Hello, fellow learning site owners! Are you looking to make your LearnDash multilingual?
Having multilingual content can help you tap into new student markets and improve the experience for existing members too.
In this complete guide, we’ll walk you through step-by-step how to setup the popular PolyLang plugin. This will effortlessly translate your entire LearnDash site, including lessons, quizzes, and materials.
Make LearnDash courses multilingual with the PolyLang plugin
What is a Multilingual WordPress Plugin?
If you want to create a multilingual WordPress online course site, using a translation plugin is definitely the way to go.
Relying on manual translations or professional translators might give you a slightly higher quality translation. But let’s be real – that takes forever and costs a ton!
A good multilingual plugin will automatically translate all your content, lessons, and pages into multiple languages with just a few clicks. It saves you so much time and headaches.
The key is finding a translation plugin that’s easy to use and gives you decent quality automated translations. You don’t need perfection, just good enough that your non-English-speaking learners can understand and enjoy your content.
The bonus is that most multilingual plugins are pretty affordable, especially compared to continual professional translation fees. There’s really no reason not to use one if you want to expand your site’s reach.
The Big Benefits of a Multilingual LearnDash Site
Going multilingual with your LearnDash website is about way more than just tapping into new markets. Having translated content can really improve the experience for your existing members too.
Let’s quickly go over the key benefits so you can see why adding a multilingual plugin is so important:
It Offers a Better User Experience
Having content available in your visitors’ and learners’ native languages shows you care about their needs. It gives your site global credibility.
Ron Dorff saw this first-hand – after translating into just 3 languages, 70% of their sales came from international buyers. Making it easier for people to engage equals business growth.
It Expands Your SEO Reach
Each language acts as separate content to search engines like Google. So you can rank for keywords in multiple languages, not just your native one.
If you translate your “how to play flute” course, you can start ranking for flute-related searches in Spanish, German, etc. There is a huge SEO potential with little extra effort.
It Boosts Your CRO
Visitors are much more likely to join and buy from a site they can easily understand. La Machine Cycle Club saw a 25% conversion bump after translating into 3 languages.
Providing a seamless experience in someone’s native language both retains and converts better. More money in your pocket.
So go multilingual! The benefits for member experience, SEO, and conversions make it a smart play. With the right tools, it’s easy to implement too.
Tools You Can Use To Translate LearnDash Courses
PolyLang
Polylang is a top multilingual plugin that makes translating your WordPress site a breeze. It has a package of useful features.
Manual and Automatic Translations
Whether you want to translate content yourself or have it done automatically, Polylang has you covered. It flexibly supports both workflows.
Add Unlimited Languages
Many plugins limit how many languages you can have. Not Polylang – add as many as you need to reach your target audiences globally. No artificial constraints.
Built-in Translation Management
Bring in professional translators through Polylang’s integrated management system. It lets you easily assign jobs and review the translations seamlessly within WordPress.
Between the robust translation options, unlimited language support, and pro workflow features, Polylang checks all the boxes. No wonder it’s a popular choice for taking sites multilingual.
Multilingual Integration
The LearnDash Multilingual add-on is crucial for making your translated courses play nice with the core LearnDash builder tools.
If you’re using a third-party multilingual plugin like Polylang or WPML, you’ll want this add-on enabled. It improves compatibility between those plugins and key LearnDash features.
The add-on allows you to easily create and modify translated lessons, topics, quizzes, and more. You can use the Course and Quiz Builders for this purpose. Things flow smoother.
Without it, managing translations inside the LearnDash builders can be tricky and prone to issues. To avoid headaches, install the Multilingual add-on if you have translated your site.
It specifically bridges gaps between LearnDash and translation plugins like Polylang. You’ll be glad you have the improved integration and compatibility!
Installation
Installing the Multilingual add-on is quick and easy:
Option 1 – Using the Add-Ons Menu (requires active LearnDash license):
In your WordPress dashboard, go to LearnDash LMS > Add-Ons
Find the LearnDash Multilingual add-on and click “Install Now”
Once it finishes installing, click “Activate Plugin”
And that’s it – you have now enabled and integrated the add-on with your translation plugin!
The whole process takes about a minute thanks to the intuitive add-on menu. Much easier than manually installing plugins.
Option 2 – Manual Upload:
First, download the add-on’s .zip To download the file, you must log in.
In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New
Click “Upload Plugin” and browse to the .zip file you downloaded
Once it uploads, click “Install Now” to install the plugin
Finally, click “Activate Plugin” to enable the add-on
And you’re all set! The Multilingual add-on will now install and integrate with your translation plugin.
Manual upload takes a few more steps than using the Add-Ons menu, but it’s still a very straightforward process.
How to create a multilingual WordPress website using Polylang
Polylang makes it super easy to manually translate your WordPress site’s content. Let me quickly walk you through the step-by-step process.
First, install Polylang and head to the Languages settings. Pick the language you want to add, and the details will prefill automatically. Click “Add new language,” and you set it!
Now when you open a post editor, you’ll see a new Languages widget. Use the dropdown to switch between languages and click the plus icon to access the “translation” version of the post.
This is where you manually enter your translated content. Write out your text, title, etc. in the new language. Don’t forget to set the default language using the dropdown too.
Once you finish your translation, activate the Polylang widget on your site. This lets visitors switch between language versions of pages and posts.
That’s it! The manual workflow makes translating your content a breeze. And you can always enable automatic translations later if needed. Polylang is flexible like that.
For complete Polylang documentation, you can visit here.
Just install and activate the plugin after you have Polylang up and running. This gives you awesome multilingual features for your Elementor templates and widgets.
For example, you can create linked translations of templates and selectively display them per language.
Or keep translations separate with unique display conditions per language. There’s also a handy language switcher widget.
The Connect plugin gives you total control to build a smooth, flawless multilingual site with Elementor and Polylang.
Languages Supported for Translated LearnDash Courses
Now you might have a question that, “can i see a list of polylang languages available?”
LearnDash can handle courses translated into quite a few different languages already:
Arabic
Chinese
Danish
Dutch
French (both Canada and France versions)
German
Hebrew
Italian
Polish
Portuguese (Brazil)
Spanish (Spain)
Swedish
This also fully supports right-to-left (RTL) languages like Arabic.
So, it is likely that someone has already covered your target language. If not, LearnDash has a project where community members help add support for more languages gradually.
Translating LearnDash Courses into RTL Languages
Using LearnDash to create courses in right-to-left (RTL) languages like Arabic or Hebrew is seamless.
LearnDash has integrated RTL support, allowing easy translation of all content, such as lessons, quizzes, and assignments. The design meets the needs of RTL language speakers.
Pretty much any WordPress theme will work with LearnDash. But for the best experience with RTL languages, We recommend using an LMS-specific theme built to fully support RTL.
We can suggest themes that work well for RTL languages, benefiting both learners and administrators. There are a few good choices available.
The key is that LearnDash itself has robust RTL translation capabilities. With an RTL-optimized LMS theme, you can provide a great learning experience for Arabic, Hebrew, and other RTL speakers.
Configuring WordPress for RTL Language Support
Getting WordPress ready for RTL languages like Arabic or Hebrew takes a few steps but it’s very manageable.
WordPress will load RTL styles after your main stylesheet, so rtl.css only needs overrides. Set the CSS direction attribute to “rtl” and unicode-bidi to “embed”.
You’ll also need to enqueue a new rtl stylesheet. Just add this snippet to functions.php:
This can seem complicated if you’re new to RTL setup. But we’re happy to help if needed! Our team can take care of the WordPress configuration for RTL and make the process smooth.
We can also customize your LearnDash site’s RTL support if needed. Don’t hesitate to reach out to TeknoFlair and let us know your translation needs. We will configure your Arabic, Hebrew, or other RTL language site for an optimal experience!
Prevent Issues With These Tips From Our LearnDash Experts
Use the Latest POT File for LearnDash Translations
When translating your LearnDash site, it’s crucial to start with the most up-to-date POT file.
If you modify an outdated translation file, your changes will likely fail to apply properly. It leads to headaches down the road.
So before translating any LearnDash content, first download the latest POT file from the Translations tab in your WordPress dashboard.
This ensures you have all the most recent strings and text that needs translating. Older POT versions will be missing new pieces added in recent LearnDash updates.
Starting fresh with the newest POT file is best practice and avoids issues.
Picking the Correct Locale for Your LearnDash Translation
Some languages like Spanish, have different versions – for example, Mexican Spanish vs Spanish from Spain.
It’s crucial to select the exact locale you need when translating LearnDash. WordPress sees each locale as a separate language.
If you set your site to Mexican Spanish, it will not utilize anything from the Spain Spanish files. This is true even though they are technically the same language.
So be very careful to translate or import the files for the precise regional locale you need for your courses. Mixing up Mexican Spanish and Spain Spanish translations would cause issues.
Properly Naming and Saving LearnDash Translation Files
To avoid issues, you must name and store your translated LearnDash files correctly.
Save them in this folder path:
/wp-content/languages/plugins/
Use this naming format including the locale code:
learndash-[locale_code].po
learndash-[locale_code].mo
For example:
learndash-es_ES.po
learndash-es_ES.mo
Note the hyphens and underscores in the file names. Incorrect formatting will lead to problems.
Top 7 Multilingual Plugins
Here are the top 7 multilingual plugins including PolyLang as well as PolyLang alternatives.
The Polylang plugin makes it super simple to translate your content into multiple languages.
Here’s the quick process to get it going:
First, install Polylang from the WordPress plugin directory and activate it.
Then, use the Setup Wizard to choose your site’s languages, assign posts/pages to a language, translate media files, and more. Polylang will walk you through step-by-step.
Once setup is complete, you can translate your content manually or enable automatic translations. It also handles multilingual menus, WooCommerce support, and integration with page builders.
The best part about Polylang is that adding new languages takes just a few clicks. You can translate your entire site into as many languages as you need.
Can I use the PolyLang plugin with the i-max theme?
Polylang works well with many WordPress plugins and themes right away.
Polylang works well with page builders, membership plugins, forms, and other WordPress functions without any custom tables.
Complex themes and plugins with custom code may require additional adjustments to ensure full multilingual compatibility. But Polylang can handle most mainstream WordPress addons without issue.
How to set up pages in the new language Polylang WordPress plugin?
Need to create pages in multiple languages for your Polylang-translated site? No sweat – the process is super easy.
First, install and activate Polylang as usual.
Then, head to the Languages section and add all the languages you want to use.
Now when you open a page to edit, you’ll see a dropdown to switch the language. Select the one you want to translate the page into.
From there, simply translate the title, content, etc. into your chosen language.
After you finish, simply click Publish and the page will now exist in the language you selected!
Repeat the process to manually translate all your site’s pages into as many languages as needed.
How do I make my WordPress website multilingual?
The two most popular choices are Polylang and WPML. Both allow you to effortlessly create and manage content in as many languages as you need.
The plugins come jam-packed with awesome features too – translation management systems, automatic translators, multilingual URLs, metadata management, and more.
How do I change the language on LearnDash?
PoEdit and Loco Translate plugins simplify translation file generation and text string modification for different languages.
Translating everything manually takes time, but it’s worth it to offer LearnDash courses in your students’ language for a better experience.
How to add string translation in Polylang?
Just open up your theme’s trusty functions.php file and add this line at the bottom:
Yep, it’s that simple! This registers ‘String Name’ for translation. Make sure to give it a logical context too.
To add translations in all your languages, go to the Strings Translations screen in Polylang. You will find your new string ready for you.
How to set my account for both languages in Polylang?
First, install and activate the Polylang plugin as usual. This gives you the language tools.
Next, head to the Languages section and add all the languages you want to use. I recommend just 2-3 to start.
When you make or change a post or page, you can choose the language from a dropdown menu.
Translate the content into your chosen language, hit Publish, and voilà! That page or post now exists in the language you picked.
Repeat for all your site content as needed. Make sure to also set up translated menus for a smooth site experience.
How to set default language in Polylang?
First, install and activate Polylang as usual and add at least one language.
You will automatically set the very first language you add as the default. But you can easily change it!
Head to the Languages page in your WordPress dashboard. Mouse over the “Default” column next to your languages.
You’ll see a little star icon appear. Simply click the star next to whichever language you want to make the new default.
You have now updated your default site language in Polylang’s settings. New visitors will initially see the site in that language.
How to use Polylang in WordPress?
First, install Polylang through the plugin directory or by uploading the files manually.
After activating, you’ll see the handy Setup Wizard launch. It walks you through:
Adding your license key if you bought Polylang Pro
Selecting the languages you want your site translated into
Setting language assignments for all your existing content
Translating the homepage and media files
The wizard makes configuration a breeze!
Once it’s complete, start manually translating your posts, pages, etc. into the languages you picked.
You can also create translated menus and begin translating media for a seamless multilingual site experience.
Polylang integrates smoothly with page builders and e-commerce plugins too.
Does Polylang create xliff files?
First, use the export tool in Polylang Pro to extract all the text strings from your site’s default language. You can export them in either PO or XLIFF file formats.
Next, send the exported file to your translator or translation service. They’ll translate all the strings from your default language into the target language you need.
After receiving the translated file, use the Polylang Pro importer to add the translations back to your website. It automatically applies them to create a localized version of your site.
Polylang Pro goes further by allowing you to export/import translated versions of posts, pages, and media files using XLIFF format.
This export/import process makes getting professional translations so much smoother. And it prevents you from losing any work if migrating hosts or staging sites
Does PolyLang offer Hebrew?
Polylang actually comes preloaded with Hebrew already predefined as an available language out of the box. You can start translating into Hebrew with just a few clicks.
It also fully supports RTL text direction and scripts so your translated Hebrew content will read and display properly. No extra configuration needed there.
Because Hebrew is one of the most common RTL languages, the Polylang team made sure it works seamlessly.
Is PolyLang free?
Polylang is available 100% free in the WordPress repository. You can download and install it just like any other plugin.
It’s actually the most popular multilingual plugin available for WordPress, with over 700,000 active installs.
The free version gives you all the core translation features needed to create a bilingual or multilingual site. Things like:
Translating posts, pages, menus, etc.
Automatic translation if wanted
Support for unlimited languages
Translated URLs/slugs
There is a Polylang Pro version with extra features like translation management, but the free plugin has all the basics covered.
Key Takeaways
PolyLang allows unlimited translations and integrates translation management for multilingualism online course.
The Multilingual add-on improves compatibility between LearnDash and PolyLang
Correct naming, saving, and locales for translation files prevent issues
By using the latest translation (POT) file, you ensure that you translate everything.
RTL language support only requires some theme adjustments in WordPress
Going multilingual improves UX, SEO, and conversions for elearning sites
