How to Translate a Page Into Different Languages
Translating web pages has become as easy as pointing and clicking, or even just setting it to automatically happen. It used to be necessary to copy and paste foreign-language text into translation sites littered with ads and providing questionable results – but now, web browsers themselves are capable of translating the text directly on the web page itself. Using Google Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Safari to translate pages has never been easier. Read on to learn how to translate a page quickly using nothing more than your web browser.
Why Is Webpage Translation Becoming More Important?
Websites are increasingly viewed by people across the globe as the internet enables people from almost anywhere to share information at will. As a result, language barriers are easier to overcome than ever. There has long been a number websites offering free translations, but now, most browsers themselves provide website translation at the press of a button. Browser translation has become popular because the translation appears within the original website with its original contextual and graphical cues intact. Many of the more popular browsers now have this feature built-in, and some even allow translations to be done automatically. WP Engine has compiled this shorthand guide to help you simply and quickly translate foreign-language websites on your browser of choice.
Best Ways to Translate a Page on Google Chrome
Usually, Google Chrome will automatically detect if the website content is written in a non-native language and ask you if you’d like it translated. This request appears as a popup notification so that you can select it on a case-by-case basis. Alternately, you can customize the Chrome browser to perform an automatic translation whenever a particular, or any, foreign language is detected. Similarly, Google Chrome on mobile devices will display a language bar at the bottom of the site. Click on it to switch back and forth between the site’s native language and your own.
Google Chrome Translation on Desktop
As mentioned, Chrome is set by default to detect a foreign language and display a popup that asks:
“Translate this page?”
Simply click “Translate”, and Chrome will translate the entire page into your native language.
Turning Chrome’s Translation Feature On
If you don’t see this popup, you’ll need to enable it. Simply follow these steps:
- Click on the three dots at the top right. Choose “Settings.”
- Click on “Advanced” and then “Languages.”
- Expand the “Language” section and turn on the slider next to “Offer to translate pages that aren’t in a language you read.”
Still Not Working?
If the “Translate this page?” popup still isn’t appearing on a particular page, there is something preventing Chrome from detecting the foreign language automatically. Instead, you can manually translate the page by right-clicking (or “control”-clicking, for Mac) on a blank part of the page and selecting “Translate to English.”
Chrome will most likely say that the page cannot be translated. Click on “Options,” then go to the “Page Language” selections. Manually select the language the page is written in and set the “Translation Language” to your own. Next, click “Translate.”
Google Chrome Translation for Mobile Devices
Just like Chrome on desktop, Chrome for mobile devices is set by default to display a popup asking you if you’d like to translate the page. This popup appears at the bottom of the screen with your native language (e.g., “English”). Simply click on it to translate the page.
If the popup is not displaying, scroll to the top of the page and see if it appears then. Otherwise, refresh the page. If it’s still not showing up, follow these steps:
- Select the three dots at the top right (under the Gear icon).
- Tap “Languages.”
- Swipe the slider bar next to “Translate Pages” to the right.
Refresh the page and try again. If the translation notification still doesn’t show up, go further into the settings:
- Tap the three dots again.
- Scroll down and select “Translate.”
- The language bar will appear along with another notification stating that the page cannot be translated. Tap on this popup to make it disappear.
- On the language bar, tap the gear.
- Select “Page is not in English?”
- Manually select the language that the page is written in.
- The page should now translate.
Customizing Chrome’s Translation Settings
This translation feature can be turned off if you have another preferred method of translating websites while using Chrome. To customize this feature – whether to turn it off or have it done automatically – click the “Options” menu on desktop (or the “Gear” icon on mobile). Also note you can select “Change language” (or “More languages…” on mobile) from here if Chrome has misidentified the language.
Translating a Web Page on Firefox
To translate a web page with Firefox, you’ll need to add one of their many translation extensions. Firefox recommends “Simple Translate,” which is what this section will refer to – other translation extensions will function a little differently, and you should consult the extension page for your particular translation tool for the most up-to-date instructions.
Using Simple Translate With Firefox (Desktop and Android)
Simple Translate supports Google Translate and DeepL API. is very easy and intuitive to use. The easiest way is to select text with the cursor and press the translation button to view the translation. Another method is to use the toolbar popup to translate text you input in real-time. Thirdly, you can translate larger sections of text or entire web pages by doing the following:
- Select Simple Translate from the list of extensions (located next to the URL window by default).
- Select any of the following: “Translate this page”, “Translate selected text”, or “Translate selected link.”
Note that there is an option to automate this. Simply select the “Automatically switch to the second language” option from Simple Translate’s menu. If the popup shows up even when the text is in your native language already, select “Do not display the button if translation is not required.”
Also note that Simple Translate makes addons for Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge as well.
How To Translate With Microsoft Edge
Different translation addons or extensions can be installed with Microsoft Edge, but Translate for Microsoft Edge comes installed by default and functions much like Chrome’s default translation tool. When MS Edge detects a website in a foreign language, a popup appears asking if you’d like to translate the entire web page. Click on the “Translate” button and allow Edge to finish analyzing the page. The word “Translated” will be momentarily displayed in the address bar, and the page will be translated.
If the popup does not appear, you can initiate the translation manually by clicking on the Translate for MS Edge icon next to the URL window. From this icon, you can also select an option for automatically translating webpages written in the same language in the future. Repeat this process on webpages with the specific language that you want Edge to automatically translate. This can also be achieved by selecting the “Always translate pages from [language]” box in the popup window you see when you enter a foreign-language website.
Just like in Chrome, if the popup isn’t appearing, you can try scrolling to the top of the screen or refreshing the page. You can also clear your cookies or cache and then refresh the page if it still does not appear.
How to Translate a Page on Safari
Safari’s translation services are much less robust than the other major browsers, but it is improving over time. If a webpage has a language that Safari can translate, it will display a “Translate” button in the Smart Search field. From here, choose your desired language. You can add more languages in the Language & Region section of the preferences menu as Apple adds more to Safari’s translation capabilities.
If you notice a translation error, you can send reports back to Apple to help them improve their learning management system. Select the Translation button, then select “Report Translation Issue” and send a report about your issues to help improve the translations in the future.
To translate only a small amount of text (even in certain third-party apps), simply select the text to translate with your cursor, then control-click and select “Translate.” By default, your preferred language will be used, but you can change this in the Translate popup menu. The translation can even be read aloud if you see the rightward-facing triangle icon (the “play” button) next to your translation, and you can also control-click and select “Copy Translation” to save the translation to your clipboard.
Taking the Complexity Out of Web Pages
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