Configure site languages

The language list defines which locales POM Translate can render, expose in selectors, accept in translation workflows, and resolve through localized URLs. Configure it before translating a large content set or publishing target-language links.

Open:

Settings → POM Translate → Languages setup → Base setup

The source locale comes from WordPress. POM Translate adds the target locales and controls their public labels, ordering, prefix policy, and optional browser redirect.

Plan the language contract

For every intended locale, decide:

• the exact locale variant, such as en_GB or en_US;
• whether it is the canonical source or an additional language;
• the public name visitors should see;
• its position in selectors;
• the URL prefix generated for it;
• whether enough content is ready for a public route;
• what happens to old URLs if the locale is later removed.

A language code is not only a label. It influences request context, software locale, machine-translation direction, lang and hreflang values, WooCommerce order context, and the public route.

Choose the relevant guide

Recommended configuration sequence

1. Set Settings → General → Site Language to the canonical source locale.
2. Save and confirm Main language displays that locale in POM Translate.
3. Add one Additional language using the exact regional variant required.
4. Add optional custom labels for the main and target languages.
5. Drag additional languages into the intended selector order.
6. Decide whether the main language should use its own subdirectory.
7. Leave Browser language detection disabled during route testing.
8. Choose a valid Fallback language for redirects.
9. Save the Base setup section.
10. Test source and target URLs in a private browser window.
11. Translate and review a representative post before adding more locales.
12. Enable browser detection only after explicit routes and selectors are stable.

Saving Base setup refreshes WordPress rewrite rules because the available prefixes and default-language policy can change public routing.

What adding a locale changes

An additional locale becomes part of POM Translate’s available-language list. That list is used by translation screens, locale validation, selectors, localized URL generation, SEO alternatives, cache keys, and supported dynamic integrations.

Adding the locale does not:

• translate existing content;
• review machine-generated text;
• create duplicate posts or terms;
• guarantee that every localized slug has been approved;
• make an incomplete public route suitable for launch.

Use subject-level exclusions and selector planning when a configured language is not ready everywhere.

What “fallback” means in this chapter

Two fallbacks must not be confused:

• Content fallback: an empty or structurally invalid target value displays its source value.
• Browser redirect fallback: when optional browser detection finds no configured match, the visitor is sent to the selected configured locale.

The Fallback language for redirects setting controls only the second behavior. It does not create a translation chain such as French → English → Spanish.

Verify the complete language state

For each configured locale, confirm:

• it appears once in the intended selector position;
• its label and regional meaning are correct;
• its generated prefix is unique;
• source and target routes select the expected locale;
• the main-language prefix policy is canonicalized;
• browser detection does not override an explicit route;
• the redirect fallback is still configured;
• translated content, links, SEO metadata, and caches agree.

Continue with Choose the main language when configuring a new site.