Free Website Translation: Google Translate Widget and Better Options (2026)

Want visitors from Spain, France, Germany or anywhere else to read your English site in their own language? For years the easiest answer was Google’s free Website Translator element: paste a small script and a language dropdown appeared on every page. Google stopped offering it to new sites in 2019, but there are still good free ways to add website translation in 2026. Here are your options.

Quick answer: The old Google Translate website widget is no longer offered for new sites, although existing embed code may still run. For WordPress, install the free GTranslate plugin (Google Translate dropdown, 100+ languages) or TranslatePress (edit translations visually, free AI words). For real multilingual SEO, use a paid plan that creates translated URLs. Most visitors can also translate any page themselves with Chrome or Edge.

What happened to the Google Translate website element?

Google’s Website Translator let site owners add a translation dropdown with this script:

<div id="google_translate_element"></div>
<script>function googleTranslateElementInit() {
 new google.translate.TranslateElement({pageLanguage: 'en'}, 'google_translate_element');
}</script>
<script src="https://translate.google.com/translate_a/element.js?cb=googleTranslateElementInit"></script>

In 2019 Google closed sign-ups for new sites, recommending browsers’ built-in translation instead. The script still works on many sites, but it is unsupported and could stop at any time, so do not rely on it for important pages.

Best free website translation options

• GTranslate: adds a language switcher that uses Google Translate on the fly. Over 900,000 WordPress sites use it. The free version does not create separate translated pages for search engines.
• TranslatePress: translate pages visually from the front end, with a limited number of free AI-translated words, and edit any line by hand. Translations are saved on your site.
• Browser translation: Chrome, Edge and Safari offer to translate pages automatically. Set the correct lang attribute in your HTML so browsers know the original language.

Machine translation vs real multilingual SEO

• Machine translation widgets help visitors read your content but usually do not rank in Google in other languages.
• Multilingual SEO needs a separate URL for each language (like /es/ or es.example.com), translated titles and descriptions, and hreflang tags. Paid plans of GTranslate, TranslatePress, Weglot and WPML do this.
• Have important pages checked by a fluent speaker. Machine translation can make embarrassing mistakes.

Which option should you choose?

• Personal blog with some foreign visitors: GTranslate free or simply rely on browser translation.
• Business site targeting another country: TranslatePress or Weglot with translated URLs, plus human review.
• Large multilingual site: WPML or Polylang with professional translators.

Need to translate text yourself? See how to translate Hindi to English and other languages accurately.

FAQ

Is the Google Translate widget still free?

It is no longer offered to new sites. Existing installs may still work, but Google does not support it.

Does machine translation hurt SEO?

Auto-translated pages that are published without review can look like low-quality content. Use human review for indexed translations.

Can I translate my site without a plugin?

Visitors can use their browser’s translate button. For a language switcher, you need a plugin or service.

Do you offer your site in other languages? Tell us how in the comments.