User Manual - Libre Translate WordPress Plugin

Libre Translate - The Unlimited WordPress Translator | NorthPublisher

WordPress Plugin Guide

Break Free from Language Barriers

Traditional translation plugins trap you in endless monthly subscriptions or charge you per word. Libre Translate changes the game. By connecting WordPress to your own private translation server, you unlock unlimited, lightning-fast translations with perfect SEO subdomain support—forever.

Explore Core Features

Stop Paying Per Word

Popular SaaS translation services charge you based on traffic and word count. As your site grows, your bill skyrockets. With Libre Translate, your translation cost is permanently locked at $0, utilizing the server you already own.

12-Month Projected Costs (5 Languages, 1M Words)

Lightning Fast Local Caching

We don't just translate; we remember. Libre Translate stores translated strings in the user's browser storage. This means the first visit is fast, and every subsequent click is practically instantaneous.

Translation Latency Simulation

Click "Simulate Returning User" to see the impact of our local caching engine.

Phase 1: Your Private Server

To achieve unlimited free translations, you need to spin up the LibreTranslate engine on your VPS or dedicated server via Docker. It takes less than 5 minutes.

1 Install Docker

Log into your server via SSH as root and run:

curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh

2 Run the Translation Engine

Deploy the optimized container. Adjust LT_LOAD_ONLY to include the language codes you need to save RAM, and LT_THREADS based on your CPU cores.

docker run -d \
  --name libretranslate \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  -p 5000:5000 \
  -e LT_THREADS=4 \
  -e LT_LOAD_ONLY=en,de,it,fr,es \
  libretranslate/libretranslate

3 Reverse Proxy

In your hosting panel (Plesk/cPanel), map port 5000 to a secure HTTPS domain (e.g., https://translate.yoursite.com).

Phase 2: WordPress Configuration

Now that your engine is running, let's connect it to your WooCommerce or WordPress site using the Libre Translate plugin.

Installation Steps

✅ Upload the provided .zip file via Plugins → Add New.
✅ Navigate to Settings → Libre Translate.
✅ Enter your new API Server URL.
✅ Click Test Connection to ensure WordPress can communicate with your Docker container.

Configuration

🌍 Primary Language: Set your original content language (keeps the default clean URL).
🤖 Auto-Detect: Enable to instantly translate based on the visitor's browser settings.
📱 Menu Position: Choose a mobile-responsive location for the language switcher.

Phase 3: Subdomains & SEO

By default, translations use URL parameters (?lang=de). For professional, SEO-friendly architecture, activate the Subdomain mode (de.yoursite.com).

⚠️

Critical Requirement

Do not enable Subdomain mode in the plugin settings until you have completed both Step A and Step B below, otherwise your site will display a "Server Not Found" error.

Step A: DNS Records (Cloudflare, Namecheap, etc.)

You must route subdomain traffic to your server.

TypeA Record

Name / Host* (Asterisk)

Value / TargetYour Server IP

Step B: Hosting Panel (Plesk / cPanel)

Your web server needs permission to display the main site on these new subdomains.

For Plesk Users

Go to Websites & Domains
Click Add Domain Alias
Enter your subdomain (e.g., de.yoursite.com)
UNCHECK "Redirect with the HTTP 301 code"
Issue a Let's Encrypt SSL for the alias.

For cPanel Users

Go to Aliases (or Parked Domains)
Add your new subdomain
Ensure it points to the document root /public_html
Run AutoSSL to secure the new domains.