Using WordPress ‘locale’ PHP filter

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The locale WordPress PHP Filter allows you to modify the locale ID of the WordPress installation.

Usage

add_filter( 'locale', 'my_custom_locale' );
function my_custom_locale( $locale ) {
    // your custom code here
    return $locale;
}

Parameters

  • $locale (string): The locale ID.

More information

See WordPress Developer Resources: locale

Examples

Change Locale to Spanish

This code changes the locale ID to Spanish (es_ES).

add_filter( 'locale', 'change_locale_to_spanish' );
function change_locale_to_spanish( $locale ) {
    return 'es_ES';
}

Set Locale Based on User’s Preference

This code sets the locale based on the user’s preference stored in the user meta.

add_filter( 'locale', 'set_locale_based_on_user_preference' );
function set_locale_based_on_user_preference( $locale ) {
    if ( is_user_logged_in() ) {
        $user_id = get_current_user_id();
        $preferred_locale = get_user_meta( $user_id, 'preferred_locale', true );
        if ( $preferred_locale ) {
            return $preferred_locale;
        }
    }
    return $locale;
}

Change Locale for Admin Area

This code changes the locale ID for the admin area to French (fr_FR).

add_filter( 'locale', 'change_locale_for_admin_area' );
function change_locale_for_admin_area( $locale ) {
    if ( is_admin() ) {
        return 'fr_FR';
    }
    return $locale;
}

Change Locale Based on URL Parameter

This code changes the locale based on the URL parameter lang.

add_filter( 'locale', 'change_locale_based_on_url_parameter' );
function change_locale_based_on_url_parameter( $locale ) {
    if ( isset( $_GET['lang'] ) ) {
        return sanitize_text_field( $_GET['lang'] );
    }
    return $locale;
}

Reset Locale to Default

This code resets the locale to the default WordPress installation locale.

add_filter( 'locale', 'reset_locale_to_default', 100 );
function reset_locale_to_default( $locale ) {
    return 'en_US';
}