Lang Forge – Multilingual, Translation & hreflang SEO

Descripción

Lang Forge is a modern multilingual plugin that handles multilingual URL routing (4 URL formats), manual post and string translation, a language switcher, hreflang SEO, RTL layouts, a glossary, WooCommerce, unlimited languages, and one-click migration from WPML / Polylang / TranslatePress. It ships a REST API and WP-CLI commands and is a drop-in WPML compatibility layer. AI translation is available as the Lang Forge Pro add-on.

Switching from WPML, Polylang or TranslatePress?

Lang Forge imports your existing setup instead of making you start over. The migration tool reads your current plugin’s data and recreates it: translated posts and their language links, string translations, taxonomy translations, and your language URL structure.

The migration is non-destructive. Your current plugin stays installed and untouched until you confirm the result, so you can compare both side by side and roll back if anything looks wrong.

If you are coming from WPML, you can also keep your existing theme and plugin code. Lang Forge ships a WPML compatibility layer that implements the functions third-party code expects — icl_object_id(), icl_get_languages(), icl_get_current_language() and icl_get_default_language() — so integrations built against WPML call the same functions without edits. One difference to check: unlike WPML, a translation that is still a draft counts as “no translation” for visitors, so icl_object_id() gives back the original page (or nothing) until you publish the translation.

Free

  • Unlimited languages
  • Multilingual URL routing — 4 formats (directory /fr/, query ?lang=fr, subdomain, domain mapping)
  • Manual post / page / CPT translation linking
  • Manual string translation (auto-registered via gettext)
  • Language switcher (widget / shortcode / admin bar)
  • hreflang tags with x-default, plus an hreflang sitemap
  • Glossary
  • WooCommerce product and store string translation
  • WPML compatibility layer (icl_object_id(), icl_get_languages(), etc.)
  • REST API + WP-CLI commands
  • One-click migration from WPML / Polylang / TranslatePress
  • RTL support (ar/he/fa/ur/ku)

Pro

  • AI translation with translation memory
  • Visual editor (side-by-side WYSIWYG translation)
  • Frontend translation
  • Elementor + ACF integration
  • Content diff + Translation QA
  • Analytics dashboard
  • Import / export XLIFF + CSV
  • Bulk AI translation, translator roles, media/comment translation, live preview

Part of the Forge Suite — bundle includes Rank Forge, Form Forge, Field Forge.

External services

Every outbound request this plugin makes is listed below. Activating it, and opening its screens, contacts nobody.

This plugin contacts no external service. Translation, the language switcher, string translation, hreflang and migration run on your own site, and the plugin has no analytics, no telemetry and no licensing calls of its own. AI translation and quality checks belong to the separate Lang Forge Pro add-on, which describes the services it uses in its own documentation.

Capturas

Instalación

  1. Upload langforge to /wp-content/plugins/, or install via Plugins Add New.
  2. Activate the plugin.
  3. Go to Lang Forge Settings and enable your target languages.
  4. (Optional) AI translation comes with the separate Lang Forge Pro add-on; the add-on adds its own Connect screen.

Preguntas frecuentes

How do I make my WordPress site multilingual?

Install Lang Forge, go to Lang Forge Settings and add the languages you need. Pick how language URLs should look — subdirectories like /fr/, a query parameter, subdomains, or a separate domain per language. From there every post, page and custom post type gets a Language panel where you link or create its translations.

How do I translate WooCommerce products and categories?

Lang Forge translates WooCommerce product content, product categories and tags, and store strings such as cart and checkout labels. Open any product in the editor and use the Language panel the same way you would for a post.

How do I add hreflang tags to WordPress?

Lang Forge outputs hreflang tags automatically in wp_head for every translated URL, including the x-default entry, and generates an hreflang sitemap. No manual markup and no separate SEO plugin configuration needed.

Can I use a separate domain for each language?

Yes. Domain mapping is one of the four supported URL formats, alongside subdirectories, subdomains and query parameters. You can point example.fr and example.de at the same WordPress install and Lang Forge will serve the correct language on each.

How do I migrate from Polylang without losing translations?

Run the built-in migration tool. It imports your translated posts, the links between them, your string translations and your language URL structure. Polylang stays installed and untouched until you confirm the migration, so nothing is lost if you change your mind.

Can I migrate from WPML?

Yes, and your existing code can keep calling the same functions. Beyond importing your content, Lang Forge provides a WPML compatibility layer implementing icl_object_id(), icl_get_languages() and related functions, so themes and plugins written against WPML work without modification. One difference: unlike WPML, a translation that is still a draft counts as “no translation” for visitors, so these functions return the original page (or nothing) until the translation is published; editors previewing the draft still see it.

Will my URLs change if I switch from TranslatePress?

Only if you want them to. The migration tool reads your current language URL format and reproduces it, so existing links and search rankings stay intact. You can change the format later from Settings if you decide to.

Does it support right-to-left languages like Arabic and Hebrew?

Yes. Lang Forge includes RTL support for Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, Urdu and Kurdish, switching text direction and adjusting the admin and switcher layout automatically.

How do I add a language switcher to my menu?

The switcher is available three ways: as a widget, as a shortcode you can drop anywhere, and in the admin bar. It can display flags, native language names, or both.

How do I translate strings from my theme or another plugin?

Any string passed through WordPress translation functions is registered automatically via gettext and appears in the String Translation screen, where you can translate it per language. No .po file editing required.

Can I translate my site from the command line?

Yes. Lang Forge ships WP-CLI commands for listing languages, linking and unlinking translations, importing and exporting translation data, and running bulk operations — useful for staging deployments and scripted workflows.

Is there a way to export translations to XLIFF or CSV?

Import and export of XLIFF and CSV files is available in Lang Forge Pro, for sending content to external translators or translation agencies.

How many languages can I use on the free version?

Unlimited. There is no plan-based cap on the number of languages in the free version.

Does Lang Forge work with my theme?

Yes. Lang Forge uses standard WordPress hooks — the_content, get_the_title, hreflang via wp_head — so no theme-specific integration is needed.

Does it work with Elementor and ACF?

Elementor and ACF field translation is available in Lang Forge Pro. The free version handles standard post content, custom post types and taxonomies.

Does it slow down my site?

Basic translation, the language switcher, string translation and hreflang all run locally with no external requests.
This plugin sends nothing anywhere. The separate Pro add-on, if you add it, lists its own requests in its readme.

Is AI translation included in the free version?

No. The free version covers manual translation of posts, strings, taxonomies and WooCommerce content. AI translation, translation memory and bulk AI translation are part of the Lang Forge Pro add-on.

How much does AI translation cost?

AI translations consume Forge Credits (separate from the subscription). One credit ≈ one short paragraph. Credits don’t expire.

Is my content sent to OpenAI?

Not by this plugin; AI translation is a feature of the separate Pro add-on, which lists its own requests in its readme.

What is a glossary and when do I need one?

A glossary locks specific terms to a fixed translation — brand names, product names, industry terminology — so they stay consistent across every translated page instead of varying between passes.

Reseñas

No hay reseñas para este plugin.

Colaboradores y desarrolladores

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Registro de cambios

1.1.0

  • The functions that WPML-style theme code calls — icl_object_id(), the wpml_object_id filter and langforge_get_translation() (and langforge_get_post_translations()) — treat a translation that is not published (a draft, pending, scheduled or private one) as “no translation” when a visitor loads the page: they return the original page when your code asks for it, or nothing, so the address of an unpublished page never reaches the theme. This differs from WPML, which does not hold a draft translation back. In WP-CLI, for a signed-in user who can edit that translation (in the admin, over REST or AJAX) and for an editor previewing the draft they answer as before; a signed-in user who cannot edit it, such as a subscriber, gets the visitor’s answer there too.
  • The hreflang sitemap now gives each language the same code as the page head, written the way hreflang wants it: de instead of de-de, en-US instead of en-us, and es-MX instead of es-mx for a language with a region of its own; the page head now says es-MX for such a language too, where it said es_mx.
  • With Rank Math, Yoast SEO, All in One SEO, SEOPress or The SEO Framework active, a page has one canonical link instead of two, and the SEO plugin’s own og:locale tag alone instead of two (none where it prints none, as with its Open Graph switched off). The canonical is the page’s own language address unless one was typed into the SEO plugin for that page, and the og:locale:alternate tags are printed only where the SEO plugin prints its og:locale.
  • A new translation no longer takes over the canonical URL typed in for its source page, and a translation that already holds the same canonical as its source is treated as having none (Rank Math, Yoast SEO, All in One SEO, SEOPress, The SEO Framework, and Rank Forge in a version that asks Lang Forge about it), so its canonical link names its own address. With The SEO Framework this needs version 5.0 or later, and with SEOPress its current versions: an older release does not offer the hook Lang Forge uses for the link, and there the translation keeps the canonical it holds.
  • With Yoast SEO, such a translation also names its own address in og:url and in the schema data (the page’s url and the ids built on it), where it used to name the source page there.
  • A new translation no longer takes over the redirect SEOPress holds for its source page.
  • With Lang Forge Pro 1.2.0 or newer, AI translation keeps the shortcodes of your content whole. Before a text goes to the AI, the tag of every shortcode on your site ([contact-form-7 id="12"], [gallery ids="1,2"], [button]…[/button]) is swapped for a placeholder, and the answer gets the tags back exactly as they were. If the AI changes or drops one, the translation is not saved and you are told so, instead of a broken form or gallery going into the translated page. Text inside a shortcode’s attributes, such as the label of [button text="Buy"], is not translated and stays in the source language; the words between an opening and a closing tag are translated. A shortcode that a plugin registers only on the front end is not known during an AI translation in the admin: add its name with the langforge_ai_shortcode_tags filter to protect it too. The AI translation itself is part of Lang Forge Pro; without it, or with an older version, nothing changes.
  • “Create + AI Translate” (Lang Forge Pro): when the AI does not translate the page it has just created, the edit screen of that page now says so, and why (out of credits, or another failure; with Lang Forge Pro 1.2.0 or newer also a shortcode the AI could not keep), where the message used to vanish with the screen you left.

1.0.41

  • Deleting the plugin leaves the job queue the Forge plugins share in place while another Forge plugin or add-on is still on the site. The check used to miss add-ons, and Rank Forge installed from wordpress.org, so the queue could be dropped while a neighbour still had jobs in it.
  • Settings no longer shows the Translation Model card: this package has no AI translation, so the card had nothing to describe.

1.0.40

  • This release needs Lang Forge Pro 1.1.4 or newer if you run the add-on. The licence screen, the upgrade prompt and the upgrade banner moved into the separate Lang Forge Pro add-on; this plugin only notes which features the add-on provides, with a link to its product page. An older add-on stays switched off until it is updated, and an admin notice names both versions and where to download the add-on. Translations already saved are untouched.
  • String Translation shows no AI Translate button unless the add-on runs AI translation — no locked button. One line says where AI translation comes from.
  • Settings and Tools no longer link to an upgrade: AI translation, Translation Memory and one-click site duplication say that they come with the add-on.
  • The screens the add-on provides (Visual Editor, Analytics, Translation Memory, Import / Export) name it, with a link, instead of showing a locked page.

1.0.39

  • Glossary opens with no licence check. It has always been part of this plugin, and the menu no longer puts it behind a gate that could only answer yes.
  • The PRO badge in the menu and in the section tabs marks a screen the Lang Forge Pro add-on provides and this site does not have. It follows whether the add-on is installed, not the licence.
  • The String Translation help shows the [langforge_string] shortcode. The old [lf_string] form keeps working in existing content.

1.0.38

  • Fixed: on a site without WPML or Polylang, the first activation made Russian the default language and added English under /en/, whatever language the site was written in. A fresh install now starts with the site’s own language (Settings General Site Language) as its only language, so an English site stays English; add more languages under Lang Forge Languages.

1.0.37

  • This release needs Lang Forge Pro 1.1.0 or newer. An older add-on is switched off whole rather than left running, because beside this core it would be present and wrong rather than absent. Until you update it AI translation, bulk AI translation, translation memory, translation QA and the frontend editor are unavailable. Translations already saved are untouched, an admin notice names both versions and what stopped, and installing the current add-on brings all of it back.
  • Deleting the last Forge product on a site now clears the job queue the Forge plugins share — its table, its two scheduled events and its version marker. While any other Forge product is still installed, deleting this one leaves the queue exactly as it is, because the pending jobs in those rows are that product’s too.
  • Fixed: Lang Forge Tools stopped with a fatal error on a site whose licence includes bulk duplication while the Pro add-on is not loaded. The card shows the Pro teaser instead.

1.0.36

  • No change in this package: the release updated parts that ship only in the edition distributed through avakode.com.

1.0.35

  • No change in this package: the release updated parts that ship only in the edition distributed through avakode.com.

1.0.34

  • Smaller package and one less admin surface: the SDK’s own menu, opt-in screen and promotional notices are gone.

1.0.33

  • No change in this package: the release updated parts that ship only in the edition distributed through avakode.com.

1.0.32

  • No change in this package: the release updated parts that ship only in the edition distributed through avakode.com.

1.0.31

  • Fixed: requesting a URL that doesn’t exist answered with a redirect to the homepage instead of a 404. The “missing translation language homepage” fallback now fires only when the request itself names a language — a language-prefixed URL, a ?lang= parameter, a language subdomain or mapped domain, or the language cookie from an earlier switch. A dead URL with no language signal returns a real 404: your theme’s 404 page for visitors, and the correct status code for search engines instead of a soft-404.

1.0.30

  • Declares support for WordPress 7.1. Checked against 7.1-RC3, where the post editor canvas moves into an iframe for good: the language panel, the admin-bar switcher and the editor scripts all still work, because they read the post through the editor’s own data store rather than reaching into the canvas.
  • The sibling plugin formerly called SEO Forge is now Rank Forge, so the shared Forge screens and the cross-links name it correctly.

1.0.29

  • No change in this package: the release updated parts that ship only in the edition distributed through avakode.com.

1.0.28

  • No change in this package: the release updated parts that ship only in the edition distributed through avakode.com.

1.0.27

  • No change in this package: the release updated parts that ship only in the edition distributed through avakode.com.

1.0.26

  • Fixed: hreflang alternates pointed at the page being viewed instead of the translation. On an English page the es, de and x-default links all resolved back to the English URL (and the same on every other language), so search engines discarded the annotation. Both the wp_head tags and the hreflang sitemap are affected.
  • Fixed: the canonical URL on a translated page could resolve to a sibling translation instead of the page itself.
  • Fixed: on a non-default-language page, permalinks lost their language prefix, because the language-aware home_url() was being used as the base for detecting it.
  • Fixed: /sitemap-hreflang.xml and /sitemap-hreflang-N.xml were redirected to a trailing-slash URL before the sitemap could render.
  • Plugin name now mentions hreflang SEO, which the plugin has always handled.

1.0.25

  • readme: clearer plugin title, updated tags and an expanded FAQ covering multilingual setup, WooCommerce, hreflang, migration and RTL.
  • No functional changes.

1.0.24

  • Security hardening: all dynamic output is now escaped late with the context-appropriate function (esc_html/esc_attr/esc_url, esc_html__ for translated strings used as format strings, and wp_kses for trusted pre-built admin markup). No behavioural changes.
  • The glossary CSV export now neutralises CSV/formula injection in exported cells.

1.0.23

  • Free now supports an unlimited number of languages with no plan-based cap — removed all license-gated language-limit code (no “locked” language rows, no over-limit notice, no limit on saving).
  • Tightened the glossary REST list endpoint to the same administrator capability as glossary management.

1.0.22

  • Hardened WP-CLI export: files are now always written to a plugin-slug folder inside the uploads directory (wp-content/uploads/langforge/) instead of an arbitrary path, so nothing is ever written into the plugin folder.
  • Uninstall cleanup now only removes data under the plugin’s own unambiguous prefix, so unrelated options/metadata belonging to other plugins are never deleted.

1.0.18

  • New: Support menu item that opens the Avakode support dashboard.
  • New: Contextual, dismissible Pro feature tips on the plugin dashboard (Free users only).

1.0.15

  • WordPress.org compliance and licensing hardening.
  • Pro entitlement is now resolved by the Lang Forge Pro add-on; the free plugin bundles no licensing SDK.
  • The plugin no longer modifies admin notices belonging to other plugins.
  • readme metadata cleanup.

1.0.0

  • Initial release.