How to Translate Thrive Architect Content with WPML

In this article, you’ll learn how to translate Thrive Architect content using the WPML (WordPress Multilingual) plugin. WPML lets you create multilingual versions of your pages, posts, and landing pages so that visitors can view your site in their preferred language. This guide covers translating landing pages and regular pages, handling Global Fields in translations, and setting up a language switcher for your site.

---

By combining WPML’s translation management with Thrive Architect’s visual editor, you can maintain fully designed, visually consistent pages across multiple languages without sacrificing design quality.

Prerequisites

Before you begin translating Thrive Architect content, ensure the following:

• WPML is installed and activated on your WordPress site. You need at least the WPML Multilingual CMS package (the core plugin plus the String Translation and Translation Management add-ons are recommended).
• Thrive Architect is installed and activated.
• You have completed the WPML setup wizard, selecting your default language and the languages you want to add to your site.
• You have a basic understanding of how WPML manages translations (original language content vs. translated copies).

Understanding the Translation Workflow

WPML works by creating separate copies of your content for each language. When you translate a Thrive Architect page, the process follows this general workflow:

1. Create the original page in your default language using Thrive Architect.
2. Duplicate the page for translation through WPML’s translation interface.
3. Edit the translated copy in Thrive Architect, replacing the original-language text with the translated content while preserving the layout and design.
4. Publish the translated page so it becomes available to visitors who select that language.

WPML maintains a connection between the original page and its translations, enabling language switchers and hreflang tags to function correctly for SEO.

Translating a Landing Page

Landing pages built with Thrive Architect use a custom template that replaces the default WordPress theme layout. Translating a landing page requires duplicating the page and then editing the translated copy.

Step 1: Create or Open the Original Landing Page

1. Open the landing page you want to translate in the WordPress editor (not the Thrive Architect editor yet).
2. In the WPML Language meta box (typically in the right sidebar or below the editor), you will see the available languages for translation.

Step 2: Duplicate the Page for Translation

1. In the WPML Language meta box, click the plus (+) icon next to the language you want to translate into (e.g., Spanish, French, German).
2. WPML will open the Translation Editor or redirect you to create a new translated version of the page.
3. If prompted, select Duplicate content to create a copy of the original page with all its Thrive Architect content intact.
4. Publish or Save the duplicated page.

Important: When you duplicate a landing page, the Thrive Architect layout, elements, styles, and design are copied in full. This gives you an exact replica of the original page to work with.

Step 3: Edit the Translated Copy in Thrive Architect

1. Navigate to the translated page in your WordPress Pages list. WPML marks translated pages with a flag icon indicating their language.
2. Open the translated page in the Thrive Architect editor by clicking Edit with Thrive Architect.
3. Replace the original-language text content with the translated text:
   • Click on each Text element and replace the content.
   • Update Heading elements with translated headings.
   • Edit Button labels and link text.
   • Update any Image elements that contain text overlays or language-specific graphics.
4. Adjust the layout if needed. Some languages require more or less space than others (for example, German text is often longer than English text), so you may need to resize elements or adjust spacing.
5. Click Save Work in the bottom-left corner when finished.

Step 4: Review and Publish

1. Preview the translated page to ensure the layout looks correct and all text has been translated.
2. Verify that images, buttons, forms, and other interactive elements function properly.
3. Publish the translated page if it is still in draft status.

Translating Regular Pages and Posts

Regular pages and posts that use Thrive Architect content (without a landing page template) follow a similar translation process.

Step 1: Open the Original Page or Post

1. Navigate to Pages or Posts in your WordPress admin.
2. Locate the page or post you want to translate.
3. In the WPML translation columns, you will see icons for each configured language. A plus (+) icon indicates no translation exists, while a pencil icon indicates a translation that needs updating.

Step 2: Create the Translation

1. Click the plus (+) icon for the target language.
2. WPML will create a translation copy. Select Duplicate content if available to preserve the Thrive Architect layout.
3. Save the translated post or page.

Step 3: Edit with Thrive Architect

1. Open the translated page or post in Thrive Architect.
2. Replace all text content with the translated versions, just as you would for a landing page.
3. Save your work.

Tip: Work through the page systematically from top to bottom to avoid missing any text elements. Check headers, body text, buttons, form labels, footer text, and any text within styled boxes, tabs, or toggle elements.

Handling Global Fields in Translations

Thrive Architect’s Global Fields feature lets you define reusable text values (such as a company name, phone number, or address) that can be inserted across multiple pages. When translating, Global Fields require special attention because the same field may need different values for different languages.

How Global Fields Work with WPML

Global Fields in Thrive Architect are stored as site-wide values. By default, a Global Field displays the same value regardless of the page language. To display translated values for Global Fields:

1. Navigate to your Thrive Dashboard in the WordPress admin.
2. Open the Global Fields section.
3. For each Global Field that requires translation (e.g., company tagline, address, phone number), note the field name and value.
4. Use WPML String Translation to translate the Global Field values:
   • Navigate to WPML > String Translation in your WordPress admin.
   • Search for the Global Field text in the string list.
   • Click the plus (+) icon next to each language to add the translated value.
   • Save the translations.
5. On the front end, WPML will display the appropriate translated string based on the visitor’s selected language.

Note: Not all Global Fields may appear in WPML’s String Translation interface automatically. If a Global Field value does not appear, you may need to manually register it for translation or use a different approach, such as creating separate Global Fields for each language and using Conditional Display to show the correct one.

Alternative Approach: Language-Specific Content

If Global Fields do not integrate seamlessly with WPML’s String Translation for your use case, an alternative approach is:

1. Create separate versions of content blocks for each language.
2. Use Thrive Architect’s Conditional Display feature with request-based conditions (checking the current language via URL parameters or cookies) to show the correct version.

Setting Up a Language Switcher

A language switcher lets visitors choose their preferred language from your site’s navigation or page content.

Using WPML’s Built-In Language Switcher Widget

1. Navigate to WPML > Languages in your WordPress admin.
2. Scroll down to the Language Switcher Options section.
3. Configure the switcher style:
   • Display type — Choose between flags, language names, or both.
   • Order — Set the order of languages in the switcher.
   • What to include — Choose to show all languages or only those with available translations.
4. Save your settings.

Adding the Language Switcher to Your Navigation

To add a language switcher to your site’s menu:

1. Navigate to Appearance > Menus in your WordPress admin.
2. In the left panel, locate the WPML Language Switcher menu item option.
3. Check the Language Switcher option and click Add to Menu.
4. Position the language switcher where you want it to appear in your menu (e.g., at the end of the main navigation).
5. Save the menu.

Adding a Language Switcher in Thrive Architect

To place a language switcher directly within your Thrive Architect page design:

1. Open your page in the Thrive Architect editor.
2. Add a Custom HTML element to the location where you want the language switcher.
3. In the code editor, insert the WPML language switcher shortcode or widget code. WPML provides a shortcode for this purpose — check WPML’s documentation for the current shortcode syntax.
4. Save your work and preview the page to verify the switcher displays correctly.

Tip: For Thrive Theme Builder templates (headers and footers), adding the language switcher to the menu through the WordPress Menus screen is the simplest approach, as it automatically appears on all pages that use the template.

Best Practices for Multilingual Sites

Design Considerations

• Allow room for text expansion — Languages like German, French, and Spanish often require 20-30% more space than English text. Design your layouts with flexible containers that can accommodate longer translated text.
• Use relative widths — Set element widths using percentages rather than fixed pixel values to allow layouts to adapt to varying text lengths.
• Test all languages — Preview every translated page to check for layout issues, overflow, truncated text, or broken design elements.

SEO Considerations

• WPML automatically adds hreflang tags to your pages, signaling to search engines which language each page targets.
• Ensure each translated page has its own unique SEO title and meta description in the target language.
• Translate URL slugs when possible (WPML supports slug translation) for better international SEO.

Content Management

• Keep a translation checklist for each page, including all text elements, button labels, image alt text, form labels, and SEO metadata.
• When you update the original-language page, WPML will flag translations as needing updates. Review and update translated pages promptly.
• Consider using WPML’s Translation Management module to assign translations to team members or professional translators.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I Use WPML’s Advanced Translation Editor with Thrive Architect?

WPML’s Advanced Translation Editor works best with standard WordPress content. For Thrive Architect pages, the recommended workflow is to duplicate the page and edit the translated copy directly in the Thrive Architect editor. This ensures the visual layout is preserved correctly.

Do I Need to Redesign Each Translated Page from Scratch?

No. When you duplicate a page for translation through WPML, the entire Thrive Architect layout is copied. You only need to replace the text content with translated text. The design, styling, element positions, and structure remain intact.

Will My Landing Page Template Be Preserved in Translations?

Yes. When you duplicate a Thrive Architect landing page for translation, the landing page template and all its design elements are included in the duplicate. The translated page will use the same visual layout as the original.

How Do I Handle Images That Contain Text?

If your images contain text (such as infographics, banners with text overlays, or annotated screenshots), you need to create language-specific versions of those images and swap them in the translated page. Upload the translated images to your WordPress Media Library and replace the originals in the Thrive Architect editor on the translated page.

Does WPML Slow Down My Site?

WPML can add some overhead due to additional database queries. However, when combined with a caching plugin, the performance impact is minimal. Ensure you are using a quality hosting provider and a caching solution to maintain fast page load times.

Related Resources

• Dynamic Text: How to Use Dynamic Links and Dynamic Text — Using dynamic placeholders that can work with multilingual setups
• Conditional Display: How to Use Conditional Display — Showing different content based on language or visitor attributes
• Custom HTML Element: How to Use HTML Attributes, Custom HTML, and Google Maps — Embedding language switcher shortcodes
• Getting Started: Getting Started with Thrive Architect — Overview of the editor and element panel

That’s it! You’ve successfully learned how to translate Thrive Architect content with WPML. By duplicating pages for each language, editing translated copies in the visual editor, managing Global Fields across languages, and adding a language switcher, you can create a fully multilingual website that maintains the same polished design in every language.