Can I create a Multilingual shop with MultilingualPress and WooCommerce?

Yes, it is possible! In this article, we want to explain what you can do with MultilingualPress and WooCommerce and what you need to know.

MultilingualPress and WooCommerce

MultilingualPress (MLP), together with WooCommerce, makes it possible to build a network of shops in different languages. The advantage: You can address customers in their language. This creates trust and ensures more purchases! MLP takes care of the automatic redirection to the appropriate language version based on the shop visitors’ browser settings. In addition, you can set up a language switcher so that customers can change the language with just one click. The translation of products and content can be created centrally and easily on one page.

MultilingualPress works only within a WordPress Multisite Network. A Multisite Network is a network of websites or shops that run within one single WordPress installation. Thus, users can manage multiple online shops professionally via one centralized WordPress backend. You can find more information about the WordPress Multisite feature here.

Within such a Multisite network, MLP allows the translation of posts, pages, custom post types and taxonomies including categories, tags and custom post metadata.  In terms of WooCommerce, this means that data such as title, slug, content and excerpt of products can be translated without any problems, as well as all user-defined taxonomies (such as product categories). Product strings of template files and emails can be translated through the .po/.mo localization files or by using third-party plugins like for example Loco Translate. There is also an option to translate some email fields directly in the WooCommerce options.

Synchronized Product Stocks with Central Stock for WooCommerce

Central Stock for WooCommerce is ideal for vendors who want to offer their products in multiple languages. This is because the plugin automatically synchronizes the stocks of products within several shops in a multisite network. When customers purchase products, the product inventory in all shops updates accordingly. Together with MLP, Central Stock thus forms an all-round powerhouse for multilingual online shops.

Advantages and Disadvantages of MultilingualPress in WooCommerce Online Shops

MultilingualPress is suitable for WordPress shops:

• with separate warehouses – E. g. a separate warehouse per country of sale.
• which need stock management – With the plugin Central Stock for WooCommerce, stocks are synchronized automatically.

Advantages:

• Centralized creation of translations of titles, slugs, content and excerpts of products as well as all user-defined taxonomies (such as product categories).
• Automated redirection to the respective language version according to the browser settings of the visitor.
• Language switcher to change language per click.
• Great performance and future-proof code architecture.

Functions not yet included:

• Central option to translate product and post metadata or strings of template files and emails.
• User synchronization between different language versions.
• Shopping cart synchronization between different language versions.

We hope that we could show in this article which shops benefit from the use of MultilingualPress. If you want to create a multilingual online shop with MultilingualPress, you can start here. Furthermore, a step-by-step guide for setting up a Multisite can be found here: Install and setup WordPress Multisite.