How to Translate Meta Box Custom Fields with WPML

WPML is the most popular plugin for translating WordPress websites and is fully compatible with Meta Box. Using WPML, you can easily translate any Meta Box custom field type into more languages and create a multilingual website.

Step 1: Install and Activate WPML Plugin

First, you need to log in to your WPML account, and download the OTGS Installer, and upload it to your WordPress site via Plugins → Add new.

To start setting up WPML, activate it and go to WPML → Setup Wizard.

Step 2: Set up WPML

The WPML setup wizard is a short process for configuring WPML on your site. It helps you choose which languages to translate your website into, decide whether to use subdirectories or different domains for your translated URLs, and install any additional addons.

Step 3: Enable Custom Fields for Translation

Once you finish configuring WPML on your site, the next step is to specify which custom fields you want to translate.

To set your translation preferences, go to WPML → Settings and scroll down to Custom Fields Translation. WPML provides four types of actions for each field:

• Don’t translate: ignore this field and don’t translate;
• Copy: copy the field value to your secondary language and keep it synchronized with your original value (changes you make in the original language will reflect in your secondary);
• Copy once : copy the field value to your secondary language but don’t keep it synchronized;
• Translate: enable this field for translation.

If you’re using custom post types and taxonomies, make sure to also set their translation preferences. You can find their settings under the Post Types Translation and Taxonomies Translation sections.

Step 4: Translate Custom Fields with WPML

WPML translates custom fields along with the content they’re attached to. This means that, to translate your fields, you need to translate your custom posts.

To translate custom posts, go to WPML → Translation Management, scroll down to your post type, and select the custom posts you want to translate.

Next, scroll down to choose your translation method. With WPML, you can translate by yourself, with automatic translation, your team of translators, or translation services.

For the best translation quality, we recommend WPML AI, WPML’s most powerful automatic translation engine powered by ChatGPT.

Once you send your content for translation, the last step is to go to WPML → Translations to review your automatic translations, or manually enter translations by yourself.

When done, you can view your translations by visiting the page you just translated on your website and switching languages.

Step 5: Add Language Switcher

By default, WPML includes a language switcher in the footer. However, you can also add one to your menus.

To add a language switcher to your menus, go to WPML → Languages and scroll down to Menu language switcher. Click the add new menu language switcher button and set your preferences.

Your new language switcher will now appear next to your navigation menus.

Translating Other Meta Box Content

In addition to custom fields, WPML can also translate other Meta Box content. This includes settings pages, user meta, term meta, and more.

For step-by-step instructions, visit the complete WPML and Meta Box translation guide.

Final thoughts

It takes a bit time to manually translate custom fields post by post, page by page with WPML. But this will make your website more qualified compared to automatic translation.

WPML still has many other features. I hope that this tutorial is helpful for those who are still struggling with this plugin.

If you want to look for another translation plugin, don't forget to take a look at our detailed reviewed of top 4 plugin to translate your site here.