You’ve set up a beautiful multilingual website using a translation proxy like Weglot, Clonable, or Bablic. Everything looks perfect – until a visitor tries to use the search function. They type in their language, hit enter, and… nothing. Zero results.

Sound familiar? You’re not alone. Search functionality is one of the biggest pain points with translation proxy services.

How Translation Proxies Work

Translation proxies work by sitting between your website and the visitor. When someone visits your German version, the proxy:

1. Fetches the original page from your server
2. Translates the HTML content on-the-fly
3. Delivers the translated version to the visitor

This approach is brilliant for content display – but it has a fatal flaw for search.

Why Search Breaks

Here’s the problem: Your WordPress database remains in the original language.

When a German visitor searches for “marmor” (marble), WordPress searches the database for “marmor”. But your database only contains “marble” in English. No match found.

The translation proxy can translate what visitors see, but it can’t translate what WordPress searches.

The “Translate-Back” Workaround

Some services like Weglot offer a “translate-back” feature:

1. Visitor types “marmor” in German
2. Weglot translates it back to “marble”
3. WordPress searches for “marble”
4. Results are returned and translated

Sounds good, but it has serious limitations:

• No autocomplete – Only works when pressing Enter
• Translation errors – Machine translation isn’t perfect
• Industry terms – Technical vocabulary often mistranslated
• AJAX conflicts – Breaks with modern search plugins

The Real Solution: Pre-translated Search Index

The proper fix is to create a pre-translated search index – a separate database of your content already translated into each target language.

When someone searches in German, you search the German index. When they search in Turkish, you search the Turkish index. No real-time translation needed.

Jokerist Search for Clonable

Our free Jokerist Search plugin solves this problem:

• Pre-translated XML index – Content translated once, searched instantly
• Multiple translation APIs – DeepL, Google, Microsoft, LibreTranslate
• Glossary system – Define industry-specific translations
• AJAX live search – Instant results as you type
• Auto-sync – New content automatically indexed

Stop frustrating your international visitors with broken search. Download Jokerist Search and give them the experience they deserve.