How to Change the WordPress Language in functions.php
As a WordPress developer, you may often encounter the need to change the language of your website to cater to a diverse audience. One of the ways to achieve this is by modifying the functions.php
file, which is a powerful tool that allows you to extend the functionality of your WordPress site.
In this article, we'll walk you through the steps to change the WordPress language in the functions.php
file, focusing on the specific changes you need to make to ensure your website displays the correct language for your users.
Understanding the Problem
Imagine you have a WordPress website that needs to support multiple languages. By default, WordPress sets the language based on the user's browser settings or the site's general settings. However, there may be instances where you want to override this behavior and set the language dynamically, based on the user's location or specific URL parameters.
For example, let's say your website has an Arabic version accessible through the /ar
URL, while the default language is Turkish (tr_TR
). In this case, you'll need to modify the code in the functions.php
file to ensure that users visiting the /ar
URL see the content in Arabic, while all other users see the content in Turkish.
The Solution: Changing the WordPress Language in functions.php
To change the WordPress language in the functions.php
file, you'll need to use the locale
filter, which allows you to modify the language used throughout your WordPress site.
Here's the code you need to add to your functions.php
file:
function myprefix_live_site_locale( $locale ) {
if ( ! is_admin() ) {
if (strpos($_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'], '/ar') !== false) {
return 'ar_ar';
} else {
return 'tr_TR';
}
}
return $locale;
}
add_filter( 'locale', 'myprefix_live_site_locale' );
Let's break down the code and understand the changes you need to make:
- Function Definition: The function
myprefix_live_site_locale()
is responsible for determining the appropriate language based on the user's request.
- Condition: The
if ( ! is_admin() )
statement ensures that the language change only applies to the frontend of your website, and not the WordPress admin area.
- URL Check: The
if (strpos($_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'], '/ar') !== false)
line checks if the current URL contains the /ar
segment. This is used to identify if the user is accessing the Arabic version of your website.
- Language Return: If the URL contains
/ar
, the function returns 'ar_ar'
, which sets the language to Arabic. Otherwise, it returns 'tr_TR'
, which sets the language to Turkish.
- Filter Application: The
add_filter( 'locale', 'myprefix_live_site_locale' )
line applies the myprefix_live_site_locale()
function to the locale
filter, which allows WordPress to use the modified language settings.
Now, let's address the changes you mentioned in your description:
- Change
strpos($_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'], '/ar/')
to strpos($_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'], '/ar')
: The original code used strpos($_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'], '/ar/')
to check for the presence of the /ar/
segment in the URL. However, this would only match URLs that have the /ar/
pattern, and not URLs that have the /ar
pattern (e.g., /ar-category/post
). By removing the trailing slash, the code will now match both /ar
and /ar/
URLs.
- Change
return 'ar'
to return 'ar_ar'
: The original code returned 'ar'
as the language code, but this is not a complete language code. WordPress typically uses language codes in the format of 'language_REGION'
, where 'language'
is the two-letter language code (e.g., 'ar'
for Arabic) and 'REGION'
is the two-letter region code (e.g., 'AR'
for Arabia). By changing the return value to 'ar_ar'
, you're ensuring that the complete language code is used, which will result in the correct language being displayed on your website.
By implementing these changes, your WordPress website will now correctly display the appropriate language based on the user's request, ensuring a seamless experience for your multilingual audience.
Real-World Example and Statistics
To demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach, let's consider a real-world example and some relevant statistics.
Imagine you run a travel blog that caters to a global audience. Your website receives a significant amount of traffic from both Turkish and Arabic-speaking users. By implementing the language detection and switching functionality in the functions.php
file, you can ensure that your content is displayed in the user's preferred language, leading to improved user engagement and satisfaction.
According to a study by the Common Sense Advisory, "the global market for outsourced language services and technology" was estimated to be worth $49.6 billion in 2019, with a projected annual growth rate of 7.99% between 2019 and 2023. This highlights the increasing demand for multilingual content and the importance of catering to a diverse user base.
Furthermore, research by Google has shown that users are more likely to engage with and convert on websites that are in their native language. A study by the National Trade Platform found that "72.4% of consumers spend most or all of their time on websites in their own language."
By addressing the language needs of your users through the functions.php
file, you can not only improve the overall user experience but also potentially increase your website's conversion rates and revenue.
Conclusion
In this article, we've explored how to change the WordPress language in the functions.php
file, focusing on the specific changes you need to make to ensure your website displays the correct language for your users.
By implementing the code snippet we provided and making the necessary modifications, you can effectively handle language detection and switching on your WordPress website, catering to a diverse audience and improving user engagement.
Remember, the ability to adapt your website to different languages is a powerful tool that can help you reach a wider audience and drive better business outcomes. Flowpoint.ai can help you identify all the technical errors that are impacting conversion rates on your website and directly generate recommendations to fix them, including issues related to language handling
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