Translated slug leads to 404

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

Problem:
The client was experiencing random 404 errors on their multilingual website for specific URLs, such as 'label' and 'agency' pages. The issue persisted even after saving permalinks and enabling/disabling plugins. It was noted that the problem disappeared when the WPML String Translation plugin was disabled.

Solution:
We identified that the issue was related to the incorrect translation of slugs for custom post types and taxonomies. We advised the client to:
1. Translate custom post types and taxonomies in the WPML -> Settings -> Post Types Translation and WPML -> Taxonomies Translation sections, respectively.
2. Avoid translating admin strings that end in "_rewrite_base" in the WPML -> String Translation.
3. We deleted the incorrect admin strings for "agency" and "label" from the WPML -> String Translation, which resolved the 404 errors.

For the separate issue regarding the author bio description not translating, we created a new ticket to address it specifically.

Please note that the solution provided might be irrelevant if it's outdated or not applicable to your case. If you're still experiencing issues, we highly recommend checking the related known issues, verifying the version of the permanent fix, and confirming that you have installed the latest versions of themes and plugins. If the problem persists, please open a new support ticket with us.

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Tagged: Not WPML issue

This topic contains 8 replies, has 2 voices.

Last updated by Marsel Nikolli 1 year, 6 months ago.

Assisted by: Marsel Nikolli.

Author	Posts
February 7, 2024 at 3:20 pm #15277331
damienC-18	I was chatting with an agent about this issue. I thought it would be because of a plugin but actually no. hidden link as well as: hidden link are RANDOMLY returning 404 errors. Seriously, if you see those links working, wait a few seconds and try again... and again, they'll be on and off (mostly off), without having changing anything. My staging website is running with minimal plugins. I'm at utter lost. The theme's dev told me to contact you they say it's an issue with WPML. I'm also having 404 for agency pages but I don't know if it's related: hidden link Thank you for your help. Best regards,
February 8, 2024 at 9:06 am #15280200
Marsel Nikolli	Hi Damien, Thank you for contacting WPML Support, I will be happy to help you. I checked the link of the agency (hidden link) and on my end it works correctly, it switches languages without any issue. The link: hidden link when you switch language it shows the 404 error. - Could you please tell me if the slug "label" is a theme (Houzez) option? - Also, could you please check that the translation is correct? Looking forward to your reply, Marsel
February 12, 2024 at 10:32 am #15292173
damienC-18	Hi, Let's try to fix on the staging website first. So hidden link is working now, my hoster has done something for that, I asked them what specifically, I'm awaiting their reply. Switching language works : hidden link However, this Bulgarian version url should be hidden link Agency has been translated by Agentsiya everywhere already on WPML string translations: hidden link Yet the slug isn't translated. Why? The problem is the same for hidden link Label as been translated as Etiket on String Trnaslations: hidden link But the slug isn't translated here as well. How can we fix it please?
February 12, 2024 at 2:06 pm #15293499
Marsel Nikolli	Hi Damien, Thank you for the information. I would need a temporary access to your website, your site's WP-admin (please create a temporary administrator user using any email address you prefer). Please make a full backup of your site (files and database) and confirm it in your next reply. Your next reply is set to private for you to provide the username and password details. Thanks, Marsel
February 13, 2024 at 12:05 pm #15297309
Marsel Nikolli	Hi Damien, Thank you for the access. I was able to check further and this seems the same issue that you had before, please check the summary on top of the ticket: https://wpml.org/forums/topic/houzez-theme-permalinks-slug-not-updated/ The custom post slugs that come with the theme/plugin Houzez should only be translated on WPML -> Settings -> Post Types Translation section, you have the custom post types that start with "houzez_". You should not translate the admin strings that end in "_rewrite_base" on WPML -> String Translation. I've deleted the admin string for "agency" from the WPML -> String Translation, it should be working fine now. Let me know if you have any question or you need further assistance. Regards, Marsel
February 13, 2024 at 12:29 pm #15297393
damienC-18	Hi, Ok I think I get it for this one, thank you very much. I've been then looking to see if that was the same root cause now for this url which also returns a 404 : hidden link Yet I can't find any "label" or "exclusivity" rewritten from "_rewrite_base": Label: String translation: hidden link Houzez taxonomy: hidden link Exclusivity: String translation: hidden link Houzez taxonomy: hidden link The issue might surely come from "label" as this URL isn't translated correctly: hidden link It should be hidden link Could you please help me figure this one as well? Thank you.
February 13, 2024 at 1:08 pm #15297707
Marsel Nikolli	Same logic applies as for the custom post types and for the custom taxonomies, on WPML -> Taxonomies Translation section you have "Labels (property_label)", which is responsible for the label slug. It was being translated on WPML -> String translation (as you can see on the attached image), I deleted the string and now it should be working.
February 13, 2024 at 2:38 pm #15298156
damienC-18	OK this one I don't understand, I didn't see it when I was looking in all domains. Maybe I simply missed it then. Thank you very much for your assistance. All seems to work now, except the translation of author bio still: hidden link String translated: hidden link New threads created by Marsel Nikolli and linked to this one are listed below: https://wpml.org/forums/topic/split-author-bio-description-translation-not-showing/
February 13, 2024 at 4:14 pm #15298818
Marsel Nikolli	Give that the issue related to the author bio description is not related to the slug issue and we do have a policy of one issue per ticket. I've split the ticket so we can continue dealing with that issue on the ticket: https://wpml.org/forums/topic/split-author-bio-description-translation-not-showing/ Thanks, Marsel