Getting Started with QuickSilver Translate and WPML multilingual plugin
Creating a multilingual WordPress website involves more than just translating your site’s content word for word. To meet the needs of your global audience, you should aim to offer high-quality, localized translations. The best way to achieve this is by using the services of professional translators who have a deep understanding of your target language and culture. However, even with the best professional translators, you need the right tools to manage your site’s translations. As a WordPress site owner, you have the advantage of being able to use a multilingual plugin. But while there are plenty of different translation plugins available, not all of them come with the same set of features.
As the leading multilingual plugin, WPML makes it easier than ever to reach global audiences. Aside from letting you translate your site’s content, it is integrated with a number of professional translation services, including QuickSilver Translate.
To ensure an effective workflow, WPML also takes WordPress user roles into consideration. If you have a team of people with different roles and capabilities working on your website, you may only want specific users to have access to the translation management process. With WPML, you can assign different roles to the people involved in translating your WordPress website.
Let’s dive in and get started with QuickSilver Translate and WPML multilingual plugin
Deciding Who Will Translate Your WordPress Website
You may be building a multilingual site, but that doesn’t mean you speak all the languages you want to translate your WordPress site into. When you install and activate WPML multilingual plugin, the setup wizard allows you to decide who will be responsible for translating your site:
- Only myself – Select this option if you want to be the only person translating your site’s content.
- Individual translators – In addition to being able to translate your site’s content by yourself, this option allows you to assign the Translator role to any WordPress user role.
- A Professional Translation Service – This option allows you to connect your WordPress website with a third-party translation service provider like Quicksilver Translate.
- I want to set a “Translation Manager” who will choose the translators for this site – You can create a user who will take care of everything related to translation on your site, including adding translators or connecting to a translation service. For example, let’s say you’re developing a site for a client. You can choose this option, add your client as a user, and let them set up their preferred translation method.
Alternatively, you can configure these options by going to WPML → Translation Management and clicking over to the Translators tab.
Setting up a Translation Manager
If you have multiple people contributing to your WordPress website, you know how crucial the WordPress user roles are. They allow you to manage the process of building a website and control what each user can (or can’t) do.
With WPML, you don’t have to be the only person handling everything translation-related on your site. You also don’t have to give every user on your site access to the translation plugin. Instead, you can set up dedicated Translation Managers to oversee the translation process.
By default, all users with the WordPress Administrator role automatically become Translation Managers. Naturally, a Translation Manager with WordPress admin-level permissions also has full control over all the areas of your website.
However, you can make any WordPress user with at least editor-level permissions a Translation Manager at any time. Or, you can create a new Editor and set them as a Translation Manager. Such users will only have access to the content and translation management sections of your website. This way, you don’t have to worry about a Translation Manager accessing your site’s admin or mistakingly making a critical change to any part of your website.
No matter their WordPress user role, all Translation Managers can:
- Add local translators or connect your WordPress website with a professional translation service
- Create and assign translation jobs
- Review translation-jobs
- Change translation-related settings
Connecting Your Website to a Translation Service
WPML is integrated with many translation services, including QuickSilver Translate. This partnership allows you to take advantage of benefits like:
- Access to the qualified translators working with QuickSilver Translate
- Translate all your site’s content including posts, pages, categories, tags, products, and more
- Appoint Project Managers from QuickSilver Translate to the Translation Manager role
- An easy-to-use Translation Management dashboard with no need to export content for translation into XML or XLIFF files
- No additional configurations between WPML and the other plugins and themes on your website
When you’re ready to start using WPML with QuickSilver Translate, all you need to do is contact QuickSilver Translate to obtain an API Token. From your WordPress site’s dashboard, you or your site’s Translation Managers can then:
- Go to WPML → Translation Management and enter the Translators tab.
- Scroll down to Translation Services and search for the translation service you want to integrate with — QuickSilver Translate.
- Click on the Activate button and enter your free API Token from QuickSilver Translate. Then, click the Submit button.
Sending Content for Translation
Once you connect to QuickSilver Translate, you or anyone with the Translation Manager role can send content for translation by following a few simple steps.
1. Go to WPML → Translation Management.
2. Select the items you want to translate and the languages you want to translate them into. Then, click on Add selected content to the translation basket.
3. Head over to the Translation Basket tab. Once you review the content you are sending, set a batch name, and deadline, use the dropdown menu next to each language pair to select QuickSilver Translate as the translation service in charge of translating your content.
4. Click on the Send all items for translation button.
It’s worth noting that if you want to translate texts that are not in posts, pages, custom post types, or taxonomies, you first need to go through WPML’s String Translation.
Wrapping Up
In WordPress, you can create different user roles and control what each user can see or do on your site. Similarly, the WPML plugin allows you to decide which of your site’s WordPress users can create, manage, and send translation jobs to QuickSilver Translate.
Once you finish setting up your website’s Translation Managers, all you need to do is follow a few simple steps to send the content for translation. Then, all that’s left to do is enjoy your professionally translated and localised multilingual WordPress website.
