How to Change WordPress Language

Running into obstacles when using WordPress in the default language? Luckily, you can change it! This article will show you how to change WordPress’ language and will provide a step-by-step guide for a better native-language blogging experience.

Language Settings in WordPress

Setting up a site’s language is essential for both website owners and visitors. While you can thoroughly understand and manage your admin page, visitors get to easily navigate and obtain what they need from your site.

Fortunately, when you change the WordPress language, you get two options:

• Blog Language. Used to change the dashboard’s language. Each user can set up a different language for their panel. This is a great option if your site’s admins come from different countries and prefer using their native languages.
• Interface Language. This setting is used to configure the front end language – or what your visitors see, excluding posts.

Additionally, while the platform has a built-in language directory, hundreds of other translations are unfinished.

Three Ways to Change Your WordPress Language

There are three methods you can use to change WordPress’ language ‒ configuring settings on the dashboard, performing it manually, or by using a plugin.

Changing to a Preinstalled WordPress Language

Let’s dig into the WordPress settings to change your front end language:

1. Head to your WordPress Dashboard -> Settings -> General.
2. Scroll down to Site Language -> pick your preferred language from the drop-down menu.
3. Click Save Changes.

Meanwhile, here are the steps to change WordPress’ language on the admin panel – the back end:

1. Access your WordPress Dashboard -> Users -> Your Profile.
2. In the Personal Options section, go to Language -> select your preferred language from the drop-down menu.
3. Hit Update Profile.

Manually Changing to an Unavailable Language

If your choice is unavailable in the preinstalled language section, you can add it manually.

There are two methods you can use ‒ using an FTP client like FileZilla or uploading the translation file though the hPanel’s file manager.

Let’s dive into the hPanel to change your site’s language manually:

1. Go to the WordPress Translation Team page and scroll down to the Translation Teams section.
2. Select your language option and click its percentage. In this tutorial, we’ll use Bosnian.
3. In the new page, under the Set/Sub Project column, select the version that matches your WordPress core.
4. Head to the bottom of the development page. Choose all current and Machine Object Message Catalog (.mo) from the drop-down menu, then click Export to download the translation file.
5. Now, go to your hPanel then to Files -> File Manager.
6. Choose the domain on which you want to install the language and press Go to File Manager.
7. When browsing the WordPress files, select wp-content -> languages.
8. At the top right corner of your language page, click the Upload Files icon.
9. Select and upload the translation file.
10. Now, access your WordPress Dashboard, go to Settings -> General.
11. Navigate to Site Language -> select the language you’ve installed from the drop-down menu -> Save Changes.

Automatically Using a Plugin

Another option to change the WordPress language is by using a plugin. There are tons of language plugins available, but our recommendation is Preferred Languages.

Once you activate it, you can create a list of your preferred languages in order. Thus, if WordPress fails to find the translation in the first language on your list, it will load your second language, and so on.

Now, let’s install the plugin:

1. Open the WordPress Dashboard -> Plugins -> Add New.
2. Type Preferred Languages in the plugin search box.
3. Click Install Now, then Activate.
4. Head to Settings -> General.
5. In the Site Language section, create your language preference list.
6. Hit Save Changes.

Conclusion

WordPress provides the language support you need to make website management as easy as possible. Not only does this platform provide built-in language options, but it also has open-source translation projects to cover other options. In addition, learning how to change WordPress’ language only takes a few minutes!

You can localize your site by going to the WordPress dashboard and using one of the preinstalled languages. If you don’t find your preferred option in the directory, head to the Translation Team page and install the language from your hPanel or through an FTP client. Alternatively, you can use a plugin that will simplify the process.

Give it a try and good luck!