How to translate the theme?

Translating the Porto theme in WordPress can be done in a few different ways depending on your needs — whether you want to translate just a few strings or fully localize your site into another language.

Loco Translate is a free plugin that allows you to translate theme and plugin strings directly from the WordPress admin panel.

Steps:

1. Install Loco Translate
   • Go to Plugins > Add New
   • Search for Loco Translate
   • Install and activate it
2. Translate the Porto Theme
   • Go to Loco Translate > Themes > Porto
   • Click “New Language”
   • Choose your language (e.g. French) and choose System or Custom location (recommended: Custom to avoid being overwritten by theme updates)
   • Click Start Translating
3. Translate Strings
   • You’ll see a list of translatable strings from the Porto theme
   • Click any string, write the translation in the box, and hit Save
4. Apply the Site Language
   • Go to Settings > General > Site Language
   • Choose the language you translated (e.g. Français)

Pro Tip:

• Use the Sync button in Loco Translate if strings appear to be missing after a theme update.

If you prefer to edit files manually or want full control (or are working offline):

Steps:

1. Go to:
   /wp-content/themes/porto/languages/
   or use a child theme:
   /wp-content/themes/porto-child/languages/
2. Use a tool like Poedit to edit:
   • porto.pot file (template)
   • Save your language as xx_XX.po (e.g., fr_FR.po for French)
   • Compile into .mo file
3. Upload the .po and .mo files to:
   /wp-content/languages/themes/
4. Change your site language from Settings > General

If you want a multilingual website (e.g. English + German), use:

• WPML (Paid, officially supported by Porto)
• Polylang (Free, works well with some custom config)

Both plugins allow you to:

• Translate pages, posts, menus, custom post types
• Translate theme strings (via String Translation modules)

Important: When using WPML or Polylang, still use Loco Translate or .po/.mo files to translate static theme strings.

Some texts come from Porto Theme – Functionality plugin.
To translate it:

• Go to Loco Translate > Plugins > Porto Functionality
• Follow the same process as above to add a new language

• Custom Translations Location is best:
  /wp-content/languages/themes/
  to avoid losing translations on updates.
• Porto is translation-ready using standard WordPress internationalization ( __() and _e() functions), so all frontend strings should be translatable.

1. Change Settings > General > Site Language to test.
2. Clear all caches (theme, plugin, browser).
3. If some texts don’t translate, check:
   • They’re from plugins (translate them too)
   • They’re hardcoded (you may need child theme overrides)