Simple and lightweight solution for changing the language of the admin area. Front site locale and language remain unchanged.
The lightweight plugin extends the default WordPress functionality (user settings in Profile) and pulls out the language selection to the admin bar so you can easily switch between them.
You can customize which languages appear in the dropdown using the salc_languages filter. See the Customization section for details.
Do you want help with the development? Join the Github!
Screenshots
Changing languages and installing another language (French)
I want to switch to a different language
You need to install the language first.
- Go to
Settings -> General.
- Select the desired
site language and hit save changes. The language gets installed.
- Change the
site language back to the old value.
- Now you can switch in the dropdown.
How can I report security bugs?
You can report security bugs through the Patchstack Vulnerability Disclosure Program. The Patchstack team help validate, triage and handle any security vulnerabilities. Report a security vulnerability.
ChangeLog
2.1.0 (2026-03-18)
- Add
salc_languages filter to allow developers to customize which languages are displayed in the admin bar dropdown. See the Customization section for details.
2.0.5 (2024-10-31)
- Fix PHP 8.2 deprecation notice on mb_convert_encoding.
2.0.4 (2021-07-27)
- Lower the permissions check – anybody with “read” permissions (e.g., subscriber) can change their locale with the dropdown when logged into the admin.
- Hide the language switcher on the front end – the top admin bar is affected by site language, not the user’s choice (opened trac ticket for that)
2.0.3 (2021-05-08)
- Replace textdomain
kbnt-salc with simple-admin-language-change to make it work with GlotPress (more info)
2.0.2 (2021-05-03)
- Fix security issues
- Check for the empty nonce.
- Escape translations.
2.0.1 (2021-05-03)
- Fix security issues (thanks @ErwanLR from WPScan for reporting!)
- Check for the empty nonce.
- Check for user permission within ajax request.
- Retrieve current user ID within the request.
- Make error messages translatable.
2.0.0 (2021-05-02)
- Drop the old functionality replaced by an integrated solution since WordPress 4.7
- Add a simple select box into the admin bar instead.
1.0.2 (2018-02-25)
1.0.1 (2018-02-18)
- Fix: PHP 7 deprecated methods – compatibility (#1)
1.0.0 (2016-10-06)
