Preferred Languages

77 Quality Score

Active Installs

15/30

With only 2,000 active installs, the plugin has a small but real user base, which keeps its popularity score moderate relative to the alternatives.

Update Freshness

25/25

Last updated on 2026-05-25 and tested against WordPress 7.0, the plugin shows strong, current maintenance activity.

User Rating

15/15

A perfect 100/100 from 20 reviews suggests very high satisfaction among the users who have rated it, though the small sample limits how much weight that carries.

Support Health

8/15

With zero support threads opened and zero resolved, there is no evidence either way about how the author handles support, which is a mild flag.

WP Compatibility

15/15

Tested with WordPress 7.0, requiring WordPress 6.6 and PHP 7.2.24, the plugin scores full marks for compatibility and runs on a very wide range of hosts.

Scores higher than 58% of indexed plugins

About

Choose languages for displaying WordPress in, in order of preference.

Active Installs 2k+

Rating ★★★★★ 5/5

Last Updated 2026-08-18 4:39pm GMT

Requires WordPress 6.6+

Tested Up To 7.1

Requires PHP 7.2.24+

Security History

1 known vulnerability, all patched

1 Medium

Most recent: May 30, 2024

View details ▸

What It Does

Preferred Languages lets site visitors set their own preferred language for WordPress, including the admin interface, in a ranked order rather than a single pick. It hooks into WordPress's locale system to switch the display language per user without requiring a separate multilingual plugin or translation of content. In practice, it controls the interface language the user sees rather than translating posts and pages.

Who It's For

This plugin is best for site owners running multilingual communities, expat networks, or international organizations where each visitor or staff member needs the WordPress interface in a different language. It also suits language learning platforms and global nonprofits that need admin or front-end users to set their own preferred display language. It is not aimed at sites that need their post content translated into multiple languages.

Who Should Skip It

If you need to translate the actual content of your posts, pages, or products into multiple languages, you should skip this and use a full multilingual plugin like TranslatePress or GTranslate. Sites serving a single-language audience will get no benefit, since the default site language already covers them.

The Bottom Line

Preferred Languages is a focused, well-maintained niche plugin that solves one specific job, letting users pick their own interface language in priority order, and it does that job cleanly. Its tiny install base and lack of any support thread history make it a harder sell for risk-averse site owners, and it is not a substitute for a full multilingual content translation plugin. Choose it only if interface language selection is exactly what you need.

Pick GTranslate if you need automatic translation of your actual post and page content into many languages, not just interface switching.

TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation 93/100

Choose TranslatePress when you want a visual editor to translate full site content into multiple languages, including SEO-friendly URLs.

WP Multibyte Patch 89/100

WP Multibyte Patch is the better pick for sites using Japanese, Chinese, or other multibyte character languages that need core encoding fixes.

Loco Translate 89/100

Loco Translate is the right tool when you want to translate theme and plugin strings directly inside the WordPress admin.

Cyr-To-Lat 86/100

Cyr-To-Lat is purpose-built for converting Cyrillic slugs to Latin, which is a different problem from interface language selection.