interface of ATE or you can search the content using the search box within the ATE.
You can switch to the old interface when in ATE, look for the gear icon in right upper corner. Click it and it'll open the settings popup and there you can select the option (see attached).
Can I report that it gets worse and worse with the translations. I am using the old version as suggested, but there too I regularly lose translated texts and have to start all over again. Today a page with the old version 100% translated, the system also indicates this, but I don't get to see the translation on the front side.
Hopefully I don't have to completely re-create a ticket and tell everything all over again, because this is already costing me a lot of time.
Best regards,
Marino
New threads created by Waqas Bin Hasan and linked to this one are listed below:
Thank you for the updates, I'll try my best to look into the issue first and 'll split into a separate ticket as needed.
As per the last discussion and the debug information we have on this ticket, have you updated to the latest versions of WPML plugins? If not, can you please update and check again?
If issue still remains the same, can you please update the staging site, or create a new/separate staging site? And send the details about reproducing the issue (and the links to pages where this is happening).
Your next answer will be private, in case if existing staging access has been changed or you want to share the new one.
IMPORTANT: Please take a complete backup of the site to avoid data loss. I may need to activate/deactivate plugins also.
I checked for all those 3 pages and can see the issue. I could see translations completed, but when I added a new text line and tried to update the translations, there were several incomplete and duplicated texts.
Although for now I completed these and these look fine on the frontend. But can't be sure and not able to reproduce.
However, I've added this information to the existing report and 'll update you accordingly. Generally looks like the problem may be relevant to the existing issue which is still under observation of our team.
But it may be a different issue, let's wait for the feedback from the team.
In the meanwhile, is it possible for you to check and provide the following?
- Noticed any pattern that when this issue happens? Can you write down the steps for me/us to reproduce?
- Can you please record your screen to show that you make changes to the default content, then update the translations and then check on the frontend? You may have to repeat these in order to reproduce the issue. This way we can also assess that if there's any particular (or different) approach you're taking to update the content and translations on the site. It may give us a clue about the issue and 'll be helpful to determine if this later issue is really part of the original problem or need us to look at it differently.
I made 2 recordings. In the first recording, I open the HOME page to make an adjustment in the UK version. There I added the “extra” to the existing intro text. Afterwards saved everything. When I then view the UK page , that text does not show up. No matter what I do, the translation or extra addition does not show up.
In the 2nd recording I first added "Extra" in the HOME page in the orignal NL language, saved the page and afterwards I wanted to translate the UK version as well. But there you can see that the entire previously translated text disappeared and I have to translate everything again. The field above it “Personalized earrings, unique and stylish!” was also in orange and had to be saved again. The counter at the bottom of the page was at 92%
Can you tell me were i can upload these recordings, or share a link were you can see them?
You can upload the recordings to hidden link or hidden link and share the links with me.
I also discussed the issue with my team and this looks like a separate issue. However, after watching the recordings, I'll split it into a separate ticket and 'll proceed accordingly.
