How to Install Other Language Packs for WordPress Dashboard
Are you looking to install other language packs for your WordPress dashboard?
If yes then in this tutorial we have shared the step by step process to do this easily.
In WordPress 4.0, internationalization and localization improvements were introduced and these included the release of language selection feature during the installation.
This update was followed up by the extension of this feature in WordPress 4.1 where it allowed users to install other language packs from WordPress dashboard or admin directly.
As of now, WordPress lets you choose between 65 languages and over 160 translations with English(US) being the default language of the installation.
This means when you will install WordPress, the default language selected will be English(US) and if you do not change this selection or did not get the opportunity to choose a preferred language then your WordPress dashboard / admin will be in English(US) language.
Before we move forward, it is important to know that these language packs do not translate the content on your site, it only changes the language of the WordPress admin.
Also, even after a default language is selected, users will be still be able to switch to other installed languages.
For example, if on a WordPress installation the default language is English(US) and the other language pack installed is Spanish then WordPress will give you the option to select / switch between languages as per your needs.
Keeping this in mind, in this tutorial we will be sharing everything you need to know about installing language packs from WordPress admin.
How to install language packs from WordPress dashboard
Before we dive into the process, it is always considered a good practice to take a complete backup of your site before you make any changes.
And for this you can use the UpdraftPlus plugin.
Having said that,
Below are all the steps that you need to install other language packs for WordPress dashboard.
Login to your WordPress dashboard
To install other language packs in WordPress, the first step is to login to your WordPress dashboard.
And for this you need to visit https:// your-site.com/wp-admin and then enter your credentials.
Please Note– In the above URL you will have to replace your-site.com with your domain name.
Go to site language settings
Once you have successfully logged in, the next step is to head over to Settings in the WordPress dashboard sidebar and click General.
Doing this will show you all the General Settings and here you will have to scroll down a bit until you find the Site Language dropdown.
Install language packs in WordPress
On finding the Site Language option, you need to click the dropdown and select a language pack that you want to install or add.
For demonstration purposes, I will be selecting English(CA).
Before we move forward, it is important to know that to make the search process easier you can type in the first few letters of the language pack and it will show you the results.
Keeping this in mind, once you have found the language pack that you want to install, you can select it by clicking on it.
And now to install it, all you have to do is click Save Changes button at the bottom of the page.
When you will click Save Changes, it will install the language pack instantly and the default language will be set to the new language.
In this case it is English(CA).
Also, on clicking this dropdown you will notice, it displays both languages under Installed and you can change the default site language by selecting any of the installed language packs and then clicking Save Change.
And that’s it you have successfully installed other language packs from WordPress dashboard.
Before we move forward, it is important to know that when multiple language packs are installed on your site, WordPress displays a language switcher on login, registration and reset password pages.
In other words if you were wondering why the language switcher was missing on WordPress login and reset password pages then this was most likely the reason.
See the below screenshot for referrence.
This language switcher was introduced in WordPress 5.9 and it translates the page in preferred language.
It is important to know here that WordPress gives you full control over this feature and you can disable it completely or only display selected languages in the dropdown.
Another thing that you will have to know here is that- if you are using Elementor page builder plugin then in Elementor 3.7 update a new feature known as localization was introduced using which you can change the language of the Elementor editor.
In other words you can use Elementor editor in your preferred language.
Once you are done installing language packs in then you will be able to use this feature.
In case you Elementor editor translation feature was not working for you then most likely not having other language packs was the issue.
Having said that,
I hope you will find this tutorial helpful and are able to install other language packs for your WordPress dashboard.
In case you have any queries feel free to reach out.
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