Recently, one of our readers asked: if it was possible to keep using the WordPress admin area in English on a multilingual WordPress site. WordPress powers millions of websites in many different languages. In this article, we will show you how to use English WordPress admin on a non-English WordPress site.
Why and Who Needs to Use English WordPress Admin?
WordPress is fully translated in many of the world’s most popular languages. You can use WordPress in your own language. However, if you run a multi-author and multilingual website, then the admin area language can become an issue for some of your users.
For better collaboration and consistency, many site owners may want to keep their WordPress admin area in English while serving the front-end in their local language or a multilingual setting.
This guide will also come in handy if you have to work on a non-English website. You can temporarily switch the admin language to English and switch it back when you are done.
Keeping the English WordPress Admin Area
First thing you need to do is install and activate the English WordPress Admin plugin. Upon activation, the plugin will add a language switcher in the WordPress admin bar.
Simply take your mouse over to the language switcher, and it will display the option for switching admin area to English. When you click on “Switch to English” link, it will reload the admin screen in the English language.
When you want to switch back to the native language, you can do that from the same menu.
That’s all we hope this article helped you keep WordPress admin in English on a non-English site. You may also want to see our guide on how to add Google Translate in WordPress and how to find translation ready WordPress themes.
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How to make a two language site and switch between them with a switcher on the front page. Is it like Drupal. Please note, here I am not talking about the Admin area which is explained in this article.
Hi Sarmad,
You can use a multilingual plugin and then add the language switcher widget to your site’s sidebar.
English didn’t work for my native language Hindi (hi_IN). Later on I came to know that the object of this plugin can be achieved keeping ‘Profile Language’ (Profile > Language) different from ‘Site Language’ (Setting > General > Site Language). In your profile setting change your language from ‘Site Default’ to any language of your choice.
What could be the reasons for the wordpress admin english plugin to suddenly stop working?
It just does not react and the admin remains in the native language regardless of switching it…
Tnx
Nir
Nice article. The guidelines are really insightful. WordPress is a great enterprise content management system that is capable of creating powerful websites. The flexibility and ease of use makes it a popular CMS across the enterprises. The inbuilt framework, themes, modules and plugins make it easier for a developer to implement any complex scenario through an effortless dashboard. WordPress’ ability to manage multilingual websites make it a go-to CMS for large businesses who are striving to make a strong presence globally. WP offers various options at different places that help a developer to switch between the languages whenever needed. The first option is available right at the installation time that asks to select a language, while there are options available within the admin panel as well as in the post edit screen. There are plugins that allows to translate the entire website without taking much of the time. This makes WordPress a great user friendly option.
Its good to have English panel in any language site but what about posts & titles. As per my understanding these should be in the original language. If these are also converted then might be some translator tool is getting used behind the scene.
Could you please correct me if I am wrong somewhere?
You can use English admin area to create content in any language. It will not translate your post titles.