Joomla tutorial

WEB-T is a Joomla extension for content translation. To use this extension, you will need to have a Joomla website and an eTranslation account (or access to other WEB-T compatible translation provider) to take advantage of the automated content translation. 

Your website should have Joomla 4 version – WEB-T extension uses native Joomla 4 localisation extensions

WEB-T Joomla extension translates webpage content when creating a new article or page. You can also pre-translate the existing website content all at once in WEB-T > Machine translations. If new languages are added, extension will translate into missing languages when visiting the page.

All translations are saved into your database, allowing you to edit them as regular Joomla content.

1. Setup a multilingual Joomla site.
2. Install the extension.
3. Get MT provider access
4. Configure translation provider in plugin settings.
5. Configure machine translation.
6. Translate content on new page creation, or pre-translate your existing website content.
7. Edit translated pages and articles as regular content.

As per the default Joomla multilingual setup guidelines, add site & content languages, enable System – Language Filter, configure the language switcher, create menus for each language. Multilingual status can be checked at the top of the administration panel.

See: How to setup a Multilingual Joomla! Site

To install the extension: 

1. Open the Joomla administrator dashboard. 
2. Open the System page. 
3. Under Install, click Extensions. 
4. On the Upload package file tab, upload the zip archive of the extension. ZIP file can be downloaded here: https://website-translation.language-tools.ec.europa.eu/solutions/web-t-joomla_en  
5. On the top of the page, the success message will be displayed. 

WEB-T settings can be found in the navigation pane under Components > WEB-T.

In WEB-T settings you will find:

• Translation provider – for setting the translation provider authorization information (eTranslation API credentials or Base URL & API key).
• Configuration – for selecting machine translation engines and translation settings: inherit original article properties, transle on the fly, show MT notice.
• Machine translation – for existing content pre-translation and following the translation progress.

Configure translation provider

Before you continue:
You must have an eTranslation or WEB-T compatible translation provider account.
You have obtained eTranslation API credentials or Base URL & API key from your translation provider.

To configure the translation provider: 

1. In the side panel, open Components > WEB-T > Translation provider.
2. Select the translation provider.
3. For eTranslation enter the application name and password; for the Custom provider specify the provider's generic MT API URL and API key.
4. You can change the translation request size later under Advanced.
5. Click Save.

Configure machine translation

To select machine translation engines to use in translation:

1. In the side panel, open Components > WEB-T > Configuration.
2. Under Configuration, select the engines from the drop-downs next to the corresponding languages.
3. Click Save.

Languages that are not supported by the machine translation provider will not have any engines to choose from in the menu. However, they can still be translated manually.

Inherit original article properties

Inherit status & featured properties from original article when machine translating. If disabled, newly translated articles will be unpublished and unfeatured.

In the side panel, open Components > WEB-T > Configuration and enable Inherit original article properties.

Translate on the fly

Check for article translations on page load and translate if there are any missing languages.

In the side panel, open Components > WEB-T > Configuration and enable Translate on the fly.

Show MT notice

Show machine translated content notice at the top of every translated article page.

In the side panel, open Components > WEB-T > Configuration and enable Show MT notice.

Translate new content

To translate new content:

1. Create a new article.
2. Set the article language to the source language of the website.
3. Click Save&Close.
4. Browser tab will display a loading indicator while the content is being translated. Articles for each new language will be generated and will appear under Content > Articles.

Translate existing content (Pre-translation)

First check if original articles have the source language set correctly:

1. Under Content, click Articles.
2. From Filter Options, select the language as All.
3. If there are articles that show up that should be translated, click on the article and change their language to the source (default) language.

To translate existing content:

1. Open Components > WEB-T.
2. Under Translate enable the translation languages.
3. Click Translate.
4. Browser tab will display a loading indicator while the content is being translated. After the content is translated a success message will appear at the top of the page.

Translate site meta title and description

The extension doesn’t automatically translate the site’s description and title. You can do it manually:

1. Open System > Manage > Content languages.
2. Click on the language name.
3. Open Options tab.
4. Add Custom site name and Meta description.
5. Click Save&Close.

This can also be set for individual menu items: Menus > [Language menu] > [Home item] > Page display or Metadata

To edit translated content:

1. Open Content > Articles.
2. Filter the table by language.
3. Select the article and edit like any other content.

To delete translations:

1. Open Content > Articles.
2. Select the articles you want to delete.
3. From the Actions menu, select Trash.
4. Filter the table by status Trashed and click Empty bin.

Does the extension translate images and media content?

Images and media content has to be localized by the user themselves and added into the translated pages.

Will the translation affect website load times?

There is no noticeable difference in load times between translated content and regular articles. If a page is not pre-translated the visitor will have to wait for the translation.

How to update translations after changing translation engine?

To update the existing translations after changing the machine translation engine or translation provider:

1. Delete the old translations for the specific language, see: Delete translations,
2. Translate content, see: Translate existing content (Pre-translation) Translate existing content (Pre-translation).

How can I change the source language?

To change the source language:

1. Open the Joomla administrator dashboard.
2. Open the System page.
3. Under Manage, click Languages.
4. Press the default button on which language should be made default.

How can I localize the MT translation notice?

To localize the MT translation notice:

1. Open System > Language overrides.
2. Create a new entry:
   1. Select the language.
   2. Click New.
3. Add “MT_NOTICE_TEXT” as Language constant.
4. Add translated MT notice text as Text.
5. Click Save&Close.
6. The new entry will appear in the list and the localized translation notice will appear on your website.

Translation is slow

Translation speed is translation provider dependant. Systems offered by eTranslation are used by a huge number of users. They may be slow at time due to the heavy work load.

First time the content of any page is loaded it will take some time to translate it. The translation will be saved and returned instantly the next time.

Change the eTranslation timeout

To change the eTranslation timeout, which limits the time plugin waits on eTranslation to respond with async translation response, open Components > WEB-T > Configuration and change the value under eTranslation timeout.

Time in seconds to wait on eTranslation service before declaring timeout (per single request). Infinite if zero. Affects only translation on the fly.

Translation contains errors

Machine translation cannot fully substitute human translators. The translations have to be reviewed and edited by a human. The quality of the translation depends on the machine translation engine and provider.

Translation doesn’t work 

Websites using WEB-T plugin with eTranslation integration enabled must be published and accessible online from eTranslation service. Translation with eTranslation will not work otherwise. 

To fix this, publish these websites online and make sure these URLs are accessible from outside (e.g. by making HTTP POST requests):

{{WEBSITE_URL}}/api/index.php/v1/webtetranslation/123 

I don’t see installed languages in WEB-T settings

To configure the translation languages:

1. Open the Joomla administrator dashboard.
2. Open the System page.
3. Under Install, click Languages.
4. Choose a language you want to install and click Install.
5. Open the System page.
6. Under Manage, click Content Languages.
7. Publish the language by pressing the ✔️button in status column.

I don’t see the languages in language switcher

For the language to show up in the language switcher:

1. Install the chosen language through System->Languages->Install Languages.
2. Enable the site language through System->Content Languages.
3. Choose a default home page for the language:
   1. (If needed) Create a new main menu.
   2. Add an article to the main menu.
   3. Set it as the home page.

Follow the official Joomla documentation: How to setup a Multilingual Joomla! Site

I created an article, but it wasn’t translated

Make sure that you set the language of the article when creating it. The language should be set to the source language, not “All”.

Translation is slow

Translation speed is dependent on the translation provider. Systems offered by eTranslation are used by a huge number of users. They may be slow at time due to the heavy workload.

The first time the content of any page is loaded it will take some time to translate it. The translation will be saved and returned instantly the next time.

Change the eTranslation timeout

To change the eTranslation timeout, which limits the time the plugin waits on eTranslation to respond with async translation response, open Components > WEB-T > Configuration and change the value under eTranslation timeout.

Time in seconds to wait on eTranslation service before declaring timeout (per single request). Infinite if zero. Only affects translation on the fly.

Translation contains errors

Machine translation cannot fully substitute human translators. The translations have to be reviewed and edited by a human. The quality of the translation depends on the machine translation engine and provider.