How to translate Plumbit

Set the site language#

Open Settings > General > Site Language and choose the locale required by the site. WordPress can download available language packs for WordPress, themes, and plugins. When more than one WordPress language is installed, the Language field under Users > Profile can set that user's dashboard language without changing the public Site Language.

Changing Site Language loads available WordPress, theme, and plugin interface translations. It does not automatically translate Elementor pages, posts, products, menus, or other customer-authored content, and it does not create a multilingual site.

Identify the text owner#

Before editing a translation, check where the text is stored:

• Plumbit interface labels, Customizer labels, theme-generated breadcrumbs, pagination, and archive text belong to the theme target.
• Plumbit Extensions widget controls, custom-content labels, and extension output belong to the companion-plugin target. It uses the plumbit text domain, but it remains a separate plugin target.
• Elementor page, header, footer, and page-header copy belongs to the Elementor content or template record.
• Service, Project, Team Member, post, menu, widget, and product copy belongs to its WordPress record.

Customer-authored content must be translated through its owning record or the multilingual plugin's documented workflow. Do not edit a language file to change ordinary Elementor content, and do not edit an Elementor page to change a theme-generated label.

Translate the Plumbit theme target#

The Plumbit theme uses the plumbit text domain and loads it from its languages directory. A POT file is a source template, not the finished translation. A PO file contains the editable translations and an MO file is the compiled runtime translation file.

The MO file is the runtime translation file. Keep separate backups of the PO and MO files. The WordPress language locations are outside replaceable theme and plugin directories, but they are not universally update-safe because WordPress-managed translation or language-pack operations can modify them.

Translate Plumbit Extensions separately#

Choose the companion plugin as its own target instead of editing the Plumbit theme target. Plumbit Extensions uses the plumbit text domain and does not include a POT translation template. A complete standalone translation-file workflow for this companion plugin has not been established, so do not present the theme's language path as a plugin solution. Contact Stronghold Themes when an extension-owned frontend string cannot be translated through the supported site workflow.

Preserve placeholders and plural forms#

Keep visible placeholders such as %s, %d, and numbered forms such as %1$s in the translated sentence. Preserve required links, HTML structure, escaped characters, and line breaks. Translate singular and plural forms separately, and use a context description when the same source word has different meanings.

Refresh translations after updates#

1. Back up the PO and MO files separately.
2. Confirm the target is Plumbit or another component with an established source template.
3. For the Plumbit theme and other targets with an established POT, synchronize with the updated source template when the editor provides that action.
4. Do not look for or synchronize a Plumbit Extensions POT: the companion plugin does not include one. Contact Stronghold Themes when an extension-owned frontend string remains untranslated.
5. Review new and changed strings, preserve placeholders, and save/compile the translation.
6. Clear only the relevant cache and test the interface, frontend, and administration screens.

Updating One Click Demo Import does not translate or import demo content. Imported pages and records remain customer-authored content.

Know the support boundary#

Plumbit includes wpml-config.xml, which provides theme-level configuration for WPML. This configuration is not a blanket compatibility guarantee for every theme feature, companion plugin, or site-specific multilingual workflow. Follow WPML's current setup guidance and test the complete site on staging. Plumbit does not include an officially documented Polylang integration. Plumbit includes RTL-related styling, but complete RTL behavior has not been certified across all theme layouts. See Troubleshoot Plumbit translations when a string remains unchanged.

Expected result#

Supported theme and established plugin targets provide the expected interface translations, while pages, templates, forms, records, menus, and products are translated through their owning content or multilingual workflow without losing placeholders. Plumbit Extensions remains subject to its documented translation limitation.

Related articles