The Export/Import feature lets you move translations in and out of Lang Forge using industry-standard file formats. This is essential when you work with professional translators or translation agencies who use specialized tools (like SDL Trados, MemoQ, or Memsource), when you need to transfer translations between WordPress installations, or when you want to create reliable backups of all your translation work.
Understanding the export/import workflow unlocks professional translation processes — you can send untranslated content to an agency in a format they already know, receive completed translations back, and import them into your site without any copy-pasting or manual post editing.
Supported file formats
| Format | What it is | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| XLIFF 1.2 | XML Localization Interchange File Format — the universal standard for professional translation tools | Working with translation agencies, professional freelance translators, and CAT (Computer-Assisted Translation) tools |
| CSV | Comma-separated values that can be opened in Excel, Google Sheets, or any text editor | Quick review workflows, small projects, non-technical team members who prefer spreadsheets |
Step-by-step: Exporting translations to send to a translation agency
- Go to Lang Forge > Import/Export in your WordPress admin
- Click the Export tab
- Configure your export settings:
| Setting | What to choose | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Format | XLIFF (for agencies) or CSV (for spreadsheet review) | XLIFF is the professional standard; CSV is simpler |
| Source language | Your default language (e.g., English) | The language your content was originally written in |
| Target language | The language you need translated (e.g., Spanish) | The language the agency will translate into |
| Content type filter | All, or limit to Pages only, Products only, etc. | Use this to send smaller batches to the agency |
| Status filter | “Untranslated only” (most common for agencies), “All content”, or “Translated only” (for backups) | “Untranslated only” gives the agency exactly what they need to work on |
- Click Export
- A file downloads to your computer with a descriptive filename like
langforge-export-en-to-es-2026-04-10.xliff - Email the file to your translation agency with instructions about your Glossary terms (export the Glossary as CSV and send it alongside the XLIFF)
- The agency opens the XLIFF in their professional tool, translates the content, and returns a completed XLIFF file
Step-by-step: Importing completed translations from an agency
- When the agency returns the translated XLIFF (or CSV) file, go to Lang Forge > Import/Export
- Click the Import tab
- Click Choose File and select the translated file from your computer
- Click Upload and Preview
- A preview table shows detailed information:
– How many match existing posts on your site
– How many are new translations versus updates to existing translations
– Any rows that could not be matched to existing posts (with explanations of why)
- Review the preview carefully. You can uncheck any rows you do not want to import (for example, if a few translations look incomplete)
- Click Import to apply the translations
- A summary shows the results: how many translations were imported, how many existing translations were updated, and how many were skipped
- Navigate to your post list, filter by the target language, and verify that the imported translations appear correctly
- Review and publish the imported translations (they are imported as Drafts by default)
Professional agency workflow: A complete example
Here is how a typical collaboration with a translation agency works from start to finish:
- You export 50 untranslated product pages as XLIFF, targeted from English to German
- You also export your Glossary as CSV and email both files to the agency
- The agency imports the XLIFF into their translation tool, loads the glossary for reference, assigns translators, and completes the work (typically 5-10 business days for 50 pages)
- The agency exports the completed XLIFF and emails it back to you
- You import the file into Lang Forge. The preview shows “50 posts matched, 50 new translations to create”
- You click Import. All 50 product pages now have German draft translations
- You review a few key pages, publish them, and use bulk actions to publish the rest
Other common workflows
Migrating translations between WordPress sites:- On the source site, export all translated content as XLIFF
- Install Lang Forge on the destination site and configure the same languages
- Import the XLIFF file. Translations are matched to posts by content fingerprint, not post IDs, so it works even if post IDs differ between sites
- Once a month, export all translations (select “Translated only” in the status filter) for each language as XLIFF files
- Store the files in your regular backup system
- If you ever need to restore, import the backup files
What happens on the Free plan
Export/Import is not available on the Free plan. The Import/Export menu item is not visible. There is no file-based translation workflow. Translations must be created manually in the editor or using copy and paste.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Not testing with a small batch first. When working with a new agency, export just 5 pages first. Complete the full round-trip (export, translate, import) to verify everything works before committing to a large project
- Importing without reviewing the preview. Always check the preview table before clicking Import. Make sure the matched post counts look right and there are no unexpected unmatched rows
- Forgetting the Glossary. If you send content to an agency without your Glossary, they may translate brand names or key terms differently from what you expect
> Tip: If you are working with a translation agency for the first time, start with a test batch of 5-10 pages. This lets both sides verify that the export-translate-import cycle works smoothly before committing to hundreds of pages.
> Good to know: When importing, Lang Forge matches translations to original posts using a content fingerprint based on the original text, not WordPress post IDs. This means imports work correctly even when moving between different WordPress installations where post IDs differ.
[Screenshot: The Import preview screen showing matched translations, post counts, new vs. updated breakdown, and the Import button]
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