Instructions: Convert WordPress multilingual to WPML Multidomain

Do you need WordPress multilingual? There are different variants of implementation. In the form of a path within the URL(example.de/en), as a subdomain(en.example.de) or as a multidomain. Each language has its own domain. From an SEO perspective, this is the best option for multilingualism with WordPress and WooCommerce.

This is precisely why we at FirmCatalyst opted for multidomains. It is clear which domain is responsible for which content. And each language version can be designed differently depending on the target group or country. In this tutorial, we show you how to make your website multilingual in just a few steps.

The aim of the integration: The German content of our company website is hosted on firmcatalyst.de, while the English content is hosted on firmcatalyst.com. In addition, the URLs of our old structure(firmcatalyst.com and firmcatalyst.com/en/) must be properly redirected.

You will need the following tools or services for this guide:

• Your .de domain (or other)
• A second domain, such as .com
• The WPML plugin
• WordPress hosting from Raidboxes
• Spreadsheet or an Excel table

The feature also works with Polylang. However, only if you have activated the WPML compatibility mode in Polylang. If you have any questions, please use the comments at the end of the article. Or contact the Raidboxes support team.

Making a WordPress website multilingual

To ensure that the trust that search engines have built up in our URLs is not lost, it is important that all links on your website are forwarded correctly. This makes it easier for search engines to understand the context of the redirect later on. And they know where the corresponding new content is now located. Here are our step-by-step instructions:

Save URLs in a table

First create a table with all the URLs of your website. This can later be used to check that no errors have been made:

Change A-Record of the domains

For this tutorial it is also important that both domains point to the same web hosting (in this case Raidboxes). To do this, switch to your BOX at Raidboxes. Copy the IP address and replace the A-record of your domain at the respective web host:

Change BOX type to a multidomain BOX

Call up your dashboard at Raidboxes. In the BOX under Settings -> Server -> BOX type you will find the option BOX type: WPML Multidomain. This must be activated. Attention: Please deactivate your SSL certificate temporarily during the configuration!

The view within your domain overview will then change. You can now configure which domain should be used for the second language:

To finalise the configuration for Raidboxes, it is important to add the www. forwarding for the second language. This must be done manually. If you have done everything correctly, all arrows should signal “green light”.

Note: It may take a few hours for the DNS entries to be updated worldwide.

You can now reactivate SSL. This process only takes a few seconds with Raidboxes. If you use a service such as Cloudflare for your domains, you must activate the same type of encryption for both domains – for example “SSL – Full Strict“:

Otherwise you will get an error like this:

Configure WPML

Install the WPML plugin and activate your licence. In the backend of your website, in the “WPML” tab, you will find the option: “Site Language“. Configure the desired languages in this selection window and select which languages should be used on your website:

In the next configuration field “Language Url Format“, you specify the path on which the respective language can be accessed. As we host the language on a separate domain, we select the option: “A different domain per language“. In the input field, enter which language can be found on which domain:

And that’s it already! The configuration of your multidomain WordPress website should now be successfully completed. Just check whether the second language version of your website can be accessed without any problems.

Set up redirects to the new domain

Experience shows that most webmasters or web designers neglect redirects. Yet they are essential for search engine optimisation (SEO). How else are search engines supposed to know where the new content can be found? All the backlinks that your website previously built up naturally now point to nowhere. And thus lose their value.

To prevent this from happening, you need to use a 301 redirect to show where the new page can be accessed. You can find information on 301 redirects – and other important tips for your success with Google – in the guide to SEO audits by Dominik Stein. In our case, German content was hosted on firmcatalyst.com/en/*. Now we need to set up appropriate redirects so that the URLs are accessible at firmcatalyst.com/en/*.

Fortunately, WordPress hosting from Raidboxes offers the option of creating your own redirects in the backend of your BOX: Under Settings -> Redirects -> Url redirects. Alternatively, you can also use a plugin that allows you to create redirects. For example, Yoast SEO or Redirection for WordPress or WooCommerce.

Redirects by the server are more resource-efficient and faster than redirects generated by plugins or PHP. Further information on redirects in Raidboxes can be found on the corresponding help page.

Your task is now to manually enter the URLs in your Excel spreadsheet under “Redirects”. In the end, the list of redirects will look like this:

Effects on your SEO

The correct integration of multilingual content is a major problem for many websites. There are often many pitfalls with regard to correct integration, security gaps, compatibility with other plugins and the translation of content.

It is crucial for search engine optimisation to integrate the so-called hreflang tag correctly. The hreflang tag indicates to search engines that the content of a website also exists for another language.

The WPML plugin takes care of this task for you. However, to be on the safe side, it is advisable to double check whether the href-lang tag is actually being used correctly. You can use the Sistrix hreflang validator for this, for example. Up to 25 queries per day are free of charge.

The decisive factors for migrating the content of a website into another language are

• The structure of the website
• The tag hreflang
• The correct forwarding of existing content

If you don’t implement these pitfalls correctly, this can have long-term consequences for search engine optimisation. So work out a plan for the future URL structure of your website. The right preparation is very important here.

Featured image: Kyle Glenn