WakaLang is a lightweight multilingual plugin for WordPress sites that publish manually translated content. It keeps the current language stable through clean URL prefixes such as /en/about/ and /ja/about/ , then helps you connect translated posts, terms, menus, navigation blocks, SEO metadata, and
PricingFree downloadThe WordPress.org download is free. Pro versions, add-ons or external services may cost extra.
CompatibilityRequires WordPress 6.4 and PHP 7.4.
SourceWordPress plugins · Oct 21, 2026
01 / Source details
Aboutthistool.
WakaLang is a lightweight multilingual plugin for WordPress sites that publish manually translated content. It keeps the current language stable through clean URL prefixes such as /en/about/ and /ja/about/ , then helps you connect translated posts, terms, menus, navigation blocks, SEO metadata, and hreflang output.
The free plugin is complete for manual multilingual publishing and makes no external network calls.
Free features
Register the languages your site offers (code, locale, names, URL prefix, default).
URL-prefix routing: every page is reachable under each language prefix ( /en/… , /ja/… ), with the prefix as the single source of truth for the active language.
A language switcher with automatic header/footer placement, an editor block, the [wakalang_switcher] shortcode, and the wakalang_language_switcher() template function — with optional flags rendered as Unicode emoji (no external requests).
hreflang alternate links (and an optional x-default ) for translated content. If x_default_url is left empty, WakaLang derives it from the current page’s default-language URL.
Internal links, menu links, the site/home link, and block-theme (FSE) navigation all keep the current language’s URL prefix.
Link posts, pages, and taxonomy terms into translation groups from a post or term editor, and create draft translations.
Archive, search, RSS/Atom feeds, and the core wp-sitemap.xml are scoped to the current language.
Translate taxonomy terms (category, tag, custom taxonomy) with per-language name and slug.
Manage a per-translation SEO title and meta description, handed to WordPress core and to Yoast / Rank Math (their own meta is never touched).
Translate the site title, tagline, date/time display format, week start day, logo, and site icon per language.
Optionally show a small “this page is also available in English” bar to visitors whose browser language differs from the page — the visitor’s own browser decides (JavaScript), so automatic redirects are never used and page caching keeps working. Off by default.
Every page’s <html lang> and, for a right-to-left language, dir="rtl" are guaranteed directly from the language registry — independent of whether a language pack is installed.
Review translation coverage, maintenance checks, FAQ, troubleshooting, support routes, and system information inside wp-admin.
Privacy
WakaLang does not call any external service, does not track visitors, and stores no personal data. It runs entirely on your own site.
Third Party Services
WakaLang Free does not connect to any third-party service, CDN, telemetry endpoint, license server, or translation API. It serves its assets from your WordPress site and performs language routing locally.
Optional add-on
A separate paid add-on is planned for AI-assisted, Markdown-safe translation using an administrator-provided API key, glossary, translation memory, and differential translation. The free plugin contains none of that add-on code and works fully without it.
Try it first
Use the Live Preview button on this plugin page to try a bilingual (Japanese/English) demo of WakaLang in WordPress Playground — no install required.
Getting started
After activation, open WakaLang → Languages , add your languages, set the default language, open WakaLang → Settings to choose switcher placement, then use the WakaLang editor panel to assign languages and link translated versions. The full user manual is inside WakaLang → Guide .
Source Code
WakaLang ships as readable PHP; the only compiled asset is the block editor script.
assets/blocks/language-switcher/build/index.js is the compiled Language Switcher block editor script. Its human-readable source ships in this plugin under assets/blocks/language-switcher/src/ ( index.js , edit.js , block.json ).
To rebuild it, install Node.js, run npm install , then npm run build:blocks (which runs @wordpress/scripts ). No other plugin code is minified or generated by a build tool.
See it in action
Screenshots & previews.
Language registry with setup guidance and controls for editing, enabling, and ordering languages.Sectioned language switcher settings for display, style, placement, and the admin-bar menu.Post editor translation panel for assigning a language and linking translated versions.Front-end flag-and-name language switcher output on a prefixed page.Language Switcher block options for labels, flags, style, and current-language visibility.
02 / Source details
Gettingstarted.
01In WordPress, go to Plugins → Add New , search for WakaLang , install it, and activate it.
02To install from a ZIP, go to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin , upload the WakaLang ZIP, install it, and activate it.
03Go to WakaLang → Languages to register your languages and set a default.
04Go to WakaLang → Settings and choose a header or footer language switcher position, or add the block/shortcode where you want it manually.
05Open WakaLang → Guide for setup steps, usage notes, FAQ, troubleshooting, support routes, and system information.
03 / Source details
Frequently asked questions.
After installing, what should I do first?
Add your languages under WakaLang → Languages , set the default language, choose switcher placement under WakaLang → Settings , then assign languages and translation groups in the post or page editor.
What should I do if settings are not reflected?
Flush rewrite rules from WakaLang → Tools , clear page/object/CDN caches, and confirm you are viewing a URL with the expected language prefix.
My translations lost their language after moving the site. What happened?
Language assignments and translation groups are stored in a WakaLang database table, so a WordPress export (WXR) does not carry them. Move the content first, then use WakaLang → Tools → Import and export translation relationships on the old site to download the relationships and on the new site to import them. Objects are matched by post type and slug (never by ID), a preview reports what would happen before anything is written, and rows that cannot be matched are listed with a reason.
Why is my theme or plugin interface text still in English?
WakaLang translates your content, URLs, and the site’s core “face” fields (site title, tagline, date/time display, logo, and site icon). It does not scan or translate the gettext strings built into themes and plugins (button labels, widget titles, form messages). Install a WordPress language pack for each language under Settings → General to translate those automatically. For strings without an official translation, hand-edit them with a dedicated string-translation plugin such as Loco Translate — a complementary tool that WakaLang never installs or changes for you. WakaLang and Loco Translate share the work rather than duplicating it.
Can I use WakaLang with my theme or cache plugin?
Yes in normal setups. If root browser-language detection is enabled, exclude the bare site root ( / ) from full-page caching, host cache, and CDN cache, or turn that detection off in WakaLang → Settings . Prefixed URLs such as /en/ and /ja/ remain safe to cache normally because the URL prefix is the language source of truth. Clear caches after changing URL, menu, or switcher settings.
What is the difference between Free and Pro?
WakaLang Free is complete for manual multilingual publishing. WakaLang Pro is a separate add-on for licensed AI-assisted translation workflows and is not bundled in the free WordPress.org plugin.
Where can I get support?
Use the WordPress.org support forum for WakaLang Free. Do not post license keys, API keys, account details, payment information, or refund requests in public forum threads; use the Pro support route shown inside the plugin when applicable.
Does WakaLang Free send my content anywhere?
No. WakaLang Free makes no external network calls, does not use a CDN, does not include telemetry, and does not perform license checks.
Does WakaLang support right-to-left (RTL) languages like Arabic and Hebrew?
Yes. Every page’s <html> tag gets a lang attribute and, for a right-to-left language, dir="rtl" , guaranteed directly from your configured language registry rather than from WordPress’s own installed language packs — so it is correct even before you install that language’s translation files. This covers WCAG success criteria 3.1.1 (Language of Page) and 3.1.2 (Language of Parts) for the language-of-page/switcher parts of your site. The language switcher also marks each right-to-left language’s link with dir="rtl" .
What does WakaLang intentionally not do?
To stay lightweight, WakaLang does not include a visual front-end translation editor, a full theme/plugin string-scanning panel, media/attachment translation, translated or shared slugs, per-language domains or subdomains, WooCommerce or page-builder specific integrations, translation-agency workflows, multisite language networks, or a visitor-facing machine-translation widget. The URL prefix stays the source of truth for the current language, WordPress slugs stay canonical, and no translation credits are sold.
Is WakaLang actually lightweight?
The additional database queries, autoload option payload, and TTFB impact WakaLang adds to a front-end page load are measured with a reproducible script and published at https://github.com/my-biz-dev/wakalang/blob/main/docs/benchmarks/frontend-performance.md — run it yourself against the project’s local verification stack to confirm the numbers. For hosting recommendations (a persistent object cache, page-cache interaction) see https://github.com/my-biz-dev/wakalang/blob/main/docs/performance.md.
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