Switching main language

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

Problem:
The client installed WPML on a site with content originally in Russian and wants to switch the default language to English. They previously used Polylang for translations and are concerned about the implications of changing the default language, especially regarding SEO.

Solution:
For migrating from Polylang to WPML, use the Migrate Polylang to WPML plugin and follow the instructions here: https://wpml.org/documentation/related-projects/migrate-polylang-wpml/. Keep the same default language during the migration process and switch to English afterward.

If you decide to switch your site's default language, WPML can assist with any issues. However, be aware of potential SEO implications, which include indexing and crawling, URL structure, backlink profile, keyword strategy, local SEO impact, user experience, hreflang tags, search engine preferences, and legal and compliance issues. WPML handles hreflang tags, and you can learn more about multilingual SEO here: https://wpml.org/documentation/how-to-set-up-multilingual-seo-on-your-website/ and here: https://wpml.org/tutorials/2021/03/5-common-multilingual-seo-mistakes-to-avoid/.

If this solution doesn't look relevant, please open a new support ticket in our forum: https://wpml.org/forums/forum/english-support/.

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: Documentation request

This topic contains 16 replies, has 2 voices.

Last updated by Itamar 11 months, 2 weeks ago.

Assisted by: Itamar.

Author	Posts
January 7, 2024 at 4:07 pm #15157639
ylyasK	I have just installed WPML. My sites sources (pages, articles, popups...) are in Russian. I am adding english version now. My question is: I want my main language to be in English langugae not russian as I intended beforee. So can I later switch my main language to English or should I better make all sources (pages, articles...) in English and then add russian language translation? Thanks in advance
January 7, 2024 at 4:19 pm #15157642
Itamar Supporter Languages: English (English ) Hebrew (עברית ) Timezone: Asia/Jerusalem (GMT+02:00)	Hi, You better set English as the default language right from the start. Do not wait until later after you create the content in English. Please follow this guide if you need to connect already created English and Russian pages or posts. https://wpml.org/faq/how-to-link-already-translated-pages/ ** Important! Please make a full site backup (files and DB) before you proceed with those steps** Please share your site's Debug information if you need further help with this issue. You can read about it here. http://wpml.org/faq/provide-debug-information-faster-support/ Regards, Itamar.
January 7, 2024 at 4:47 pm #15157700
ylyasK	Thanks for quick reply Then I will now translate my basic pages, articles to English (form russian), do I just translate it manually in the editing of each page (of course I will do that) but I mean do I need to set languages somewhere like in WordPress basic settings (like Settings>Basic>Site language) or is there some certain place that I can set my primary language) Also little bit out of my main subject: could you please tell me which exact extensions of WPML do I need to instal for my site that is using Elementor Pro, Rank Math Pro and Woocommerce? I just want WPML be in compatible with those Thanks
January 7, 2024 at 4:53 pm #15157715
Itamar Supporter Languages: English (English ) Hebrew (עברית ) Timezone: Asia/Jerusalem (GMT+02:00)	Hi, When WPML is active you must set the default language in WPML -> Languages -> Site Languages. Please read the following guide about it. https://wpml.org/documentation/getting-started-guide/language-setup/ Regarding your second question, you must also install the Strings Translation add-on. For Ranck Math, you also need to install the WPML SEO add-on. Please read this guide. https://wpml.org/documentation/plugins-compatibility/optimize-multilingual-websites-using-rank-math-and-wpml/ Regards, Itamar.
January 7, 2024 at 4:58 pm #15157716
ylyasK	You recommend to start better with the target language then stick others. I see that. So I have a question about that: Actually I had a Polylang translating plugin, and I added english translations to my primary russian sources. Now after deleting Polylang, all english pages are now visible in Pages section. So since the english pages were added by Polylang later can I still use those english pages as a primary deleting all initail russian pages. Or I should not do so and I should rather totally clean Polylang's translated pages and just translate manually (in Elementor) russian pages into english, and then to stick russian to it later? I hope I could explain clearly what I mean Thanks in advance
January 7, 2024 at 7:58 pm #15157822
Itamar Supporter Languages: English (English ) Hebrew (עברית ) Timezone: Asia/Jerusalem (GMT+02:00)	OK, I understand you were using Polylang. It is good you told me this will require another setup process. You will need to install a bridge plugin called Migrate Polylang to WPML. Please carefully read our guide on migrating from Polylang to WPML and follow the instructions. https://wpml.org/documentation/related-projects/migrate-polylang-wpml/ If you have already set up WPML on your site without following the instructions from the above guide, I suggest you restore the site from a backup before you install WPML and only then start. Regards, Itamar.
January 7, 2024 at 8:29 pm #15157827
ylyasK	Got it. But what about the fact that my site's primary language was Russian and I want it be English now. I read on your site that it is recommended first to create pages on primary languages then switch it. So will your method help now?
January 8, 2024 at 6:26 am #15158152
Itamar Supporter Languages: English (English ) Hebrew (עברית ) Timezone: Asia/Jerusalem (GMT+02:00)	Hi, You wrote: "But what about the fact that my site's primary language was Russian and I want it be English now." The first thing you need to do is follow the instructions in our guide here. https://wpml.org/documentation/related-projects/migrate-polylang-wpml/ Since Russain was your site's default language, with Polylang and English as the second language, you need to keep it the same in the migration process. Then, when the migration is finished, and you check that everything is OK, you can switch the default language to English. You also wrote: "I read on your site that it is recommended first to create pages on primary languages then switch it." I'm sorry but I'm unsure what you are referring to. Can you please explain and send me the link to what you read? Regards, Itamar.
January 8, 2024 at 4:38 pm #15161939
ylyasK	Please see my screenshot hidden link Here is the link to that topic https://wpml.org/forums/topic/is-it-possible-to-change-the-main-language/ So this is what making me doubt about just switching language later. I am afraid that it can somehow affect negatevely whether on SEO or something else
January 9, 2024 at 8:35 am #15163486
ylyasK	Any news?
January 9, 2024 at 2:35 pm #15165224
Itamar Supporter Languages: English (English ) Hebrew (עברית ) Timezone: Asia/Jerusalem (GMT+02:00)	Hi, and thanks for the screenshot and link. What Mihai, my colleague, wrote is correct. Switching the site's default language might have some implications. As for WPML, you will need to keep track of the old pages before the default language switch. You will still need to keep the old translation path for those pages. Here is an example: 1. Your default language was Russian, and you switched it to English. 2. If you want to update pages that were created before the switch, you will need to update the Russian page and then its English translation. So the translation path is Russian -> English. If the homepage (sometimes referred to as the front page) of your site is a static page (vs a blog page), it is recommended to be created in the site's default language and translated into other languages. It is also important to know that you must have translations for the homepage for things to work correctly. I suggest you start with translating the homepage. If the homepage is not translated, WPML will give you a message about it in Settings -> Reading (WordPress settings). Regardless of the above, if you decide you want or need to switch your site's default language, it is possible to do it with WPML. We are here to help with any issues that might arise as a result of this switch. You also brought up the following doubt: "So this is what making me doubt about just switching language later. I am afraid that it can somehow affect negatevely whether on SEO or something else". The following is a summary of possible SEO implications resulting in a default language change: ----------------------------- Changing the default language of a website can have several SEO implications. Here are some of the key issues to consider: 1. Indexing and Crawling: Search engines might have already indexed your site in its original language. Changing the language can temporarily drop rankings as search engines re-crawl and re-index your site in the new language. 2. URL Structure: If URLs contain language-specific keywords, changing the language may necessitate changing the URLs. This requires proper redirects to maintain link equity and prevent 404 errors. 3. Backlink Profile: Backlinks to your site in the original language might lose some relevance if they're pointing to content that's now in a different language. This can impact your site's authority and rankings. 4. Keyword Strategy: Keywords that worked for your site in the original language may not be as effective in the new language due to differences in search habits and language nuances. A new keyword research and strategy will be necessary. 5. Local SEO Impact: If your site targets specific geographic locations, changing the default language can impact local search visibility. It's important to align the language with the primary audience's preferences in those regions. 6. User Experience: User engagement metrics like time on site, bounce rate, etc., can be affected. If the new language doesn't resonate well with your existing audience, it might lead to increased bounce rates. 7. Hreflang Tags: If your site is multilingual, ensure that hreflang tags are correctly implemented. Incorrect implementation can lead to issues in international targeting. In any case, 8. Search Engine Preferences: Some search engines are more dominant in certain languages or regions. The change in language might require focusing on different search engines than before. 9. Legal and Compliance Issues: Depending on the content and the regions targeted, there might be legal considerations or specific web standards to adhere to. Planning and executing the language change carefully, considering the SEO implications, and monitoring the site's performance closely after the change to make necessary adjustments. ----------------------------- The above are general points to take into consideration regarding SEO when changing the default language. It is important for me to add that WPML will handle the 'hreflang' tags. The following are helpful guides from our site about multilingual SEO. https://wpml.org/documentation/how-to-set-up-multilingual-seo-on-your-website/ https://wpml.org/tutorials/2021/03/5-common-multilingual-seo-mistakes-to-avoid/ I hope that this information is helpful to you. Regards, Itamar.
January 9, 2024 at 9:09 pm #15166615
ylyasK	Thank you Itamar for your answer. Let me make my site situation more clear to you. Currently, my site is closed from crawlers of search engines (you know there is an option in wordpress settings like "hide mysite from search engines", so that box is checked). Because it is brand new and it has never been indexed So the site was under development, and that is why it was closed from crawlers, now it is ready to be indexed. And I had Polylang plugin, I translated my russian pages to english with it. And when I was finishing my translations, I detected that Polylang is awful plugin (it is not compatible with Rank Math, it is not translating everything I need, and it is not SEO friendly). So that is why I deleted Polylang and after researching the best translating plugin, I decided to use WPML. So now after deleting Polylang. The Polylang plugin left translated pages at the all Pages section. So now my Pages section looks like this hidden link As you can see, my front page is only in Russian and other pages have their "translated pages". So I didn’t translate russian home page when I had polylang. It had to be translated at the last moment, but then I detected that Polylang sucks and deleted it. Now I can just duplicate this russian Front page and translate it manually to english in elementor. Can I then make it front page? The reason I was asking this: "So this is what making me doubt about just switching language later. I am afraid that it can somehow affect negatevely whether on SEO or something else" is that I don't doubt about offpage SEO that you described. I am doubting that somewhere deep inside the code the main home page will still have "footprints" that it was russian before. You see? I mean: I want to switch my site's main language from russian to english, and if I just switch it later at WPML, I am afraid that somewhere in the code there will be indicated that this was russian. Oh, I hope you understand what I mean And little different question: Is it possible to set a translation of the page as an another page? I mean can I just point in the WPML that translation of the "Page A" is the "Page B"? If it is possible, then in my case, can I just point russian pages as a translation of main english pages (that were left by Polylang)? You know what I mean? (My site is still closed to crawlers, so now before making it opened to search engines I can make changes without doubting about offpage SEO)
January 10, 2024 at 10:52 am #15168118
Itamar Supporter Languages: English (English ) Hebrew (עברית ) Timezone: Asia/Jerusalem (GMT+02:00)	Hi, Thanks a lot for choosing WPML as the multilingual plugin for your site! It is good if your site has been hidden from search engines until now. You have nothing to worry about regarding a decline in SEO. I understand your concern that something might be hidden in the code and hurt the SEO of your site later. However, regarding this issue, the only thing I can think of to pay attention to is the 'hreflang' tags. I've already mentioned it in my previous reply. You can read about 'hreflang' in our following guides: https://wpml.org/documentation/how-to-set-up-multilingual-seo-on-your-website/#help-google-find-translated-site-versions https://wpml.org/documentation/support/adding-hreflang-wordpress/ Also, the following guide and video from Google are helpful on this subject. hidden link As we stated, WPML automatically handles the 'hreflang' tags for you. But to avoid getting into unnecessary trouble, I'm urging you to proceed with the correct way to migrate from Polylang to WPML. You need to do it by following our guide here. https://wpml.org/documentation/related-projects/migrate-polylang-wpml/ This means that you might need to restore your site from a backup before deactivating and deleting Polylang (and possibly making other changes) and starting the migration process, as we specify in the guide. This should ensure a smooth transition from Polylang to WPML. ------------------------------------- About setting the front page of your site, you asked: "Can I then make it front page?" I just made a test for this case on my WPML test site. I created a page in the site's second language. Then, I translated it to the site's default language. Then, in Settings -> Reading, I set the page to be the homepage. It worked. There was no problem with this. ------------------------------------- You also asked: "Is it possible to set a translation of the page as an another page? I mean can I just point in the WPML that translation of the "Page A" is the "Page B"?" Yes, you can. In fact, I already told you about this option in my first reply to this thread. Here is the relevant guide on how to achieve this. https://wpml.org/faq/how-to-link-already-translated-pages/ ------------------------------------- Let me please state again that I strongly suggest you start by following the correct migration process from Polylang to WPML! Regards, Itamar.
January 11, 2024 at 8:32 pm #15176551
ylyasK	Thank you for your answer Itamar, I have carefully read your message and all articles. I find https://wpml.org/faq/how-to-link-already-translated-pages/ method easier for me to execute rather than https://wpml.org/documentation/related-projects/migrate-polylang-wpml/ (which I find pretty complicated) but nevertheless you strongly suggest me start by following the correct migration process from Polylang to WPML. And that what is stopping me from using first (just pointing translated pages) method which I actually like for its easyness. So could you please explain why using migration plugin is better in my case? Maybe I really have to use that method despite of all its hard execution process. Thank you
January 14, 2024 at 8:15 am #15181905
Itamar Supporter Languages: English (English ) Hebrew (עברית ) Timezone: Asia/Jerusalem (GMT+02:00)	Hi, The link to download the Migrate Polylang to WPML takes you here: hidden link On this page, you can read the following: What this plugin does: - Configures WPML to have the same languages as they were in Polylang. - Migrates all your posts, pages and custom post types and their translations. - Migrates all your taxonomies (categories, tags and custom taxonomies) and their translations. - Migrates your strings (only those which has been translated in Polylang and WPML StringTranslation recognized and registered as correct string) - Migrate widgets: You will need to activate WPML Widgets plugin. What this plugin doesn't (yet): - Migrate menus: Use the menu synchronization between languages option in WPML. - Migrate other settings: This will be implemented progressively. For the time being, you are free to adjust them manually after the migration process is completed. I strongly suggest you follow this process so things work correctly on your site with WPML. Otherwise, one or more of the above points in the "What this plugin does" section might fail on your site. That being said, you are free to try your approach and check if it works. If only connecting the translations as specified here https://wpml.org/faq/how-to-link-already-translated-pages/ works for you, and you don't have any problems with translation connection, taxonomies, strings, and widgets, then proceed with developing your site with WPML. Still, I suggest you keep a backup of the site from before this change if, along the way, you notice a problem. Regards, Itamar.