What Weglot does on your site
Weglot is an online translation service: the WordPress plugin connects your site to a Weglot project through an API key. When a page is requested in another language, the plugin parses the HTML that WordPress generates on the server, sends any new text to Weglot and returns the translated page. Content, menus, strings from your theme and other plugins, WooCommerce product pages and checkout, title tags, meta descriptions and alt attributes all go through the same process, without duplicating your pages.
Each language gets its own subdirectory (/es/, /de/) or a subdomain, and the plugin adds hreflang tags to the page head. Translations are not stored in your database: they live on Weglot’s servers, where you review them in a visual editor or a translation list, with translation guidelines and optional professional translators. Inside WordPress, the Weglot screen only holds the API key, the languages, the switcher placement and a few options; everything else is configured in the Weglot dashboard.
The vendor, Weglot SAS, is a French company based in Paris. The business model is a subscription priced by the total number of translated words and the number of languages. Since version 6.4 (September 2026), the plugin runs on the new generation of the service, branded Weglot 2.0.
Which sites Weglot is a good fit for
Weglot makes sense when you want an indexable multilingual site without managing translation inside WordPress:
- Business sites and small companies entering one or two markets: machine translation is live within minutes, then you polish the pages that matter.
- WooCommerce stores: products, cart, checkout and customer emails can be translated without per-plugin setup.
- Sites built with a page builder: since Weglot reads the final HTML, Elementor, Divi or the block editor need no special integration.
- Agencies: one workspace per client, and the vendor offers three months of free usage on each new client workspace plus a lifetime 15% discount for the client.
It is the wrong pick for a very large site on a tight budget, or if you want to keep your translations in-house: TranslatePress saves them in your database, and WPML manages them as WordPress content, with a license instead of a per-word subscription.
Weglot strengths and limitations
Strengths
- Every piece of content is detected. The final HTML is translated, including strings from the theme, plugins and WooCommerce.
- Multilingual SEO basics included. A dedicated URL per language, automatic hreflang tags and translated metadata in the source code, even on the Free plan.
- A lean database. Translations are served from Weglot, with no duplicate pages and no PO files to maintain.
- Comfortable review. Visual editor, translation list, translation guidelines and per-language publishing.
Limitations
- A fixed word quota. Translated words add up across all languages and never renew; past the limit, new text is no longer translated unless you upgrade.
- Locked to the service. If you stop using Weglot, your site is no longer translated; CSV or XLIFF export comes with the Advanced plan, otherwise you have to ask support.
- Translated URLs start at Pro. Slug translation (
/aboutbecoming/fr/a-propos) and use on several sites require the Pro plan, at €79 per month excluding VAT. - Few languages per plan. One language on Free and Starter, three on Business, five on Pro, ten on Advanced.
The Weglot settings we recommend
Labels below are quoted exactly as the plugin and the Weglot dashboard display them. In WordPress, the Weglot menu groups the "General", "Language switcher" and "Other options" sections.
| Setting | Recommended value | Why |
|---|---|---|
API key as a constantwp-config.php file, WEGLOT_API_KEY_PRIVATE constant | Defined, if your host allows it | Since version 6.3, the key is then never stored in the database and shows as read-only under Weglot > General. |
| URL exclusions Weglot dashboard > project > "Exclusions" > "Add Rule" | Pages that are useless in other languages | Every translated word eats into your quota; an excluded page is no longer translated. The "Delete translations linked to matching URLs" option also removes its existing translations. |
| Blocks to exclude Same screen, "Blocks to exclude" field | CSS selector of the areas to keep in the original language | Handy for a code block, an address or a third-party widget; translations already created for those blocks must be deleted by hand. |
| Per-language publishing Weglot dashboard > project > "Languages" > "…" > "Unpublish" | Unpublished until the language has been reviewed | Visitors don’t see the translation; you can still check it by adding ?weglot-private=1 to the URL. |
| Auto-upgrade Weglot dashboard > "Manage subscription" | Depends on your priority: on for SEO, off to cap spending | When on, Weglot moves you to the next plan two days after the alert email; when off, new text stays in the original language. |
| Translate WordPress emails Weglot > "Other options" | On for a store, after a test | Emails sent by the site go out in the customer’s language; place a test order in each language. |
| Switcher placement Weglot > "Language switcher", then Appearance > Menus | In the main menu, or the [weglot_switcher] shortcode | By default the button floats at the bottom right; in the main menu it is easier to find. |
- View the source of a translated page: the
link rel="alternate" hreflangtags for each language should be in the head. - Browse each important page once in every language: the word count is only complete after those visits.
- In a translated language, add a product to the cart and go through checkout: prices, addresses and messages should stay correct.
Weglot security: patched flaws, one of them unauthenticated
Few vulnerabilities have been published, but the latest one affects every version before 6.4.3 and needs no account:
- CVE-2026-88784, fixed in 6.4.3: when rewriting links on translated pages, the plugin put URLs back without escaping them; an anonymous visitor could store a script that ran for anyone viewing the page in a translated language (stored XSS).
- CVE-2025-10008, fixed in 5.2: due to a missing authorization check, an anonymous visitor could delete the transients that cache the plugin’s options (CVSS 5.3).
- CVE-2024-2124, fixed in 4.2.6: stored XSS through the attributes of the Weglot block or widget, with a contributor account (CVSS 6.4).
Turn on automatic updates for Weglot under Plugins (see our guide to automatic plugin updates) and make sure you run at least 6.4.3. With WP Masquerade Pro, the plugin’s folder addresses and script IDs disappear from your page code, which makes it harder for bots to spot, without replacing the update; the weglot-* classes and calls to cdn.weglot.com remain visible.
What WP Masquerade hides for Weglot
Pro Handled by WP Masquerade Pro only
The free version does not know the traces specific to Weglot: without Pro, only generator tags are removed, as for any plugin.
Free version
Handled by WP Masquerade Pro only
With Pro
- branded HTTP header
- folder name
- tag IDs
Still visible
- CSS classes
weglot-* - files served by the vendor
cdn.weglot.com
These traces stay because the plugin needs them to work (scripts, styles, cookies) or because they come from the server.
Weglot FAQ
Is the free Weglot plan enough?
Only for a very small site: it covers 2,000 words in total and one language. After the 14-day trial, a project above 2,000 words stops being translated until you choose a paid plan.
How much does Weglot cost?
The pricing page lists, excluding VAT, Starter at €15 per month (€150 per year) for 10,000 words and one language, Business at €29 (3 languages, 50,000 words), Pro at €79 (5 languages, 200,000 words) and Advanced at €299 (10 languages, one million words). Paying yearly gives you two months free.
What happens to my translations if I leave Weglot?
They stay on Weglot’s servers and your site shows only its original language. Export them before you leave: the export feature comes with the Advanced plan, and support can help with the export otherwise.
Does Weglot work with my SEO plugin?
Yes, the vendor states compatibility with Yoast SEO, Rank Math and All in One SEO. Weglot translates the tags they output and adds its own hreflang tags, so you don’t have to edit your XML sitemap by hand.