Creating Multilingual WordPress Sites for Universities
Building a multilingual WordPress site is essential for universities aiming to attract and engage diverse international student audiences. Our guide below covers using the Polylang plugin, best practices for multilingual SEO (from hreflang implementation to XML sitemaps), and the critical role of cultural adaptation in content.
Why Global Universities Need Multilingual Sites
International student recruitment hinges on accessibility: offering content in languages that prospective students’ understand improves usability, trust and conversion rates. International SEO, also known as multilingual SEO, ensures that each language edition of your site ranks appropriately in its target market’s search engines.
Moreover, search engines treat pages in different languages as separate assets; without proper SEO configuration, you risk duplicate‑content penalties and poor indexing of non‑English pages.
By implementing a robust multilingual setup, universities can better showcase programmes, tuition details and campus life to each specific audience, increasing enrolment enquiries and fostering a truly global brand presence.
Choosing a Translation Plugin: Polylang
Polylang is a versatile, free WordPress plugin (Pro version also available) with over 800,000+ active installations, which allows translation of posts, pages, custom post types, taxonomies, widgets and URLs directly in the WordPress dashboard. The intuitive setup wizard guides you through selecting default and additional languages, then generates language switchers automatically. It’s what we use for our clients.
Key Polylang Features
- Translations for All Content: Assign languages to posts, pages and taxonomies, with the option to duplicate or manually translate each element.
- Media and String Translation: Localise image alt texts and plugin or theme strings.
- Customisable Language Switchers: Place switchers in menus, sidebars or footers.
- URL Localisation: Configure language codes in subdirectories (e.g. /pt/) or subdomains for a clear structure.
Example: LAPSO at Iscte – University Institute of Lisbon
Iscte’s Psychology Lab (LAPSO) website at https://lapso.iscte-iul.pt/ uses Polylang to serve Portuguese (/pt/) and English (/en/) versions seamlessly, and it will pick the user’s browser language in order to show either one or the other version of the website to them. It allows for a menu‑integrated language switcher and fully translated navigation and content. This implementation illustrates how universities can maintain brand consistency while tailoring each page to local audiences.
Best Practices for Multilingual SEO
Implementing best practices for multilingual SEO ensures that each language version of your site is correctly indexed, prevents duplicate‑content issues and improves user discovery across global markets.
Implement Hreflang Tags
Use hreflang annotations to signal to search engines which language and regional audience each page targets, preventing duplicate‑content issues and improving geo‑targeted rankings.
Choose the Optimal URL Structure
Decide among subdirectories (example.com/pt/), subdomains (pt.example.com) or country‑code TLDs (example.pt). Subdirectories are often simpler to manage on a single hosting account, whereas ccTLDs can boost local SEO but require separate setups.
Translate All SEO Metadata
Assign individual SEO titles, meta descriptions and slug translations for each page using Polylang’s string translation or by leveraging Yoast SEO’s meta box per language copy. Ensure each version has unique metadata to maximise relevance.
Generate a Multilingual XML Sitemap
Configure your SEO plugin to include all language variants in the XML sitemap. This helps search engines discover and index every translation correctly.
Content Localisation and Cultural Adaptation
Content localisation moves beyond literal translation by adapting tone, idioms and examples to resonate with local audiences, thereby increasing engagement and conversion rates. Through transcreation and cultural adaptation, universities can craft messages that evoke equivalent emotional responses while respecting local values, which is crucial for building trust and avoiding cultural missteps.
Go Beyond Literal Translation
Localisation adapts content to cultural norms, idioms and user expectations, boosting engagement. Studies show that culturally tailored content yields significantly higher conversion rates than direct translations.
Employ Transcreation When Necessary
Transcreation involves creatively adapting campaign messages—copy, visuals or UX elements—to evoke equivalent emotional responses in each target market, preserving brand voice while respecting cultural context.
Align with Local Values and Conventions
Adapt date formats, address conventions, local statistics and testimonials to build trust. Missteps in cultural sensitivity can damage brand reputation and hinder recruitment efforts.
Conclusion
A well‑executed multilingual WordPress site is indispensable for global university marketing. By selecting Polylang, following multilingual SEO best practices, and committing to deep cultural adaptation, universities can significantly improve international visibility and student engagement.
Ready to transform your global recruitment? Contact us at hello@nextlevelhighered.com to get started.