Add additional languages

Additional languages are the target locales visitors can use alongside the canonical source language. They are configured in a sortable repeater under:

Settings → POM Translate → Languages setup → Base setup → Additional languages

Start with one target locale. A second language multiplies translation, review, URL, navigation, SEO, cache, and support work.

Select the exact locale

Each repeater item contains:

• Language: a supported locale from POM Translate’s language catalog;
• Custom language label: optional text available to language selector markup through {%custom_label%}.

Choose the full regional locale required by the site. When only a general language matters editorially, still select the variant that best matches WordPress, SEO, date conventions, software catalogs, and the intended audience.

Do not add the main locale again. Empty entries, the main locale, and duplicate additional locales are ignored by the effective available-language list.

Add the first target

1. Confirm the source locale under Settings → General → Site Language.
2. Open Settings → POM Translate → Languages setup → Base setup.
3. Add an Additional language item.
4. Select the required Language.
5. Enter a Custom language label only if the catalog label is not suitable for visitors.
6. Place the item in the intended selector order.
7. Confirm Fallback language for redirects still points to an available locale.
8. Save the settings.
9. Wait for the page to reload and confirm the item remains.
10. Open Translations → Translate contents and verify the locale is available.
11. Test its generated public prefix with one representative post.

Saving this section refreshes WordPress rewrite rules.

Adding a locale exposes a new context

The configured locale becomes available to:

• translation management and status summaries;
• manual and POM AI translation workflows;
• localized slug and custom URL management;
• language selectors;
• lang, canonical, and alternate-language output;
• eligible AJAX, REST, WooCommerce, and email contexts;
• POM Translate cache separation.

This does not mean all content is complete. A public target route can use source fallback for missing values, so finish one representative path before placing the locale in prominent navigation.

Existing posts need source processing

Adding a locale does not rewrite every existing post. When an eligible source post is saved, POM Translate can initialize a missing target slug from its source slug and refresh its translation rows.

For established content:

1. choose a representative post;
2. save it in the source editor;
3. translate its required fields;
4. review its localized slug;
5. test its route and selector;
6. repeat through a controlled content plan or the supported bulk-generation workflow.

Do not resave the entire database indiscriminately. Limit processing to content types and records that are intended to become multilingual.

Adding two regional variants

If two configured locales share one language code, POM Translate generates distinct locale-specific prefixes. For example, two English variants cannot both own /en/.

The order of the locales can also affect browser matching when a visitor supplies only a general language such as en rather than an exact regional tag. Put the preferred general match first.

Verify before adding another language

For the first target locale, confirm:

• it appears once in translation screens and selectors;
• its public label is correct;
• its prefix is unique;
• the target route selects the intended regional locale;
• the selector returns to the canonical source route;
• source fallback is deliberate and visible during review;
• localized slugs and internal links agree;
• the fallback redirect remains valid;
• page and CDN caches keep locale paths separate.

Read Order languages before rearranging several targets, or Understand custom language support if the required locale is absent.