WPML (WordPress Multilingual Plugin) and Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) are two powerful plugins that can significantly enhance a WordPress website's functionality, particularly when dealing with multilingual content and complex custom fields. Both plugins are often used in tandem to manage multilingual sites that rely on custom fields for dynamic and customized content.

WPML (WordPress Multilingual Plugin)

WPML is a popular plugin that allows WordPress websites to become fully multilingual. It enables you to translate and manage content in multiple languages, making it a great choice for global websites or businesses that cater to different regions and languages.

Key Features of WPML:

1. Multilingual Content Management:
   • WPML allows you to translate posts, pages, custom post types, taxonomies, and menus into multiple languages.
   • It also enables you to manage and organize translations efficiently within the WordPress dashboard.
2. Language Switcher:
   • WPML provides a customizable language switcher that can be added to any part of the site, allowing users to select their preferred language.
   • You can display language options as flags, dropdowns, or even as a list of language names.
3. Translation Management:
   • WPML has a dedicated translation management system where you can assign translations to specific translators, ensuring efficient handling of multilingual content.
   • It supports manual translation as well as automatic translation using services like Google Translate or DeepL (with an API key).
4. String Translation:
   • You can translate texts and strings that are not part of regular posts or pages, such as theme options, widget text, plugin strings, and other dynamic content.
   • This feature is particularly useful for translating site-wide elements like headers, footers, and custom UI elements.
5. Compatibility with Themes and Plugins:
   • WPML works seamlessly with most WordPress themes and plugins, allowing for easy integration and consistent functionality across multilingual sites.
   • It has built-in support for WooCommerce, making it ideal for multilingual eCommerce websites.
6. SEO-Friendly:
   • WPML ensures that each language version of your site has its own SEO-friendly URL structure (e.g., example.com/en/ for English and example.com/es/ for Spanish).
   • It also supports hreflang tags to signal the language and regional targeting to search engines.
7. Professional Translation Services:
   • WPML integrates with professional translation services, providing a direct way to send content for translation by a third-party service provider.
8. Content Duplication:
   • WPML allows you to duplicate content in different languages, making it easier to translate and maintain content while keeping the structure consistent across languages.

Advanced Custom Fields (ACF)

Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) is a highly customizable plugin that allows WordPress users to add custom fields to posts, pages, custom post types, and even taxonomies. It is widely used to enhance the content structure by allowing additional data fields (e.g., images, text fields, checkboxes, etc.) that can be used in various parts of the site.

Key Features of ACF:

1. Custom Field Types:
   • ACF provides a wide variety of custom field types, including text fields, image fields, date pickers, select boxes, checkboxes, radio buttons, file upload fields, and many more.
   • These fields can be used to collect and display additional information for any content type.
2. Flexible Content Fields:
   • With ACF, you can create flexible content blocks that allow you to build highly customized layouts, such as repeating fields or grid layouts, giving you total control over how content is structured and displayed.
3. Relationship and Post Object Fields:
   • You can use fields like Relationship and Post Object to create relationships between different content types, such as linking a page to a custom post type or another post.
4. Location Rules:
   • ACF allows you to control where custom fields appear on the backend based on location rules. For example, you can show specific fields only on certain post types, categories, or templates.
5. ACF Blocks (Gutenberg Integration):
   • With ACF, you can create custom Gutenberg blocks, allowing you to design complex layouts using ACF fields within the block editor.
   • This provides full flexibility for modern WordPress themes built with Gutenberg.
6. Repeater Fields:
   • The repeater field allows you to add multiple rows of data dynamically, such as adding multiple addresses, contact numbers, or event dates to a single post.
7. Custom Field Grouping:
   • You can group custom fields together under different field groups to keep your content organized and easy to manage.
8. Export and Import Field Data:
   • ACF allows you to export and import field settings, making it easier to replicate custom field configurations across multiple sites or environments.

Integrating WPML with ACF:

When WPML and ACF are used together, they provide a powerful solution for managing multilingual content with custom fields. The integration enables seamless translation of ACF fields while maintaining the flexibility and customization of content for each language.

Key Benefits of Using WPML with ACF:

1. Translation of Custom Fields:
   • WPML supports the translation of ACF fields, so you can easily translate custom fields like product descriptions, custom attributes, testimonials, and more into multiple languages.
   • Each language version of the field is editable independently, making it easier to manage different content for different locales.
2. Translation of Flexible Content:
   • ACF's flexible content fields are fully compatible with WPML, meaning that content blocks, such as sliders, galleries, and layouts, can be translated into different languages without breaking the design or structure.
3. Advanced Language Management:
   • WPML lets you specify how custom fields are handled in different languages. For example, you can decide whether a custom field should have the same content across languages, or if it should be different for each language.
   • Custom fields can be automatically translated using WPML's translation management tools or translated manually.
4. Easier Custom Content Creation:
   • ACF enables you to create custom content types with advanced fields that are perfect for multilingual websites. For example, if you're creating product pages, you can use ACF fields for product specifications and WPML to translate those fields into different languages.
5. Better User Experience:
   • The integration creates a more streamlined user experience on both the front-end and back-end. Content editors and translators can manage custom fields and translations in a familiar WordPress interface.
6. SEO-Friendly Multilingual Custom Fields:
   • Both WPML and ACF are SEO-friendly, and when used together, they ensure that translated custom fields are properly indexed by search engines with unique, SEO-optimized content for each language.

Conclusion:

• WPML is an essential tool for building multilingual WordPress websites, while ACF is perfect for adding and managing custom fields and content structures. When used together, they provide an incredible solution for creating and managing multilingual sites that are rich in custom content and tailored to different audiences.
• Whether you're running a global eCommerce store, a business website, or a community-based platform, this combination allows for easy content translation, enhanced customization, and better user experiences across multiple languages.

By leveraging both WPML and ACF, you can create a fully customizable, scalable, and multilingual WordPress website that offers personalized content to users worldwide.