[Resolved] Pagination for translated custom content types is not working
This thread is resolved. Here is a description of the problem and solution.
Problem: The client was experiencing an issue where pagination on a custom post type 'News' did not function correctly in Lithuanian on their WordPress site using WPML, despite working in English. The issue persisted even after switching permalink settings and updating plugins. Solution: We recommended updating the ACF plugin to the latest version as a first step. If the issue persisted, we suggested replicating the problem on a clean WordPress installation to isolate the issue. We set up a sandbox environment for this purpose. Additionally, we updated WPML and related plugins to their latest versions and adjusted settings related to slug translations. If these steps did not resolve the issue, we advised creating a custom PHP template for the archive that replicates the Beaver Builder design and using different slugs for the page and the custom post type.
Please note that this solution might be outdated or not applicable to your specific case. We highly recommend 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. If the issue persists, please open a new support ticket at WPML support forum.
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Background of the issue:
I have a custom content type labeled 'News' on my WordPress site using WPML. The main News page displays a list of 6 items with numerical pagination. In the source language, English, the pagination works correctly, allowing navigation to pages like hidden link. However, when switching to Lithuanian using the language switcher, the pagination does not function as expected. I'm using the ACF plugin to create the custom post type of News. I have ACF Multilingual plugin installed. My permalink structure is using Post Name. Switching to Plain (/?p=123) will show the subsequent Lithuanian news pages correctly. My ACF custom post type URL settings are attached as a screenshot. I'm using Beaver Builder and the News page is a standard Beaver Builder page with a Posts Module to display the news page posts. I'm using Numbers as the Pagination Style.
Symptoms:
In the Lithuanian version of the News page (hidden link), clicking on pagination numbers only refreshes the main news page instead of navigating to subsequent pages.
Questions:
Why does the pagination not work for the translated News page in Lithuanian?
How can I fix the pagination issue for translated custom content types using WPML?
If anyone could take a look at this issue and advise I would really appreciate it. I'm currently leveraging some custom functions.php code to resolve this issue and I don't think that's ideal.
Thank you for contacting WPML support. While you are waiting for one of my colleagues to take this ticket and work on it, let me provide you with first debugging steps or if I can perhaps help with the issue quickly. I just checked your site and I am not able to reproduce the issue. You can see my video here: hidden link
You mentioned using custom code to resolve it. If you don't want to use that, we will need to be able to troubleshoot a copy of your site where this issue is reproduced. Do you have a staging site or can your hosting provider set one up so we can see the issue in action? Feel free to share an updated link in the next reply.
Hey Team - I had to quickly resolve the issue with custom functions as we just went live. I just commented out the functions.php custom code on the dev site.
Currently the main news page pagination is working. So for example, hidden link, will load and doesn't redirect to the main news page.
However, a single news page is not showing the translated slug: hidden link
Currently, WPML > Slug Translations are disabled. When they are enabled, the main news page pagination will not work. Subsequent pages redirect to the main news page. BUT the single news page slugs will be properly translated.
Is it better to enable Slug Translations and troubleshoot from that setup?
Yes, it is better to do what is needed to replicate the problem.
But don't do that on your production site.
Do you have a staging site where this problem occurs and we can freely investigate this issue?
If you need further help with this, please share the access details to your site with me. I'm enabling a private message for the following reply.
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First, I noticed that the ACF plugin is not updated to its latest version on your site. So, the first step I want to ask you to check is if updating ACF resolved the problem?
Otherwise, the staging site you provided does not include more than one News post. So there is no pagination there, unlike your production site. Please see the attached screenshot.
The best way to proceed with investigating this issue would be to replicate it on a fresh WordPress installation. Then I'll be able to escalate it to our compatibility team. For this, I created a test website with a clean WordPress install. You can access it through this link:
hidden link
With this link, you'll be directly logged in.
I already configured WPML to have English as the default language and Lithuanian as the second language. I also installed the ACF Pro plugin on the test site.
Can you please see if the issue is replicable on a clean WordPress installation?
Please ACF as set on your site (just the basic configurations needed to replicate the issue are enough).
When everything is finished and you can replicate the problem, please let us know.
Important! Do not import your site to the test site. We must replicate the problem on a fresh, clean WordPress installation.
My apologies, but the login for the dev site in question is hidden link. I made an error previously with that aspect of the login details. The other login credentials are the same.
I went ahead and updated the ACF plugin and unfortunately the issue persists. This particular site has 8 pages of news items. I've attached a screenshot. Please take another stab at a fix, much appreciated.
I don't see the pagination issue. When I go to hidden link and switch to Lithuanian, I get hidden link. Then I can use the numbers to paginate. For example, I get hidden link without an error. Please see the attached screenshot.
Have you solved this problem?
In the past, you wrote: "I'm currently leveraging some custom functions.php code to resolve this issue and I don't think that's ideal."
Is this function active now?
Can you please explain why it is not ideal?
Where can I see it?
Can I disable it?
Please also explain to me how ACF is involved in the pagination.
TL;DR - Based on the current setup (ie slug translations are disabled and the custom function is disabled), the main news page pagination is working.
What is not working is the translated slug for a single news page (note "news" and not "naujienos"): hidden link
I can fix the single news page slug translation if I enable WPML > Slug Translations. When this is enabled, the main news page pagination will not work.
The custom function is not currently active. This function is commented out in functions.php. It starts around line 430 in functions.php. Since the main news page pagination seems to get broken by enabling slug translations, this function created a fix.
ACF is being used to create the "News" content type. That is the source of the slug which needs translating.
We have recently released WPML 4.8.0, along with new versions for Strings Translation and other add-ons. I updated our plugins on hidden link. Then I enabled slug translation in WPML -> Settings. Please see the attached screenshot news-slug-enabled.jpg. Now the links to individual posts from hidden link are working. Please see the attached screenshot single-news-post-ok.jpg. However, the pagination is not working; it always gets back to hidden link.
The best way to get advanced with this issue is to replicate it on a sandbox site free from other third-party plugins. (You disregarded my last request to proceed in this way.) If you believe it is a problem that involves WPML, ACF, and Beaver Builder, please use the sandbox site I have prepared for this purpose. This is the direct link with admin access: hidden link. I've also just installed the latest versions of Beaver Builder and its plugins. Please don't include your function on the sandbox site. I will need to escalate it to our second-tier supporters as it is, without fixes.
Please note that my weekend hours are Friday to Saturday. If you need further assistance, I'll be available to continue checking this issue and helping you next week.
I didn't follow up on the sandbox since it will be rather time consuming to get it to a point where it can replicate the existing site sufficiently to test. Since we are using the paid versions of WPML and Beaver Builder new website accounts would have to be linked for each.
I do think the three plugins mentioned are key components of the issue.
Instead, I have deactivated all other plugins on the dev site except those that are necessary to faithfully display the page on the front end. I've attached a screenshot of the plugins list. Please continue to use this site for troubleshooting.
The pagination issue is still demonstrable in this instance.
I switched the theme to the parent Beaver Builder Theme. I also deactivated the Max Mega Menu + Pro plugins to ensure they are not interfering with the pagination issue. The pagination problem persists. I need to esclate this issue to our second-tier supporters. Please allow me to take a copy of your site. To achieve this, I need to install a plugin like Duplicator or All-in-One Migration. Please let me know if you agree.
