Documentation

WBW Translation is an AI-powered translation plugin for WordPress. It translates complete pages (not individual strings) and stores the result permanently in a dedicated database table. Each translated page is delivered with fully localized SEO metadata — including JSON-LD, hreflang, Open Graph, and canonical tags.

How It Works

A post is published or manually added to the queue.
The translation engine (Claude AI or DeepL) translates the entire HTML page.
Das übersetzte HTML wird in der Tabelle wbw_translations gespeichert.
Bei einem Seitenaufruf unter /{lang}/... liefert das Plugin das gespeicherte HTML aus — mit allen SEO-Patches angewendet.

Installation and Setup

Install the ZIP file via Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin.
Activate the plugin.
Under WBW Translation → Settings, enter your API key (Claude or DeepL).
Select target languages.
Translate your first test post.

Requirements

WordPress 6.0 or higher
PHP 7.4 or higher (recommended: PHP 8.1+)
MySQL 5.7+ / MariaDB 10.3+
API key: Anthropic (Claude) or DeepL

Settings

General Settings

Option	Description	Default
Translation Engine	Claude AI or DeepL	Claude AI
API Key	Key for the selected engine	—
Source Language	Language of the original content	de
Target Languages	Kommagetrennte Liste (z. B. `en,fr,es`)	—
Auto-Translate	Automatically translates upon publication	On
Cache Duration	Seconds before re-translation	86400

SEO Settings

Option	Description
Enable hreflang	Inserts hreflang tags in the <head>
Translate Canonical	Sets a language-specific canonical tag
Translate OG Tags	Translates og:title and og:description
Translate JSON-LD	Translates structured data (Schema.org)
Sitemap Integration	Adds translated URLs to the Yoast/RankMath sitemap

Language Switcher

Integration via Shortcode

[wbw_language_switcher]

Integration via PHP

<?php echo do_shortcode('[wbw_language_switcher]'); ?>

Parameters

Parameter	Values	Default	Description
`style`	`dropdown`, `list`, `flags`	`dropdown`	Display Style
`show_flags`	`true`, `false`	`true`	Show flags
`show_names`	`true`, `false`	`true`	Show language names
`current_lang`	`true`, `false`	`true`	Show current language

Shortcodes

[wbw_translate]

Translates a single text block inline.

[wbw_translate lang="en"]Dieser Text wird auf Englisch angezeigt.[/wbw_translate]

[wbw_if_lang]

Displays content only for a specific language.

[wbw_if_lang lang="de"]Nur auf Deutsch sichtbar.[/wbw_if_lang]

[wbw_translated_url]

Returns the translated URL of the current page for a specific language.

[wbw_translated_url lang="en"]

SEO Features in Detail

hreflang

Das Plugin setzt automatisch hreflang-Tags für alle aktivierten Sprachen sowie einen x-default-Tag für die Quellsprache.

<link rel="alternate" hreflang="de" href="https://example.com/artikel/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en" href="https://example.com/en/artikel/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="x-default" href="https://example.com/artikel/" />

Canonical Tags

A language-specific canonical tag is output for each translated page:

<link rel="canonical" href="https://example.com/en/artikel/" />

Open Graph

og:title und og:description werden automatisch in die Zielsprache übersetzt und ausgegeben.

JSON-LD / Schema.org

Strukturierte Daten (z. B. Article, BreadcrumbList) werden übersetzt und als <script type="application/ld+json">-Block in der Zielsprache ausgegeben.

Sitemap

The plugin integrates with Yoast SEO and RankMath, automatically adding all translated URLs to the XML sitemap.

Glossary

The glossary allows specific terms to be excluded from translation or assigned a fixed translation.

Create an Entry

Navigate to WBW Translation → Glossary.
Enter term.
Enter translations for each target language or leave the field blank to keep the term untranslated.
Save.

CSV Import

Format: Begriff,en,fr,es (Kopfzeile obligatorisch)

Begriff,en,fr,es
Wildkatze,Wildcat,Chat sauvage,Gato montés
Rehbock,Roebuck,Chevreuil,Corzo

Tools & Helper Functions

Clear Cache

Under WBW Translation → Tools → Clear Cache the entire translation cache can be cleared. Alternatively via WP-CLI:

wp wbw cache flush

Re-translate

Individual posts can be re-translated via the post list (column Translations) or via WP-CLI:

wp wbw translate --post_id=42 --lang=en

Batch Translation

Start all unpublished translations at once:

wp wbw translate --all --lang=en

Database Diagnostics

Prüft, ob die Tabelle wbw_translations korrekt angelegt ist und alle Indizes vorhanden sind:

wp wbw db check

REST API

Das Plugin registriert eigene REST-Endpunkte unter /wp-json/wbw/v1/.

Endpoint	Method	Description
`/wp-json/wbw/v1/translate`	POST	Translates a post
`/wp-json/wbw/v1/status/{id}`	GET	Translation status of a post
`/wp-json/wbw/v1/flush/{id}`	DELETE	Clear cache for a post
`/wp-json/wbw/v1/glossary`	GET / POST	Read glossary / create entry

Example: Translate a post

POST /wp-json/wbw/v1/translate
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer <token>
{
  "post_id": 42,
  "target_lang": "en",
  "force": false
}

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Which languages are supported?

Claude AI supports over 100 languages. DeepL currently supports 31 languages. A complete list can be viewed in the plugin settings under Target Languages.

Is WooCommerce supported?

Product pages, categories, and shop pages are translated. The checkout form and emails are not yet included in version 5.x.

Can I combine the plugin with Yoast SEO?

Yes. WBW Translation reads the meta titles and descriptions set by Yoast and translates them automatically. The sitemap integration is also compatible.

What happens when the API limit is reached?

The translation request is placed in the queue and retried on the next cron run. An admin notification will be issued.

Changelog

5.1.3 (AI Translate Pro / Freemius)

Freemius SDK integrated (Licensing, Opt-in, Deactivation Feedback)
License check for premium features
Opt-in mechanism for anonymous usage statistics

5.1.2 (WBW)

REST API endpoints added
Batch translation via WP-CLI
Database diagnostics tool
Improved error handling for API timeouts

5.1.1

hreflang x-default corrected
Canonical tag conflict with Yoast resolved
PHP 8.2 deprecation warnings eliminated

5.1.0

JSON-LD translation
Glossary function
CSV import/export

As of: April 2026.