Moving away from Polylang’s post-per-language model? TranslateRocket’s Polylang importer converts what maps cleanly into its string-based engine, so your translated content follows you in one click.
What gets imported from Polylang
- Registered string translations (the “Strings translations” screen).
- Translated titles, excerpts and slugs of your posts and pages.
- Body text, paired paragraph-by-paragraph when the original and the translation share the same structure (best effort — unmatched pairs are never used, so they’re harmless).
How to migrate, step by step
- Install TranslateRocket — free, from the official WordPress.org directory (Plugins → Add New → search “TranslateRocket”).
- In TranslateRocket → Settings, pick the same source and target languages you use in Polylang.
- Open TranslateRocket → Import: Polylang is detected automatically, with a count of the translations found.
- Click Import from Polylang — existing TranslateRocket translations are kept, imported ones are added or filled in.
- Deactivate Polylang and turn on Preview mode (“Who sees the translations” in TranslateRocket’s settings): you review the fully translated site on the real pages — and fix anything with the visual editor — while visitors keep seeing the default language, never a half-migrated site. During the review the public site stays in the default language — old language URLs simply redirect (no 404s), and the window can be as short as a few minutes: import, check, publish.
- Happy with the result? Set visibility back to Everyone and you’re live, instantly. Polylang’s tables are never touched, so they remain as a rollback for as long as you want.
Why people switch
- Free, permanently. Every feature — visual editor, AI translation with your own keys, SEO URLs, WooCommerce — with no yearly license and no locked “pro” tier.
- Built for real sites. Past ~20,000 strings the engine switches to indexed per-page lookups — flat memory, load-tested at 500,000 strings.
- No lock-in. Translations live in your database and export to CSV/TMX any time.
FAQ
What happens to my duplicated posts per language?
Nothing — the import doesn’t touch them. Once you’re happy with TranslateRocket, you can keep them as archive or clean them up at your own pace.
Can I roll back to Polylang?
Yes. The import is read-only on Polylang’s data: reactivate it and everything is as before.
Do menus and widgets translate too?
Yes — TranslateRocket translates everything visitors see, menus and interface strings included, regardless of what Polylang covered.
Can I check everything before going live?
Yes — Preview mode serves the translations to administrators only: you browse the fully translated site while visitors keep seeing the default language, and one click publishes it.
Still deciding? Read the full TranslateRocket vs Polylang comparison.
Coming from a different plugin? Migrate from WPML · Migrate from TranslatePress — or see the full comparison.
Leaving a paid plugin? Read the honest comparisons: WPML alternative · TranslatePress alternative · Weglot alternative · GTranslate alternative
Want a hand with your site? I can do it for you
I am Federico, the developer of TranslateRocket — and building and translating WordPress sites is what I do for a living. That is how this plugin stays free: it is not crippled to sell you an upgrade, it is the tool I use every day on the sites I am paid to build.
A new multilingual site from scratch, a design put right, an existing site taken from one language to ten, custom development, reviewed translations, or a migration off a plugin that charges you every month: tell me what you need and I will tell you honestly whether I am the right person for it. You get the person who wrote the engine, not a support queue.
