How to translate a WordPress theme using Poedit?

WordPress is a popular content management system that allows you to create and manage websites, blogs, and online stores. WordPress themes are collections of files that define the appearance and functionality of your WordPress site. Themes can be customized by changing the colors, fonts, layouts, and other elements.

However, not all WordPress themes are available in your preferred language. If you want to translate a WordPress theme into another language, you can use a tool called Poedit. Poedit is a free and open-source software that helps you edit and create translations for WordPress themes and plugins.

In this tutorial, We will show you how to translate a WordPress theme using Poedit. Here are the steps:

Step 1: Download and install Poedit

You can download Poedit from its official website. Choose the version that is compatible with your operating system and follow the installation instructions.

Step 2: Create a new translation project

Launch Poedit and click on File > New. A dialog box will appear asking you to choose the language of the translation. Select the language that you want to translate the theme into and click OK.

Step 3: Extract the strings from the theme files

Next, you need to tell Poedit where to find the theme files that contain the text that you want to translate. Click on File > Properties and go to the Sources paths tab. Click on the + button and browse to the folder where your theme files are located. Usually, this is in wp-content/themes/theme-name in your WordPress installation directory.

Then, go to the Sources keywords tab and add the following keywords: __, _e, _x, _ex, _n, _nx, _n_noop, _nx_noop. These are the functions that WordPress uses to mark the text for translation.

Click OK and Poedit will scan the theme files and extract the strings that need translation. You will see a list of strings in the Source text column and empty boxes in the Translation column.

Step 4: Translate the strings

Now, you can start translating the strings one by one. Click on a string in the Source text column and type your translation in the box below the Translation column. You can also use the suggestions from Poedit’s online translation memory or from Google Translate by clicking on the icons at the bottom right corner of the window.

Some strings may have placeholders like %s or %d that represent variables. You should not translate these placeholders, but keep them in the same position as in the source text. For example, if the source text is Hello %s, you can translate it as Hola %s in Spanish, but not as %s Hola.

Some strings may also have context information that starts with a _x or _nx function. This helps you understand the meaning of the string in different situations. For example, the string Post may have different translations depending on whether it is used as a noun or a verb. You can see the context information in the box below the Source text column and use it to choose the appropriate translation.

Step 5: Save and upload your translation files

When you are done with translating all the strings, you need to save your translation files and upload them to your WordPress site. Click on File > Save as and choose a name for your translation files. The name should follow this format: theme-name-language-code.po. For example, if you are translating the Twenty Twenty theme into Spanish, you can name your file as twentytwenty-es_ES.po.

Poedit will also create a .mo file with the same name in the same folder. This is a binary file that WordPress uses to load your translation.

To upload your translation files, you need to use an FTP client or a file manager plugin to access your WordPress site’s files. Navigate to wp-content/languages/themes and create a folder with the same name as your theme. For example, if you are translating the Twenty Twenty theme, create a folder called twentytwenty. Then, upload both .po and .mo files to this folder.

Conclusion

You have successfully translated a WordPress theme using Poedit. Now, you can enjoy your WordPress site in your preferred language. You can also update your translation files whenever there are changes or updates to the theme files by opening them in Poedit and clicking on Catalog > Update from sources.

Translating a WordPress theme using Poedit is a simple and effective way to customize your WordPress site according to your needs and preferences. You can also use Poedit to translate WordPress plugins or other software projects that use gettext format for localization. We hope this tutorial was helpful and informative for you. Thank you for reading!

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