Recipe: Translating a WooCommerce Store

This recipe walks you through translating an entire WooCommerce store from scratch — from initial setup to a fully multilingual shopping experience. Follow these steps in order for the smoothest process.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

• WordPress installed with WooCommerce active and configured (products, categories, pages, and payment methods already set up)
• Lang Forge PRO installed and activated with a valid license
• A plan for which languages you want to support (this recipe uses English as default and Spanish as the target language, but the steps apply to any language pair)
• Sufficient AI credits if you plan to use AI translation (check your balance at Lang Forge > Account)

Phase 1: Configure Lang Forge for WooCommerce

1. Go to Lang Forge > Languages
2. Confirm your default language is correct (English in this example)
3. Use the Add a language… search field below the Active Languages table to add Spanish (or your target languages) — type the name and pick from the dropdown
4. Go to Lang Forge > Settings, scroll down to URL Settings, and select Directory (recommended for stores)
5. Continue to Translatable Content and check the following boxes:

– Posts (if you have a blog)

– Products

– Product Categories

– Product Tags

– Product Attributes

1. Click Save Changes
2. Go to Settings > Permalinks and click Save Changes without changing anything (this refreshes the URL rewrite rules)

Phase 2: Translate WooCommerce Core Pages

These are the foundational pages that every WooCommerce store depends on. Translate them first because the cart, checkout, and account flows will not work in the target language without them.

1. Go to Pages > All Pages
2. Find the Shop page and open it in the editor
3. In the Language & Translations metabox, click Create Translation for Spanish
4. In the new draft, translate the page title (e.g., “Shop” becomes “Tienda”)
5. The WooCommerce shortcodes in the page content are handled automatically — do not change them
6. Click Publish
7. Repeat steps 9 through 13 for the Cart page (translate the title, e.g., “Carrito”)
8. Repeat for the Checkout page (e.g., “Finalizar Compra”)
9. Repeat for the My Account page (e.g., “Mi Cuenta”)
10. Repeat for the Terms and Conditions page if you have one

Phase 3: Translate Product Categories and Attributes

1. Go to Products > Categories
2. Click on each category. In the edit screen, use the Language & Translations section to create a Spanish translation with the translated name, slug, and description
3. Repeat for all categories and subcategories
4. Go to Products > Attributes
5. Click on each attribute (e.g., “Color,” “Size”)
6. Translate the attribute name (e.g., “Color” stays “Color” in Spanish, but “Size” becomes “Talla”)
7. Click into the attribute’s terms and translate each value (e.g., “Small” becomes “Pequeno,” “Medium” becomes “Mediano,” “Large” becomes “Grande”)

Phase 4: Translate Products

1. Go to Products > All Products
2. You have two options:

– Individual approach: Open each product, click Create Translation for Spanish, then use AI Translate or translate manually

1. If you used the bulk approach, review the translated product drafts. Pay special attention to:

– Short descriptions (these appear on shop archive pages)

– Long descriptions (check formatting and accuracy)

1. For products with variations, open the translated product and verify that variation descriptions are translated. Attribute values (like “Small,” “Medium”) are translated through the attribute translation system in Phase 3

Phase 5: Translate WooCommerce Strings

1. Go to Lang Forge > String Translation
2. Select Spanish as the target language
3. Use the Source filter and select WooCommerce
4. You will see all WooCommerce interface strings: button labels, form fields, status messages, and more
5. Click AI Translate All to translate them in one batch (PRO), or translate key strings manually:

– “Proceed to checkout” → “Proceder al pago”

– “Out of stock” → “Agotado”

– “Sale!” → “Oferta!”

– “Description” → “Descripcion”

– “Additional information” → “Informacion adicional”

– “Reviews” → “Resenas”

1. Review and adjust any AI-translated strings that need refinement

Phase 6: Set Up the Language Switcher

1. Choose where to place the language switcher for your store:

– Footer widget area: Add the Lang Forge Language Switcher widget

– Product pages: Use the

1. Go to Appearance > Menus, select your main menu, and add the Lang Forge Language Switcher item from the Lang Forge panel on the left
2. Save the menu

Phase 7: Translate Order Emails

1. Go to Lang Forge > String Translation
2. Filter by Source: “WooCommerce” and search for email-related strings
3. Translate email subject lines and body text for notifications like “Order confirmation,” “Order shipped,” and “Password reset”
4. When a customer completes checkout in Spanish, WooCommerce sends the confirmation email in Spanish automatically

Phase 8: Test the Full Shopping Flow

1. Open your store in an incognito browser window
2. Switch to Spanish using the language switcher
3. Browse the shop page — verify product names, categories, and prices display correctly in Spanish
4. Open a product page — check the name, descriptions, attribute labels, and button text
5. Add a product to the cart — verify the cart page shows translated product names and labels
6. Proceed to checkout — verify all form labels, totals, and the “Place Order” button are in Spanish
7. If possible, place a test order and verify the confirmation email arrives in Spanish

Phase 9: Publish and Monitor

1. When you are satisfied with the translations, publish all translated product drafts:

– Filter by Language: Spanish

– Select all products using the checkbox

– Use the Bulk Actions dropdown to change status to “Published”

– Click Apply

1. Submit the hreflang sitemap to Google Search Console to help search engines discover your translated store pages
2. Monitor the Lang Forge > Analytics dashboard over the following weeks to track translation coverage and identify any content you may have missed

> Tip: Set up your Glossary before starting Phase 4. Add your brand name, product names, and any technical terms as “Do Not Translate” entries. This prevents the AI from translating proprietary terms incorrectly across hundreds of products.

> Good to know: Product prices, stock levels, SKUs, and images are shared across all languages automatically. You do not need to set these up separately for each translation.

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