Problem: You want to switch the default language of your WPML site from English to Dutch, affecting all pages, products, and strings. Solution: To change the default language, go to WPML → Languages. However, for existing content, you need to manually adjust each element: 1. For strings, change the source language of the plugin or theme text-domain. Detailed guidance is available here: How to Change the Source Language of Strings. 2. For pages, products, and posts, you must first unlink the translation and then reconnect it with Dutch as the original language. This process is not bulk actionable and must be done individually for each item. Instructions on disconnecting translations can be found here: How to Disconnect Translations, and connecting them back is detailed here: How to Connect a Translation.
If this solution does not apply to your situation, or if it seems outdated, we recommend opening a new support ticket. Also, check related known issues at WPML Known Issues, verify the version of the permanent fix, and ensure you have installed the latest versions of themes and plugins. For further assistance, please visit our support forum at WPML Support Forum.
Problem: You are testing the fallback option in WPML for products instead of duplicating them, which saves a significant amount of product entries. However, you are encountering issues where the product slug on the Dutch homepage and sometimes in categories shows a URL like
instead of the expected pretty URL. This results in errors and unavailable pages. Additionally, filters based on attributes have disappeared on the Dutch site. Solution: 1. Verify if the problematic products are published. Products showing a URL format like
are typically not published and are in a draft status. 2. If using the "available for fallback" option, be aware that filters and taxonomies might not work or display as expected because an actual database entry does not exist for these products. If you need to use filters with translations, it is recommended to bulk duplicate the products. You can do this by navigating to WPML->Translation Management, filtering by products, and selecting to bulk duplicate. 3. If a Dutch duplicate is in the Trash, it can cause issues. We recommend fully removing any trashed translations to avoid such problems.
If this solution does not resolve your issue or seems outdated, please check related known issues at https://wpml.org/known-issues/, verify the version of the permanent fix, and confirm that you have installed the latest versions of themes and plugins. If problems persist, we highly recommend opening a new support ticket at WPML support forum.
Problem: The client experienced a significant slowdown on their website, which coincided with the automatic generation of around 500 duplicate products. These products were English duplicates of Dutch translations and did not have a related Dutch product. The client was concerned about the cause of this duplication and its impact on site performance.
Solution: We recommended the client to: 1. Verify if the setting to use the default language as a fallback for untranslated content is enabled by following the guide here: Displaying Untranslated Content. 2. Check if the duplication of products might have resulted from bulk operations, which can be reviewed in the documentation: How to Duplicate Pages and Posts in Bulk. 3. Consider if the WPML admin make post duplicates hook was used in their setup, as explained here: WPML Admin Make Post Duplicates.
We also noted that without clear steps to reproduce the issue or a backup of the website prior to the problem, it is challenging to pinpoint the exact cause.
If the provided solution is not relevant due to being outdated or not applicable to the client's case, we suggest opening a new support ticket. We highly recommend checking related known issues at https://wpml.org/known-issues/, verifying the version of the permanent fix, and confirming that the latest versions of themes and plugins are installed. If further assistance is needed, please contact us through the WPML support forum.
