Lang Forge – Multilingual, Translation & hreflang SEO

Install Lang Forge, go to Lang Forge → Settings and add the languages you need. Pick how language URLs should look — subdirectories like /fr/, a query parameter, subdomains, or a separate domain per language. From there every post, page and custom post type gets a Language panel where you link or create its translations.

Lang Forge translates WooCommerce product content, product categories and tags, and store strings such as cart and checkout labels. Open any product in the editor and use the Language panel the same way you would for a post.

Lang Forge outputs hreflang tags automatically in wp_head for every translated URL, including the x-default entry, and generates an hreflang sitemap. No manual markup and no separate SEO plugin configuration needed.

Yes. Domain mapping is one of the four supported URL formats, alongside subdirectories, subdomains and query parameters. You can point example.fr and example.de at the same WordPress install and Lang Forge will serve the correct language on each.

Run the built-in migration tool. It imports your translated posts, the links between them, your string translations and your language URL structure. Polylang stays installed and untouched until you confirm the migration, so nothing is lost if you change your mind.

Yes, and your existing code can keep calling the same functions. Beyond importing your content, Lang Forge provides a WPML compatibility layer implementing icl_object_id() , icl_get_languages() and related functions, so themes and plugins written against WPML work without modification. One difference: unlike WPML, a translation that is still a draft counts as “no translation” for visitors, so these functions return the original page (or nothing) until the translation is published; editors previewing the draft still see it.

Only if you want them to. The migration tool reads your current language URL format and reproduces it, so existing links and search rankings stay intact. You can change the format later from Settings if you decide to.

Yes. Lang Forge includes RTL support for Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, Urdu and Kurdish, switching text direction and adjusting the admin and switcher layout automatically.

The switcher is available three ways: as a widget, as a shortcode you can drop anywhere, and in the admin bar. It can display flags, native language names, or both.

Any string passed through WordPress translation functions is registered automatically via gettext and appears in the String Translation screen, where you can translate it per language. No .po file editing required.

Yes. Lang Forge ships WP-CLI commands for listing languages, linking and unlinking translations, importing and exporting translation data, and running bulk operations — useful for staging deployments and scripted workflows.

After an update Lang Forge rebuilds the key of its strings table once, when an admin page is opened, so that names that differ only in case or accent (“Size” and “size”, “Resume” and “Résumé”) are separate strings. On a site whose strings table has more than 500,000 rows it does not change the table when the admin is opened, because a web request must not hold such a table for minutes, and the admin shows no notice about it. Run wp langforge strings-key to see the state and wp langforge strings-key --yes to rebuild the key, whatever the number of rows. Until then the site works as before.

Import and export of XLIFF and CSV files is available in Lang Forge Pro, for sending content to external translators or translation agencies.

Unlimited. There is no plan-based cap on the number of languages in the free version.

Yes. Lang Forge uses standard WordPress hooks — the_content , get_the_title , hreflang via wp_head — so no theme-specific integration is needed.

Elementor and ACF field translation is available in Lang Forge Pro. The free version handles standard post content, custom post types and taxonomies.

Basic translation, the language switcher, string translation and hreflang all run locally with no external requests. This plugin sends nothing anywhere. The separate Pro add-on, if you add it, lists its own requests in its readme.

No. The free version covers manual translation of posts, strings, taxonomies and WooCommerce content. AI translation, translation memory and bulk AI translation are part of the Lang Forge Pro add-on.

AI translations consume Forge Credits (separate from the subscription). One credit ≈ one short paragraph. Credits don’t expire.

Not by this plugin; AI translation is a feature of the separate Pro add-on, which lists its own requests in its readme.

A glossary locks specific terms to a fixed translation — brand names, product names, industry terminology — so they stay consistent across every translated page instead of varying between passes.