Adding a translation phrase to Wordpress Theme

Question

I'm creating a custom Wordpress theme and I'm using exactly 3 phrases that I need to be translated according to the site language selected. I've digged a little bit through the Internet, but couldn't find an easy solution to add those phrases, so I could translate them through admin panel on my site.

I'm wondering if there is any way to add those phrases (f.e. in functions.php file) without using any PO/MO/POT files?

Answer 1

Here is an idea or two that you can pursue here: (CAVEAT: Untested)

OPTION 1

In your template file (use a child theme if this is not your own theme), use get_locale in a conditional statement to check which language is set in WPLANG and then dish up the text according to the locale

OPTION 2

Create yourself a function (which will be the ideal solution and what you are actually asking) using the gettext or gettext_with_context filter depending on your string context.

In conjuction with get_locale() you can then get and transalte and serve the correct translated string according to the language set

Answer 2

From my point of view, finding other alternative ways to translate a theme is not recommended and will be a setback in its popularity, as it will not allow users to add translations the same way they do for other themes and plugins.

For alternatives, see @PieterGoosens' answer. If you asked this because you found the process of adding i18n to your theme overly complicated, here's a step by step, using PO/MO/POT files. (So it doesn't actually answer your specific question, but might be helpful to those who need to add theme i18n). Assuming your theme is yourtheme:

function load_yourtheme_theme_textdomain() {
    $path = get_template_directory() . '/lang';
    load_theme_textdomain( 'yourtheme',  $path);
}
add_action( 'after_setup_theme', 'load_yourtheme_theme_textdomain' );

You will want to wrap the translatable strings in __() function, using 'yourtheme' as textdomain. For example:

echo __('Some text', 'yourtheme');

Here's a list of WP l18n wrappers. Have a look a the the related functions on that page.

Now:

1. Download and install Poedit. It's free.
2. Open it, click File»New. Choose default language.
3. Save file as .pot in /lang folder, inside your theme.
4. Go to Catalogue»Properties, add in the general details of your project. Use UTF-8.
5. On Sources Paths (second tab), add ../ as base path.
6. Click the second button in the row (the one that hovers "New Item") and add a single dot . as the path of your new item. Click Ok to save the setting.
7. Catalogue»Update from sources.

The file will auto-grab all the translatable strings of your theme. Save again (make sure you save it as .pot) and you're done.

If I skipped anything or you get stuck in any step, I'll update with details.