The Performant Translations plugin for WordPress offers a revolutionary approach to handling translation files, enhancing the speed of localization in multilingual WordPress sites. This plugin addresses a key performance issue identified on WordPress: localized sites tend to load significantly slower than their non-translated counterparts.
One of the main features of the plugin is its ability to convert .mo files to .php files. This allows for faster parsing of translations and leverages the OPcache for an additional speed boost. Users can easily install this plugin directly from the WordPress plugin directory, and its activation results in immediate performance improvements without requiring any special configuration. The plugin has also been tested with common multilingual plugins like WPML, Weglot, TranslatePress, MultilingualPress, and Polylang, ensuring wide compatibility.
An important aspect to note is that while the plugin is primarily considered a beta testing tool, it has undergone enough testing to be considered stable for production use, though with the usual caveat of plugin usage being at one’s own risk.
Regarding its integration into WordPress Core, the Core Performance Team of WordPress has been working on merging Performant Translations into the WordPress core, particularly for the upcoming 6.5 release. This integration is expected to provide significant performance improvements in terms of memory usage and load time, especially for sites with translations.
The testing phase for the plugin has been extensive, involving a wide community of users to ensure its effectiveness and reliability across different scenarios. While there have been reports of noticeable improvements in website performance with the plugin, some users have encountered issues like memory limit errors, highlighting the importance of ongoing testing and feedback for further refinement.
In summary, Performant Translations represents a significant step forward in optimizing multilingual WordPress sites, with its innovative approach to handling translation files and the potential for its features to be integrated into the core WordPress platform.
For more information and to download the plugin, go to WordPress.org here
