Joomla is a solid choice for multilingual web projects. Multilingual support comes baked into the core, so there’s no need for third‑party plugins or workarounds. In this guide we’ll explain the built‑in tools to get your multi‑language site running smoothly.
Core tools for multilingual Joomla
Joomla ships with everything you need to run a multilingual site. Key features include the Language Filter and Language Code plugins, which decide what content to show based on a visitor’s choice or browser settings. The Multilingual Associations component helps you connect articles, categories and menu items across languages. There’s also a Language Switcher module for your front‑end and a Multilingual Status module in the admin area that shows if anything’s missing. Because these tools are built in, you avoid the compatibility headaches that often arise with third‑party extensions.
Install and configure your languages
Adding new languages is straightforward. Head to System → Install → Languages and search for the language pack you need. Click Install and Joomla will fetch and enable it. If automatic installation fails, download the pack from the official Joomla Language Packages site and install it via System → Install → Extensions. Once installed, review the details under Content Languages – you can adjust the site name and meta description for each language here. Keeping your list of installed languages tidy will make the rest of the process easier.
- Install language packs from the Install → Languages screen
- Alternatively upload language packages manually
- Adjust site name and meta description in Content Languages
Activate language plugins and assign content
With your languages installed, enable the Language Filter and Language Code plugins from the System → Manage → Plugins page. You can leave most options at their defaults, but it’s worth noting that the filter can automatically detect a visitor’s browser language and switch content accordingly. You can also decide whether to include a language prefix in URLs, add alternate meta tags for SEO and set how long the language cookie should last.
Next, assign languages to your existing content. When you edit an article, category or menu item you’ll find a Language field. Set it to the appropriate language; items left as “All” will appear no matter which language is selected. For large numbers of articles, use the Batch Process from the list view to change the language of multiple items at once.
Set up menus and the language switcher
Each language should have its own menu. After creating or translating your content, go to Menus → Manage → New and make a menu for each language (for example, “Main Menu EN” and “Main Menu DE”). Assign the correct language in the menu’s settings, then add or copy menu items for that language. It’s good practice to have a hidden menu with a default page set to “All Languages”; this acts as a safe fallback.
To let visitors switch between languages, create a Language Switcher module from Content → Site Modules → New. Choose “Language Switcher” as the module type, select an appropriate position in your template and publish it. When everything is configured correctly you’ll see a row of flags or language names on your site that allows visitors to change languages on the fly.
Link translations with associations
Translating your content is only half the job – you also need to tell Joomla which pages correspond across languages. The Multilingual Associations component makes this easy. Find it under Components → Multilingual Associations, choose a content type and language, and Joomla will list all items that need linking. Select an item, then choose or create its translation. Once linked, Joomla will automatically direct visitors to the correct version when they change languages.
If you’re working with Joomla 3.7 or newer, there’s a streamlined interface for “Language Associations” where you can edit translations side by side. It shows which translations are missing and lets you create new ones without hopping between screens. Even though recent versions allow menu items in different languages to sit within the same menu, keeping separate menus for each language generally makes life easier.
Extra tips and best practices
Joomla offers sample data to get you started, including a multilingual set with ready‑made categories, articles and menus. This can be handy for testing, but on a live site you may prefer to build your own menus and content to avoid unused modules lurking in the admin area. When adding new languages later, repeat the installation steps: install the language pack, enable it under Content Languages, create a menu and category for that language, then copy or write translated articles.
- Use separate menus and template styles for each language to keep navigation clear
- Monitor the Multilingual Status module in the dashboard to spot missing translations
- Plan your translation workflow so that categories, menus and articles match across languages
- Leave the default language prefix in URLs to make it clear that your site is multilingual and help with SEO
Conclusion – our take
In our experience, Joomla’s approach to multilingual content is refreshingly straightforward. You don’t need to pay for extra plugins, and the system’s structured menus and clear separation of languages make it ideal for larger sites.
We’ve built and continue to maintain many multi‑language websites using these tools, and they stand up well in real‑world use. Compared with WordPress, where multilingual support relies on third‑party extensions, Joomla’s built‑in solution feels calmer and more robust. If your business spans several languages and you want a website that’s easy to manage, Joomla is well worth considering.
Key takeaways
- Joomla can handle multilingual content out of the box.
- No additional extensions are necessary.
- Simply assign a language to every article, category and menu item.
