Language Translations

Translate Your Theme

Our theme includes an language file named as "charity-home.pot" which you can use to translate the theme. Inside the Charity Home Theme folder, you will find a folder called languages.

Theme Translation Basics

  • charity-home.pot – A list of all the text strings used in the Theme files. These text strings are in the English language, and can contain a translation for each text string.

If your language is not already included in language folder, the only thing you have to do is to create a new .po file from the original charity-home.pot located in the Languages folder, translate all text strings, then save the .po file with your language code.

In order for WordPress to recognize the language to which you want to translate the theme, you must name the Language files accordingly using the ISO Language Codes. For example, if you wanted to translate Charity Home to the Deutsch language, the filenames would be charity-home-de_DE.po and charity-home-de_DE.mo.

How To Store Theme Translation Files

Place your theme translation files inside wp-content/languages/themes folder. If you don't have the languages and themes folder, simply create the languages folder, and the themes folder inside it.

Updating the theme will not overwrite the "wp-content" folder. Storing your translation files here will ensure they stay intact during updates.

When storing your language files, remember that the file structure is different and must include the theme name, as well. For example, if the language files are in the Deutsch language, the file names would be charity-home-de_DE.po and charity-home-de_DE.mo.

How To Start A New Language From POEdit Software

To create and edit .po files, POEdit software is easy to use, it is available for all platforms and it is freeware. To download POEdit, follow this link.

  1. Open the charity-home.pot in POEdit by selecting the Create New Translation button.
  2. Once it has loaded, You will find all English text strings in the left column called Source Text. Once you add translations, they will show up in the right column under Translation.
  3. Choose the line you want to translate. In the lower right section of the POEdit window, you will find a text area where you can add the correct translation.
  4. When you are done translating all the needed text strings into your desired language, save the file with the theme name and your language code.
  5. For example, if you were translating to the Deutsch language, you would save it as charity-home-de_DE.po. The corresponding .mo file will be auto created.

How To Edit A Pre-Built Language File From POEdit Software

  1. Open the .po file of your preferred language in POEdit and search for the line you want to change. To do this, select the Edit button, then select the Find option.
  2. In the Search Window, type the text string you are looking for. Once it is selected, replace the text in the Translation text area in the lower part of the window with your prefered translation.
  3. Repeat the Steps to edit another text strong.
  4. Once done with your translations, Save the file. The updated .mo file will be auto created.

NOTE – Everytime you update the .po file, make sure to upload both .po and the compiled .mo file in "wp-content/languages/themes" folder and that they have the correct file name. The correct file name is the theme name and your language code. For example, charity-home-de_DE.po.