Why Weather Station needs translators?

You know that by downloading a WordPress plugin, if it is correctly developed, you will be able to enjoy it in your language – or in the language of your site. You know it and yet, each time you download a new one you discover that some pages or features of the plugin are in English! And unfortunately, Weather Station is no exception to the rule.

Do you know why?

For a simple reason: a true translation is not magic. It is work and above all, to be able to do it correctly, it is necessary to master the source language and the language of destination.

I regularly receive requests from users asking me to make Weather Station available in their language: Spanish, German, Arabic, Finnish, … all the languages of the planet. I would be so happy to be able to respond favorably to their request. But I can’t. For that, I would have to speak Spanish, German, Arabic, Finnish, etc. And that’s not the case. And it’s the same for most plugin designers.

So, how is it that some (rare) plugins are fully available in all imaginable languages? And how are the plugins translated?

The answer, again, is simple: the plugins are translated by their users.

WordPress is an open-source ecosystem: it is based on open collaboration. Yes, you read it right, every single person in the world can participate to WordPress. This may include the “source code” of WordPress of course, but also the visual, legal, associative, marketing and language aspect.

And since Weather Station is part of this ecosystem, it’s the same thing for it.

That means I need you, users speaking Spanish, German, Arabic, Finnish to take part in this translation process. I need you to bring your “expertise” of your language, to allow a greater understanding of the plugin by users who do not necessarily speak English well. I need you to allow a wider distribution of the plugin. And it’s a virtuous circle: more languages available are more users; more users are generating more feedback, use cases and suggestions. This would make Weather Station a better plugin and more responsive to user needs!

And you know the best? It is absolutely not necessary to know computer development to participate in a translation!

So, to celebrate International Translation Day — September 30 — why not get started? There will be even, in October, the 4th Global WordPress Translation Day. Numerous local events will take place to introduce you to the translation of WordPress, its themes and plugins.

To make Weather Station better, I need you. And I’m counting on you!