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Why Your WordPress Language Switcher Only Works on the Homepage (And How to Fix It)

17 threads Sep 7, 2025 Core → Everything else wordpress

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If you've built a multilingual WordPress site, you've likely encountered a frustrating and common issue: your language switcher works perfectly on the homepage but fails to change languages on any other page. This problem can undermine the entire user experience for your international audience.

Based on community reports, this issue is frequently tied to conflicts with other plugins, particularly multilingual solutions. A user found that when they deactivated all plugins except their alternative translation plugin, the switcher worked. However, reactivating their primary multilingual plugin (like Polylang) caused the switcher to break on all pages except the homepage. This strongly suggests a plugin conflict is the root cause.

How to Troubleshoot and Fix the Language Switcher

Here are the most effective steps to diagnose and resolve this problem, starting with the simplest solutions first.

1. Check Your Permalink Structure

WordPress language switchers often rely on a specific URL structure to function correctly. If your site is using the default "Plain" permalinks, the switcher may not work. Navigate to Settings > Permalinks and select any option other than "Plain" (such as "Post name") and save your changes. This is a quick fix that resolves many reported cases.

2. Perform a Plugin Conflict Test

This is the most critical step. Plugin conflicts are the leading cause of this behavior.

  1. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins.
  2. Deactivate all your plugins except your multilingual plugin (e.g., Polylang).
  3. Test your language switcher on a page that is not the homepage.
  4. If the switcher now works, you've confirmed a plugin conflict. Reactivate your plugins one-by-one, testing the switcher after each activation, to identify the culprit.
  5. Once the conflicting plugin is found, check its settings for any language or caching-related options, or contact its support community for guidance on compatibility.

3. Investigate Caching Issues

Caching plugins or server-level caching can serve a cached version of a page in the wrong language. If you use a caching plugin, clear all its caches completely. You may also need to configure your caching solution to recognize the language parameter in URLs to serve the correct cached version. Consult your caching plugin's documentation for multilingual setup instructions.

4. Review Your Multilingual Plugin Settings

Misconfiguration can sometimes be the issue. Open the settings for your multilingual plugin and ensure that all your pages (not just the homepage) are properly assigned and translated for each language. Verify that the language switcher is configured to display in the correct locations, such as your menu.

When to Seek Further Help

If the steps above do not resolve the issue, the problem may be more deeply rooted in your specific theme or plugin setup. The next best step is to seek help from the community dedicated to your multilingual plugin. For example, you can find support for Polylang in its official support forum. Be sure to describe the steps you've already taken to troubleshoot, as this will help others assist you more efficiently.

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