Special characters in Taxonomy Labels are saved as HTML entities

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

Problem:
The client is experiencing an issue where special characters in taxonomy labels, such as 'Catégorie', are saved incorrectly as HTML entities in the database when using the WPML plugin. This incorrect string is then displayed in both the admin translation editor and on the front end of the site.
Solution:
We recommend checking the database collation settings. The collation 'utf8mb4_unicode_520_ci' should generally resolve issues with special characters. Additionally, it is crucial to ensure that you have made a full site backup (both files and database) before making any changes to the database settings. If the problem persists or if this solution does not apply to your case, please visit our support forum for further assistance. We also 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.

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Tagged: Not WPML issue

This topic contains 1 reply, has 0 voices.

Last updated by Itamar 1 month ago.

Assisted by: Itamar.

Author	Posts
September 12, 2025 at 2:40 pm #17398174
simeaM	Background of the issue: I am trying to translate the labels for a taxonomy, such as the built-in 'Category' taxonomy, from English to French using the WPML plugin. When I enter a translation with a special character, like `Catégorie`, it gets saved incorrectly. Here is a link to a page where the issue can be seen: hidden link Symptoms: The special character is converted to an HTML entity. The database saves the value as `Catégory`, and this incorrect string is displayed in the admin translation editor and on the front end of the site. The issue persists even after extensive troubleshooting, including a strict conflict test and testing in different environments. Questions: Why does the WPML plugin save special characters as HTML entities in taxonomy labels? How can I ensure that special characters are saved correctly in the database?
September 14, 2025 at 2:09 pm #17400002
Itamar WPML Supporter since 02/2016 Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Asia/Jerusalem (GMT+03:00)	Hi, I have a similar result in the DB in the icl_string_translations table. Please see the attached screenshot icl_string_translations.jpg. However, there is no problem on the frontend. On the frontend, I see it like this: /fr/category/non-categorise/ and the page works. Please see the attached screenshot fr-category.jpg. Can you please elaborate on the problem you are having? Can you share the link to where I can see the problem on the frontend? Also, please ensure you have the correct collation in the DB. I think that utf8mb4_unicode_520_ci should work for most cases. ** Important! Please make a full site backup (files and DB) before you proceed with those steps** Regards, Itamar.