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How to Translate a WordPress Site for Free

You don't need to spend hundreds of dollars to translate your WordPress site. This guide shows you how to set up a fully multilingual WordPress site using only free tools.

What You'll Need​

ToolCostPurpose
PolylangFreeMultilingual structure (pages, switcher, SEO)
Loco TranslateFreePlugin/theme string translation
LangblyFree (500K/mo)Machine translation engine

Total cost: $0/month for sites under 500K characters (~100 pages).

Step 1: Install Polylang​

Polylang creates the multilingual structure for your site.

  1. Go to Plugins → Add New
  2. Search for "Polylang"
  3. Install and activate
  4. Follow the setup wizard:
    • Select your default language (e.g., English)
    • Add target languages (e.g., Dutch, German)
    • Choose URL structure (recommended: /nl/, /de/ subdirectories)

Step 2: Install Loco Translate + Langbly​

  1. Install and activate Loco Translate from the plugin directory
  2. Download Langbly for Loco Translate from langbly.com
  3. Upload and activate the plugin
  4. Add your free API key to wp-config.php:
define( 'LANGBLY_API_KEY', 'your-api-key-here' );

Get your free API key at langbly.com/signup, no credit card required.

Step 3: Translate Your Theme Strings​

Theme strings are the UI elements: "Read more", "Search", "Leave a comment", etc.

  1. Go to Loco Translate → Themes
  2. Select your active theme
  3. Click New Language → choose your target language
  4. Select all strings (Ctrl/Cmd+A)
  5. Choose Langbly from the auto-translate dropdown
  6. Translate → Save

Step 4: Translate Plugin Strings​

Repeat for your important plugins (WooCommerce, contact forms, etc.):

  1. Go to Loco Translate → Plugins
  2. Select a plugin
  3. New Language → auto-translate with Langbly → Save

Step 5: Translate Page Content​

For page content, Polylang creates translated versions of each page:

  1. Go to Pages in the admin
  2. You'll see language columns next to each page
  3. Click the + icon for your target language
  4. This creates a new page linked to the original

For the actual content translation, you have two options:

Option A: Copy + Langbly API (technical)​

Use the Langbly API directly to translate content blocks:

curl -X POST https://api.langbly.com/language/translate/v2 \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"q": "Your page content here", "target": "nl", "format": "html"}'

Option B: Use TranslatePress Free (visual)​

For a visual approach, add TranslatePress (free) instead of Polylang:

  1. Install TranslatePress + Langbly for TranslatePress
  2. Enable automatic translation with Langbly engine
  3. Browse your site in the target language, and it translates automatically

How Much Can You Translate for Free?​

Langbly's free tier includes 500,000 characters per month. That's approximately:

ContentCharactersFree Tier Coverage
Blog post (1,000 words)~5,000100 posts/month
Product page~2,000250 products/month
Full small site (50 pages)~250,000Covered in 1 month
Full medium site (200 pages)~1,000,000Covered in 2 months

For most small sites, the free tier covers the entire initial translation. After that, only new/updated content counts against your limit.

SEO for Multilingual WordPress​

Once your site is translated, make sure SEO is set up correctly:

Polylang handles automatically:​

  • hreflang tags in the <head>
  • Language-specific sitemaps
  • Language switcher widget

You should configure:​

  • Translated slugs: /about → /over-ons (Polylang Pro feature, or edit manually)
  • Translated meta titles/descriptions: Use Yoast or Rank Math per language
  • Translated image alt text: Important for image SEO

Upgrading When You Grow​

When your site grows beyond the free tier:

PlanPriceCharactersBest For
Free$0/mo500K/moSmall sites, blogs
Starter$19/mo5M/moMedium sites, growing blogs
Growth$69/mo25M/moLarge sites, WooCommerce

Even the paid plans are 81–90% cheaper than Google Translate ($20/M) and 85–92% cheaper than DeepL ($25/M).

Next Steps​