page slug translation

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

Problem:
The client is transitioning their site from WP Bakery to Astra/Spectra and needs to re-translate pages without changing the existing slugs. They are concerned about how to manage slug translations and media during this process.
Solution:
1. To prevent slug changes during re-translation, set the WPML → Settings → Translated documents options → Page URL to "Auto-generate from title". This prevents slugs from being translated and keeps them as is.

2. When re-translating pages, if you do not want to override existing translations, WPML will not update the translations unless the original content is modified. If you choose to override, WPML will ask whether to update the translation based on new content.

3. For managing slugs, if "Translate" is selected, WPML will create a new translated slug. If "Copy from original" is selected, it will use the slug from the original language. There is currently no option to keep existing translated slugs if overriding translations; manual adjustment is necessary after overriding.

4. For images, you can use different images for each language without translating the image content. Upload language-specific images using the media translation tool.

For further details on managing glossary entries and translation settings, refer to the WPML documentation: WPML Glossary Management and WPML Media Translation.

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Tagged: Documentation request

This topic contains 8 replies, has 1 voice.

Last updated by svenH-12 3 days, 8 hours ago.

Assisted by: Kor.

Author	Posts
February 14, 2025 at 3:05 pm #16706998
svenH-12	Background of the issue: We are in the process of changing the site from WP Bakery to Astra/Spectra. Now we need to override existing translations in order to also override the code. However, with this, our existing page slugs get overridden. We have some slugs which are translated and some not, so we cannot choose either copy from base URL or translate. Symptoms: Existing page slugs are getting overridden during the translation process. Questions: How can we prevent existing page slugs from being overridden during translation? Is there a way to selectively translate or copy slugs from the base URL?
February 14, 2025 at 5:58 pm #16707773
Andreas W. Supporter Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español ) German (Deutsch ) Timezone: America/Lima (GMT-05:00)	Hello, According to the provided debug information the setting WPML → Settings → Translated documents options → Page URL is set to "Translate" and this is why the slugs are available inside the WPML Translation Editor. I suggest you apply the standard setting "Auto-generate from title". Best regards Andreas
February 14, 2025 at 7:23 pm #16707932
svenH-12	Subject: Follow-up on WPML Translation & Slug Settings Dear [WPML Support Team], Thank you for your response and for your help so far. However, I wanted to clarify our situation further, as the suggested solution does not align with what we need. We have already translated our pages, but they were originally created in WPBakery. Now that we have upgraded our site to Astra with Spectra, we need to re-translate the pages so that the blocks transfer over correctly. In doing so, we do not want to modify the slugs. Some slugs are directly copied from the English version, while others have been translated, and we want to keep them exactly as they are. We do not want WPML to override or modify any slugs during the re-translation process. Could you please advise on the correct settings to ensure that: 1. We can re-translate the pages so that the new blocks are properly transferred. 2. The existing slugs remain unchanged. 3. If possible, we can update the translations without overwriting any existing translations while still ensuring the block-based content is properly migrated. As you can see we use the latest Version of WPMl. Looking forward to your guidance on the best approach. Best regards, Sven
February 18, 2025 at 6:01 am #16716872
Kor Supporter Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Asia/Singapore (GMT+08:00)	Thanks for your reply. Please allow me to answer your questions accordingly. 1. We can re-translate the pages so that the new blocks are properly transferred. As you mentioned, you have already translated the pages, are having issues with this? 2. The existing slugs remain unchanged. We do have an option to prevent the URL slugs to be translated. To do this, navigate to WPML > Settings > Translated documents options > Page URL > Select "Translate (this will include the slug in the translation and not create it automatically from the title)". Then, when you're translating the page content using the Advanced Translation Editor, use the copy feature to copy the primary language URL slug to your secondary language. 3. If possible, we can update the translations without overwriting any existing translations while still ensuring the block-based content is properly migrated. If you've been using the Advanced Translation Editor, the same translated contents will show up automatically without needing to retranslate them.
February 20, 2025 at 10:56 am #16729135
svenH-12	Hi Kor, thanks for getting back to me. We are still struggling to understand the correct settings and how to make things happen. Let me explain first again, what our main issue is: We have re-build our entire site from WP Bakery to Astra/ Spectra and Gutenberg blocks. With this, we also re-worked some of the formats and text. Now all the old language pages of course have the WP Bakery code and blocks as well as non-updated text (translations). We now want to to make sure that also all translations are updated to Spectra/ Astra with the new blocks and any translation picked up correctly and updated. However, we do not want to change the slugs of the pages (as you can imagine). Some of our existing pages are just a copy of the title to the translation some pages we have translated slugs. We just want to keep the structure for any and all slugs as is. Since we have a lot of pages (many 1000) we use automatic translations from the translation managment dashboard and can not go through each and every individual page in every langugae. Some of our original content was sent to translation for manual translation by a translation service via WPML , I think with the classic editor. For other content we used the translation editor with automatic translation. For newer content we already used the bulk automatic translation from the translation dashboard. I hope this explanation helps to understand our specific use case and requirement. ------------- Now here again the questions: 1. For the translations: When we try to translate pages, it says, translation already existing, do you want to override. -> Do we need to check this option in order that also the code is changed from WP Bakery to the new Astra/ Spectra blocks. Or is this also automatically done when we decide to not choose "override existing translations" 2. In the slug settings we see: Page URL Auto-generate from title (default) Translate (this will include the slug in the translation and not create it automatically from the title) Copy from original language if translation language uses encoded URLs as well as Slug translations Translate base slugs of custom post types and taxonomies (via WPML -> Taxonomy translation). What would we choose and can you please explain what it does. 3. For the image settings: We see three options You can check if some attachments can be duplicated to translated content: Set language information for existing media Translate existing media in all languages Duplicate existing media for translated content Duplicate the featured images for translated content How do we make sure that the new blocks are. used and that the old Image blocks are overriden? We want to be able to use different images per language but we do not want to translate the image information like descirption or alt text. 4. Lastly regarding translations We have put information into the new glossary - Is this only affecting WPML AI translation or also Deepl and Google - What would happen to our existing translations, would the Glossary take affect and re-translate and adjust where needed? -> Or s it that for this we need to choose "override existing translations" to have the Glossary take effect. Which then brings me back to the Slug URL issue question above. Many thanks for your ongoing help Regards Sven
February 20, 2025 at 11:47 am #16729283
svenH-12	Sorry I forgot one thing to add: When it comes to the Slugs, can we also manipulate (change them) inn the wordpress page editor or where all pages are shown with edit just the slug or do we need to change the slug in the translations? As you can imagine this would not really be feasible with thousands of language pages. So I would hope that WPML accepts slug changes on the wordpress level. Also, I forgot to mention, when you said we should choose copy, what would then happen with slugs which currently are translated or different to the main page. We worry that then the slug is changed. As said, we would need an option which keeps slugs as they are in all languages and just translates all the rest of the content of the changed pages. Again, thanks for your help Sven See screenshots for background
February 21, 2025 at 11:52 am #16733389
Kor Supporter Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Asia/Singapore (GMT+08:00)	Thanks for your reply. I'd like you to know that our support policy allows us to take care of only one issue per ticket. Continuing with one issue per ticket helps not only supporters to focus on one issue at once, but also enables other users to find solutions to their questions faster. For your remaining questions, I will try to answer your questions accordingly. 1. For the translations: When we try to translate pages, it says, translation already existing, do you want to override. -> Do we need to check this option in order that also the code is changed from WP Bakery to the new Astra/ Spectra blocks. Or is this also automatically done when we decide to not choose "override existing translations" WPML will scan through your contents and if it detects some changes to the existing translation through translation memory, it will ask you to retranslate it and this will override the previous translation. 2. In the slug settings we see: Page URL Auto-generate from title (default) Translate (this will include the slug in the translation and not create it automatically from the title) Copy from original language if translation language uses encoded URLs as well as Slug translations Translate base slugs of custom post types and taxonomies (via WPML -> Taxonomy translation). What would we choose and can you please explain what it does. To keep the slug untranslated and copy from the default language, you can select the "Copy from original language if translation language uses encoded URLs" option and then from WPML > Languages > Edit languages > For correct language select > Encode URLs > Yes. This answer should address your last response above. 3. For the image settings: We see three options You can check if some attachments can be duplicated to translated content: Set language information for existing media Translate existing media in all languages Duplicate existing media for translated content Duplicate the featured images for translated content How do we make sure that the new blocks are. used and that the old Image blocks are overriden? We want to be able to use different images per language but we do not want to translate the image information like descirption or alt text. You mentioned that you "want to be able to use different images per language". Are you saying that you'd like to edit each image in media translation and upload a different image? 4. Lastly regarding translations We have put information into the new glossary - Is this only affecting WPML AI translation or also Deepl and Google - What would happen to our existing translations, would the Glossary take affect and re-translate and adjust where needed? -> Or s it that for this we need to choose "override existing translations" to have the Glossary take effect. Which then brings me back to the Slug URL issue question above. You can refer to this section of the documentation https://wpml.org/documentation/translating-your-contents/advanced-translation-editor/how-to-create-and-manage-glossary-entries/ for better explanation after changing Glossary Entries. Also, glossary will be used with any translation engines.
February 21, 2025 at 2:30 pm #16734166
svenH-12	Dear Kor many thanks for your update and response. However, I have to say that I am a bit disappointed with the solutions you provided. Everything you were writing is obvious from the previous response and from the help and support pages of WPML. But ny questions were more specific. Could I please ask you to re-read my detailed description and specifically answer: 1. What about the new code when I do not choose re-translate/ override existing translations? 2. When I copy the slug from the original page, what happens to translations already in place? 3. When I choose override existing translations, what is the behaviour for the slug (in the different settings copy/ use title)? It is clear for translate, of course, as I understand it will override. Regarding slugs - from what I understand there is no setting to keep the existing slug So this would mean -> When I choose “override existing translations, -> When overriding translations, WPML treats the page as a fresh translation and applies the slug settings you have chosen. Here’s the breakdown: • If “Translate” is enabled: → WPML will regenerate a translated slug, possibly different from the current one. • If “Copy from original” is selected: → WPML will replace any existing translated slug with the English one. • If “Auto-generate from title” is selected: → WPML will create a new slug based on the new translated page title. So how can I keep existing translations for the slug? 4. Images: We want to be able to use different images, but we do not necessarily need to translate the content of the images. What is the setting? I would really appreciate a dedicated answer to my questions and not just a copy and paste. That is the reason for me to provide all insights and feedback. Many thanks for your help, Sven
February 24, 2025 at 5:11 am #16738934
Kor Supporter Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Asia/Singapore (GMT+08:00)	Hi Sven, I apologize if my previous response didn’t meet your expectations, and I completely understand that you are looking for more specific answers. Let me address each of your questions in more detail below. 1. What about the new code when I do not choose re-translate/ override existing translations? When you choose not to re-translate or override existing translations, WPML will leave your current translations unchanged. The only updates will happen if you modify the original content, but the translated versions will remain as they are. 2. When I copy the slug from the original page, what happens to translations already in place? If you copy the slug from the original (usually English) page, WPML will replace any previously existing translated slugs with the original one. This means any manually set translated slugs will be overwritten. 3. When I choose override existing translations, what is the behaviour for the slug (in the different settings copy/ use title)? It is clear for translate, of course, as I understand it will override. - If "Translate" is selected: WPML will regenerate a translated slug, which could be different from the current one. - If "Copy from original" is selected: WPML will replace any existing translated slug with the original English slug. - If "Auto-generate from title" is selected: WPML will create a new slug based on the translated page title. **Unfortunately, WPML does not currently provide an option to keep the existing slug when overriding translations. You would need to manually adjust the slug after overriding. Reference : https://wpml.org/documentation/getting-started-guide/translating-page-slugs/ 4. Images: We want to be able to use different images, but we do not necessarily need to translate the content of the images. What is the setting? You can upload different images for each language version without needing to translate the image content itself. WPML allows you to use language-specific images while keeping the content unchanged. Just ensure that you upload the appropriate images for each language version using the media translation. https://wpml.org/documentation/getting-started-guide/media-translation/ I hope these more detailed answers clarify the situation. If you have any further questions or need additional assistance, feel free to let me know, and I'd be happy to help.
February 24, 2025 at 11:16 pm #16743585
svenH-12	Many thanks for the additional information. It would be good to have an option to keep URL slugs untouched as an extra setting in addition to translate, copy and create from title. Perhaps you can forward this request to the developer team. Thanks Sven