In this tutorial, we will review the process of installing language packs in order to include additional languages to your Joomla website. There are two main reasons for adding a new language in Joomla:
Regardless of what your goal is, you will need to start by installing the language pack in question. In the following lines, we will guide you on how to complete this extremely simple task.
In order to begin, please log in to your Joomla Admin Backend and navigate through the top menu bar to Extensions > Language(s) > Installed.
On the Installed Languages page, you will see a list of all languages currently available on your website. To proceed further, please click on the “Install Language” button located at the top left corner.
Once this is done, you will be presented with a list of all 3.x compatible language packs available in the Official Joomla Extension Repository. In other words, all the language packs available on this page are supported by an accredited source - therefore, trusted and safe to use.
As you will notice, the language package version is displayed under the “Version” column. The language packages highlighted in green are the ones matching your current Joomla version. It is recommended to select a language package matching with your Joomla version as if certain strings are missing in earlier versions; they will be displayed in English.
Without exaggerating - there are a lot of languages; hence you will find the search option extremely useful. Just type the language you aim to install and click on the magnifier icon to search for it.
Once the results are listed, all you will need to do is to click on the “Install” button.
In our case, there are two available Spanish packs, and we will select the second one as it is matching our Joomla version.
The installation of the language package will take only a few moments. When it is completed, you will be presented with a message informing you the language was successfully installed.
Well done! You have now successfully installed your desired language. Now it is time to configure it.
To set up the new language as the default language for your Joomla Backend, please go back to the Installed Languages pages. All you need to do is to ensure “Administrator” is selected from the dropdown menu and click on the star icon next to the desired language.
Once you do that, the language will be automatically changed.
An important note to make, changing the default language will not affect users who have selected another language for their profiles as well as on the login page.
As of configuring a multi-lingual Joomla website, we will review that process in our guide based on How to configure a Multilingual Joomla website.
Congratulations! You are now aware of how to install new language packages in Joomla, as well as how to change the default admin language of your backend. We hope you have the information provided in this guide useful, and you have managed to follow our instructions with ease. In case you have any additional questions on this topic, please feel free to contact our Support Team.
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