If I recreate my existing site, will I need to redo the translations?

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

Problem:
The client is considering recreating their existing website and wants to understand the implications for their current translations.

Solution:
If you're planning to recreate your site, you might not need to redo all translations provided that:

The URL of the site remains the same.
The site is registered under the same WPML account, even if using a different site key.
The content that was previously translated remains unchanged.

If you used the Advanced Translation Editor (ATE) or automatic translation before, your translations are saved in Translation Memory. This means if the same sentence is sent again for translation, it will be reused.

However, be aware of potential issues:

Changes in design that alter the content could require new translations.
Changes in style or design elements that affect the visual presentation but not the content might also need updates.

We recommend testing these changes on a staging site before applying them to your live site.

If this solution does not apply to your case, or if it seems outdated, please check the related known issues, verify the version of the permanent fix, and confirm that you have installed the latest versions of themes and plugins. If issues persist, we highly recommend opening a new support ticket at WPML support forum.

This is the technical support forum for WPML - the multilingual WordPress plugin.

Everyone can read, but only WPML clients can post here. WPML team is replying on the forum 6 days per week, 22 hours per day.

Tagged: Exception

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Last updated by Waqas Bin Hasan 3 weeks, 2 days ago.

Assisted by: Waqas Bin Hasan.

Author	Posts
December 13, 2024 at 4:57 am #16509884
valentinB-22	Background of the issue: I am considering recreating my existing site, hidden link, and I want to understand the implications for my current translations. Symptoms: Not applicable. Questions: If I recreate my existing site, will I need to redo the translations?
December 13, 2024 at 12:25 pm #16511301
Waqas Bin Hasan Supporter Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Asia/Karachi (GMT+05:00)	Hi, Thank you for contacting the support. There are a few things to consider in this case, that, you may not redo all the translations, as long as: - URL of the site remains the same. - The same site is registered under the same WPML account (it doesn't matter if you use a different site key, but WPML account and the site URL should be the same). - Content, which was translated previously, remains the same. This is very important point. If you've used Advanced Translation Editor (ATE) previously to translate the content (or used automatic translation), then your translations are saved in Translation Memory. This means, if same sentence of text is sent again for translation, it is reused without needing to retranslate. However, if there's a change within the sentence, then it is a new sentence and 'll need a new translation. Things which may affect existing translations: - Changes in design which incorporate changes within the content. For example, some page builders, widgets, elements and/or themes, may add extra functionality to handle line breaks or particular content (apart from style changes), which may physically impact the content. Thus leading to a different sentence. As another example, following sentences are different, although the words are same or slightly different: ---- This is an example. ---- This is \nan example. (notice the \n which breaks the "an example" to a new line physically). ---- This is a example. (notice a instead of an). - Due to changes in design, you may need to retranslate style/design parts of the content. For example, layouts, templates and etc, which do not physically impact the other content but visually change the look and feel. Since these contain CSS changes or other inline changes, may need an update. I'll recommend trying this on a test/staging/dev site first, instead of directly and entirely changing the live site at-once. Regards.