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One of WordPress’s major strengths is it’s easy internationalization (i18n) using the GNU gettext system.

The gettext system has an excellent front end called POEdit which is fast and easy for non-programmers to master. After installing POEdit, translating is a 4-step process:

1. Copy and rename the base .pot file to the correct country code .po file.
2. Open the .po file in POEdit.
3. Add the translations.
4. Save the .po file twice.

If you’re doing a translation for one of my plugins, I’ll handle Step 1 and email you the .po file. That will make it much easier. Here’s a screenshot. You want to type the translations into the box outlined in red.

Screenshot of POEdit with hRecipe translation file