WPML Translation Management Addon

A multilingual site stalls on coordination more than on words

Fifteen pages pending, three languages, an external translator, a colleague reviewing the French and an agency for the German. Two weeks later nobody knows for certain what was sent or who has it.

As soon as more than one person translates, the hard work becomes knowing what is pending, who has it and what has yet to come back. WPML Translation Management is the WPML add-on that brings that tracking into the admin: you choose content, assign it to a translator or a service, and follow its status in one place.

Your team or your provider does the translating: this add-on organizes that work.

Your WPML version decides whether you need it

From WPML 4.5, Translation Management is part of the main plugin on Multilingual CMS and Agency accounts, with all its functions. If you install the add-on alongside WPML 4.5 or later, it deactivates itself, and that is expected.

So this package makes sense on a site still running an earlier version of WPML Multilingual CMS. If you already have 4.5 or higher, everything described here is in your install and there is nothing to add.

The screens that organize the work

• Translation Dashboard: you select content, filter it by language and translation status, and send it.
• Translation Basket: it groups what you chose, you name the translator and send it all at once. It warns that the word count can differ from providers'.
• Translators: the tab where you add translators.
• Translation Jobs: a list of jobs with a batch name column, useful for finding by batch what went to a service.
• Translation Queue: the queue each translator takes jobs from. Once picked up, a job moves to in progress.

It also covers taxonomy descriptions and term meta, as well as pages and posts.

Who translates, and in which editor

Your own team works with the translator role. Language matters: a job does not reach anyone without that language pair assigned, and a user without the manage_translations capability may not see the tabs.

An external service connects with an API token from the provider. Payment goes directly to the service, and only the service can cancel jobs in progress. Depending on what it supports, translations arrive on their own or you download them with the "Check status and get translations" button.

The editor makes the difference. The Classic Editor requires writing HTML markup by hand, at the risk of breaking the page, and does not support automatic translation, translation memory or glossary. The Advanced Editor protects the HTML, and it is worth choosing it in the WPML settings.

If a plugin stores its content outside the page, WPML cannot read it and the editor does not show it: it has to be translated by hand.

Setting up the workflow on WPML

You need WPML Multilingual CMS on a version earlier than 4.5, with all its components from the same period, without mixing versions. Then:

1. Go to WPML, Translation Management, and open the Translators tab.
2. Add your translators with their language pairs or connect a service with its token.
3. In the dashboard, choose the content and send it to the Translation Basket.
4. Open the Basket, assign a translator and send the items.
5. Follow progress in Translation Jobs and review what comes back on the front end.

What adds to WPML, and the routes without it

Within the family, WPML String Translation and WPML XLIFF handle strings and the exchange with translation tools such as memoQ, Trados or OmegaT.

Outside WPML, Polylang Pro creates a separate post per language and pairs them, and TranslatePress Business translates on the page itself, by clicking on each text.

Versions, teams and agencies in WPML

Do I need it if I use WPML 4.5 or later?

No. It comes inside the main plugin, and the add-on deactivates itself if you install it.

Can I work with a translation agency?

Yes, if it connects with WPML. You send it content from the admin and pay it directly.

Why does the Translation Basket tab not appear?

It only shows when items have been sent to the basket. If it still does not appear, check your user's manage_translations capability.

Does it translate theme and plugin strings?

Strings are handled with WPML String Translation and can then be sent to the basket.

Can I filter jobs by batch?

Yes. The Translation Jobs tab has a batch name column and controls to filter by it.