# Multilingual CMS
You can create a fully functional multilingual site using one of the popular multilingual plugins supported by the Rhye theme:
- WPML (opens new window) (powerful all-in-one paid plugin)
- Polylang (opens new window) (lightweight alternative available for free)
- TranslatePress (opens new window) (free front-end visual translation editor)
WARNING
Please note that there will be no AJAX transition when you switch between page languages. A hard page reload is required for the correct page translation display.
# WPML
# ▶️ Step 1.
Set up and activate your multilingual plugin.
# ▶️ Step 2.
When you activate WPML, the wizard will guide you on how to set up everything, including the language switcher. In Polylang, you need to go to Appearance → Widgets and drag & drop a language switcher to the Language Switcher Area.
Language Switcher Area# ▶️ Step 3.
You will see a new widget area for the language switcher.
Appearance → WidgetsThe language switcher is customizable. You can choose to have it appear as a dropdown or a horizontal list. While the theme provides some styling for the switcher, all customizations are available inside the multilingual plugin settings.
# Polylang
Polylang is configured in a similar way to WPML. You simply drag & drop the language switcher to the Language Switcher Area in Appearance → Widgets.
The rest of the plugin configuration is done via the plugin's settings page in Settings -> Polylang.
# TranslatePress
# ▶️ Step 1.
In the admin panel, go to Settings -> TranslatePress and open the Advanced tab. Make sure to check Disable dynamic translation. This should speed up the overall page loading speed and fix broken AJAX transitions of the translated pages.
# ▶️ Step 2.
TranslatePress provides a WordPress shortcode that renders the language switcher:
[language-switcher]
You can use this shortcode anywhere in the theme. If you'd like to have the language switcher in the header, open the Appearance → Widgets page and use the default Text widget with the inserted shortcode.
Text widget to the Language Switcher Area with the shortcode# ▶️ Step 3.
The language switcher's visual appearance can be configured from the plugin settings page Settings -> TranslatePress under the General tab.