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    If it is time to go international, it is time to install WPML Multilingual CMS for your WordPress site.

    Mesmerize theme is fully compatible with this plugin, so internationalizing your website content should only be a matter of hours.

    1. Installing the Plugin

    In the WordPress Admin dashboard, go to Plugins -> Add New plugin. Upload the Sitepress Multilingual CMS plugin, in the .zip format.

    (You also have the option to install the Polylang plugin. Search it in the plugins directory, click install and activate.)

    Press Install Now.

    After that, press Activate Plugin.

    Once installed and activated, the WPML plugin will be found in the list of active plugins for your WordPress website.

    2. Configuring the Plugin

    Now, let’s proceed to configuring the WPML plugin for your website.

    In the WordPress Admin dashboard, go to WPML à Languages à Setup WPML.

    You should have the following interface:

    Site Languages

    Click on Add Languages for which you want localized versions of the website.

    A list with available languages will be expanded for you to choose from.

    Language URL Format

    There are different options as to the URL type where the localized website versions will be placed.

    Try to use one of the first 2 options:

    • Different languages in directories (e.g. abc.com/fr/)
    • A different domain per language (e.g. cs.abc.com)

    These options are recommended by Google, as best practices and for search engine friendliness.

    Try to avoid the option to add language name as a parameter.

    Language Switcher Options

    From here, you can set the order of languages in the language switcher and change the initial order with drag and drop.

    Menu Language Switcher

    From here, you can set the menu language switcher and its position in the page. You will be given a preview of the language switcher, as well.

    Widget Language Switcher

    You can add here a new language switcher to a widget area, if you find it useful for your website.

    Footer Language Switcher

    Here, you can check the option to show the language switcher in the footer area of your website. Here’s a preview of how it will look like:

    Links to Translation of Posts

    A useful feature for your website is to show links above or below posts, towards the localized versions of that content.

    Check this feature if you want it enabled. Your readers worldwide will be more than grateful.

    Browser Language Redirect

    Another useful feature is to enable language redirect according to browser language. In this way, visitors from France will be shown your website content directly in French, visitors from Spain will be shown your website content directly in Spanish, etc.