Configuring a Joomla Website With Multiple Languages: A Complete Guide

Joomla websites can have multiple languages. But you can configure the settings and let Joomla know which languages to display and on which pages. You can also display all the contents on the website in multiple languages. In this article, learn how to do so. Please note that this tutorial follows Joomla 3 and above. For other versions, the steps are related but might not be exact. So please use your discretion.

Step-by-Step Process

Here are the steps involved in configuring a multilanguage Joomla website:

• Install All The Languages

The first thing you need to do is install all the languages. For this, open the admin dashboard and then Extensions. Next, open Extensions Manager>Install Languages. You’ll find a list of languages available in this section. Tick on the language that you want to include and click on Install. For more languages, click on Find Languages and search for the language. You’ll see a success message when the language gets installed.

• Configure the Languages

The next step is to configure the installed language. To start, you’d have to head over to Extensions. Then select Language Manager and click New. In the next section, fill out all the necessary details like Title, Status, Image Prefix, Access, etc. Save the changes made and exit.

• Enable Language Filter Plugin

In the third step, you need to enable the filter plugin. This will allow the users to select the language they want on the website. So navigate into Extensions>Plugin Manager. Inside the Manager, find System-Language Filter. Tick the box to activate the filter. You’d have to enter the name of this module. Or you can even hide the title of the selector module.

Now navigate into Menu Assignment and assign the module to all pages. Save the changes and exit.

• Create Menu for each Language

The last step is to create menu for each language that you want to be on your website. Open the Menu tab and then the Menu Manager. Locate the Add New Menu button and click on it. Provide the Title and Menu Type.

Once done, save the changes made and exit.

Now, click on the Menus tab once again. Then tap on Main Menu and then Home page item. You have to save it, so click on Save as Copy option.

Then fill in the details in the next section which are title, status, menu location, default page, and langauge.

To check if everything was fine, open Menus from the toolbar and then Main Menu. On your website, there should be a option to change the language. You should be able to change the language to something else that you’ve added.

So that’s how you configure a multilanguage Joomla website. For further assistance, contact the customer support.