Website translation

A complete guide: How to automatically translate ANY website

A complete guide: How to automatically translate ANY website
Elizabeth Pokorny
Written by
Elizabeth Pokorny
Elizabeth Pokorny
Written by
Elizabeth Pokorny
Reviewed
Elizabeth Pokorny
Reviewed by
Updated on
June 19, 2023

Although translation takes lots of time and effort, it reaps significant benefits. For instance, a translated website is far more likely to appeal to visitors who prefer to read sites in their native tongue. This is true for about 72% of internet users

The key takeaway: Enabling your global audience to read your website in their mother tongue is imperative for top-notch user experience. 

Not only that, but localization also drives organic traffic from search engines. A whopping 50% of queries on Google are in languages other than English!

But if ‘going global’ sounds daunting, never fear. Even if you’re a small business, you can localize your website to secure its place on the international stage. The way to go is to have your site automatically translated to kick-start the process. 

How do you do that? 

The answer: Weglot.

This solution makes getting your website automatically translated, easy. With just a few clicks, you’ll benefit from advanced machine learning that automatically converts your website in seconds. To get an idea of the cost of the different options available, you can use our website translation cost calculator.

Does that sound good to you? Great. Let’s explore this in more detail…

The best tool for automatic translation

As we just hinted at, Weglot is a website translator tool that seamlessly integrates with a vast number of content management systems and eCommerce platforms. For instance, WordPress, Shopify, Squarespace, and Wix – just to name a few.

Weglot’s automatic translation features pick up on all your website’s content and strings. It then organizes them by page and translates your web copy into the desired languages. 

Weglot uses a proprietary mix of machine learning translations, giving you the best combination of Google Translate, DeepL, and Microsoft’s translation services. These technologies have different strengths, so Weglot chooses the most appropriate for your website.

Not only that but the overall translation process is complemented by the ability to collaborate with human translators. You can access Weglot’s vetted translation partners from your Weglot dashboard. Alternatively, you can invite a trusted translator of your own to work with you, inside Weglot’s editor. 

Weglot also handles image tags and meta tags’ localization to ensure your website’s full optimization for local cultures and search engines. 

Now that we’ve covered the basics, here’s how to install Weglot onto your website…

How to get your website automatically translated using Weglot

The guide below outlines the procedure for WordPress. But, a similar process applies to most of the website platforms the add-on integrates with.

Install Weglot to Automatically Translate Your Website

To get started, head to your WordPress dashboard and then search for Weglot in WordPress’s plugin directory. Once you’ve found the app, install and activate Weglot. Start your ten-day free trial to get an activation email. From there, you’ll get access to your API code, which you’ll need in a second.  

Search for the Weglot plugin on WordPress

Choose the Languages You Want Your Site Automatically Translated Into

Open up Weglot inside of your WordPress dashboard. From here, you can determine the languages your website’s automatically translated into – these are known as the ‘destination languages’.

During Weglot’s free trial, you can translate pages into a second language. This includes up to 2000 words of content. But, on the paid plans, you can translate your website into 3, 5, and 10, different languages.

Weglot has a choice of over 100 languages you can have your website automatically translated into, including:

  • Arabic
  • Czech
  • Spanish
  • Swedish
  • Finnish
  • German
  • Danish
  • Norwegian
  • Polish
  • Portuguese
  • Romanian
  • Indonesian

…and many more

Once you’ve chosen your languages, you can customize your website’s translation button. When you’re happy with the button, hit save. Now, Weglot will translate your site into your desired languages within seconds.

That’s right, the auto-translation is that quick! 

From your website, you can switch between languages. Also, each language comes with an appropriate subdomain for optimal indexing on search engines.

Install Weglot

Use the Language Switcher to Toggle Between Automatically Translated Dialects

Weglot places a language switcher on your site. This consists of a button you (and your visitors) can click to display the flags of the languages your website is automatically translated into. Users simply click on their preferred language to peruse your site in their native language.

Website creators have plenty of control over where the language switcher is displayed. You can opt to have it as part of your top menu navigation, edited into website blocks, or installed as a widget on your side or footer bar. You can also add descriptions, modify the CSS, and upload your own flag logos for a fully customized look.

Weglot language switcher

Pick the right plan to have your website automatically translated

As we just hinted at, Weglot charges users based on how many languages they want to translate their websites into and how many words are translated in total. You can log into your Weglot account to view these details in your dashboard. 

To get a better feel for which Weglot plan best suits your needs, you can estimate your total word count with Weglot’s free word count tool. 

If you’re worried you’ll overreach your word count, you can go into your Weglot settings and exclude certain areas from being translated. 

Here are Weglot’s premium plans:

The Starter Plan for €150 a year allows you to translate your website into one other language (up to 10,000 words). You also get access to pro translators and visitor language redirection. Please note: these features also come with each of the plans to follow.

The Business Plan enables you to translate your site into three languages (up to 50,000 words). This package is €290 a year.

The Pro Plan for €790 a year allows you to translate your website into five languages (up to 200,000 words). It also permits you to add two team members, and you can view translated page views statistics to better understand which subdomains your visitors explore.

For €2,990 a year, the Advanced Plan permits you to translate your website into ten languages (up to 1,000,000 words). You can also export and import your translations as CSV or CLIFF files.

Optimize Your Automatically Translated Dialects

Once your website is automatically translated, you may find that some sentences would sound better rephrased. You have the option to control the quality of your translations by using Weglot’s post editing options, whereby you can manually edit translations, add teammates or use professional translators. 

With Weglot’s paid plans, you get access to the tool’s vetted translation partners to help you optimize your automatically translated texts. A trusted translator can edit and override automatic translations. Once a human has reviewed a machine translation, the dashboard will indicate this as ‘human-reviewed.’

Your Weglot dashboard also includes a search bar that allows you to search for translations. This makes it easy to keep translations consistent across your website. You can also determine translation exceptions, so that specific words never get translated in a particular way. This is useful for brand names and nouns that require non-literal translation. Alternatively, you can use the search-and-replace function to edit specific words across your website.

Weglot gives you full control over each phrase or word. So, you can do as little or as much of your own translation as you want.

You can use Weglot’s visual editor where you can see your translations in the context of your website . Plus, it also enables you to view the translation’s appearance inside your site’s structure, which comes in handy for ensuring text doesn’t overflow into undesirable areas. 

Weglot visual editor tool

Why is Weglot the best tool to automatically translate your website?

Of course, there are several Weglot alternatives on the market. However, many of these options fall short in a number of  areas. They sometimes use machine translation that doesn’t produce the most accurate results. Also, many of Weglot’s competitors offer limited customization when it comes to editing translations.

Few alternatives allow you to work with professional translators, as Weglot does. This is the best way to ensure your website sounds natural and professional in all localizations. Other website translators also don’t offer a visual editor where you can double-check translations appear aesthetically pleasing or just edit translations knowing exactly where they appear on your website. 

With Weglot, you get the best of both worlds. Machine learning auto-translates your site within seconds. Plus, the post editing dashboard and the option for human collaboration provide full control over your translation’s finetuning. 

And best of all, Weglot is available to integrate with all major website builders and eCommerce platforms. This solution translates every aspect of your store or blog with ease – including widgets, product descriptions, and buttons across all web pages. 

Get your website automatically translated with Weglot

With a tool as quick and straightforward to use as Weglot, there’s no reason not to localize your content to extend your reach. Whether you’re running a blog with a cross-cultural audience or selling your products abroad, Weglot makes it easy to engage with visitors in their native tongue. 

What makes this translation service so special is that you can fully customize each string and use human translators to optimize the quality. 

Get your website automatically translated today, by signing up for your free 10-day trial!

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