My Journey with the Polyglots Team
1. Introduction
Hi everyone! I’m Valeria, a first-year DAM student at IES Azarquiel in Toledo, Spain. This is my final report for the WP Credits program, where I contributed to WordPress as part of the Polyglots team — the group of volunteers responsible for translating WordPress into every language in the world.
In this post I’ll summarise what I worked on, what I learned, the challenges I faced, and how this experience has changed the way I see open-source contribution.
2. Team & Project Focus
Team: WordPress Polyglots (ES)
I joined the Polyglots team because I wanted to contribute in a meaningful way without needing years of coding experience. My work focused on reviewing and proposing Spanish translations of plugins and themes through translate.wordpress.org, always following the official ES glossary and community style guidelines to keep the Spanish locale consistent.
3. Learning Resources
The main resources I used throughout the project:
- Official WordPress Polyglots Handbook make.wordpress.org/polyglots
- Official Spanish translation glossary translate.wordpress.org/locale/es
- Slack channels for questions about translations or other issues
- WP Credits course materials and guidance from my mentors
4. Challenges & Solutions
Understanding the translation workflow: The review and approval process on translate.wordpress.org was completely new to me. I solved this by reading the Polyglots Handbook carefully and studying how previously approved translations were structured.
Translating technical terms consistently: Some terms had no obvious Spanish equivalent. I resolved this by consulting the official ES glossary and checking how other contributors had handled the same terms before me.
Time management: Balancing daily contributions with school assignments was challenging at times. Setting a fixed daily slot for translations helped me maintain a steady pace.
5. My Contributions
Here are the posts documenting my daily translation work:
- Post 1 — Project introduction & first steps
- Post 2 — Inspiro theme translations
- Post 3 — UpdraftPlus plugin translations
- Post 4 — Newsmatic theme translations
- Post 5 — ElementsKit plugin translations
- Post 6 — Morenews theme translations
- Post 7 — Essential Addons plugin translations
6. Key Lessons from WP Credits
- Open-source contribution is more accessible than it looks — you don’t need advanced technical skills to make a real impact from day one.
- Consistency matters: following the official glossary ensures that translations feel natural and coherent for all Spanish-speaking users.
- The WordPress community is welcoming and well-documented, making it easy for beginners to find support and feel part of something bigger.
7. New Skills Acquired
Technical skills: translate.wordpress.org platform, ES glossary and localisation standards, WordPress plugin and theme structure, translation review workflow.
Soft skills: Attention to linguistic detail, time management, working within community guidelines, asynchronous collaboration.
8. Personal Reflections & Next Steps
Contributing to WordPress through the Polyglots team has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my first year. What surprised me most was how quickly a small contribution — a single translated string — becomes part of a product used by many people. That feeling of real impact, even as a beginner, kept me motivated throughout the entire project.
Going forward I plan to keep contributing to Polyglots beyond the WP Credits program. If you’re reading this and considering joining — do it. The community is welcoming, the tools are well documented, and every contribution counts.