Why Some Texts Aren’t Showing Up in Loco Translate as entries

Understanding the Issue:

It’s common for some texts to be missing from Loco Translate. This can be due to several reasons:

Hardcoded text: Text directly written in PHP or HTML files without using translation functions.
Dynamic content: Content generated by scripts or database queries.
Theme or plugin limitations: Some themes or plugins might restrict access to certain strings.

Troubleshooting Steps:

Identify the Text:
- Pinpoint the specific text that’s missing from Loco Translate.
- Check if it’s part of a theme or plugin, or if it’s custom code.
Inspect the Code:
- If the text is within a theme or plugin, inspect the code to see how it’s implemented.
- Look for functions like __(), _e(), esc_html__(), etc., which are used for translations.
- If the text is hardcoded, you’ll need to modify the code to make it translatable.
Check for Dynamic Content:
- If the text is generated dynamically, Loco Translate might not be able to capture it.
- Consider using translation functions within the code to make the text translatable.
Verify Text Domain:
- Ensure the correct text domain is used in the translation functions.
- Mismatched text domains can prevent translations from being loaded.
Consider a Different Approach:
- If you can’t modify the code, you might need to use CSS or JavaScript to replace the text, but this is often not ideal.
- For complex cases, consider using a plugin like WPML or Polylang, which offer more advanced translation features.

Example:

If you find a text like “Add to Cart” in your theme’s template file without using a translation function, you would need to modify the code to:

<?php echo esc_html__( 'Add to cart', 'your-theme-textdomain' ); ?>

This will make the text translatable using Loco Translate.

Additional Tips:

Backup your website before making any code changes.
Test thoroughly after making modifications.
Consider using a child theme to avoid overwriting the original theme’s code.

By following these steps and carefully analyzing the specific text you want to translate, you should be able to find a solution.