How to change the main language or remove a language

In TeleportHQ, you manage your site's languages from the language button at the top left of the canvas. Next to any language that isn't your main one, click the … button and choose Set as main language to make it the default, or Delete to remove it. Deleting a language removes all its translations for good and frees its language slot. To move a site that has only one language to another one, for example from English to German, use Change: TeleportHQ can translate the content with AI at the same time.

Before you start#

• You need a role that can edit the project's components.
• Deleting a language can't be undone. To keep a copy of its translations, back up the project first. See How to back up and restore your project.
• Changing the main language changes your site's web addresses. See How URLs and SEO work on a multilingual site.
• Translating your content when you use Change uses AI tokens. The window shows the cost before anything happens. See What uses AI tokens, and how much?.

Steps#

Make another language the main language#

1. At the top left of the canvas, click the language button (a globe and your current language).
2. Next to the language you want as the main one, click the … button. You can also right-click the language.
3. Click Set as main language.

The main language gets a house icon in the list. Your blog posts and store products switch their main language too.

Change the language of a single-language site#

Use Change when your TeleportHQ site has one language and should be in another, for example from English to German. It also fixes a site that's labeled with the wrong language.

1. Click the language button.
2. Next to your language, click Change. A list of languages opens beside the menu.
3. Pick the new language. For example, German. The Change the project language to German window opens: "Your project will be written in German instead of English."

4. Choose what TeleportHQ translates into German with AI. Each switch is on at first and shows its cost, for example "About 2,400 AI tokens":

   • Translate pages and components
   • Translate blog posts and Translate help center articles, when your project has a blog or a Help Center
   • Translate products, when it has a store
   • Translate booking items, when it takes bookings

   To only relabel the language, for example because your content is already in German, turn all of them off.

5. Under the switches, check the total: "Translating costs about … AI tokens. Your workspace has … AI tokens."
6. Click Change to German.

With a translation, TeleportHQ first saves an automatic backup named Before translating the project into German. Then it changes the language and rewrites the parts you chose into German, in place. The Translating your project into German window lists each step, such as Pages & components ("Headings, paragraphs, buttons, page SEO metadata, emails and form messages"), Blog posts, Products and Booking items. After a while you can click Continue in background and keep working; reopen it from the progress card at the bottom of the canvas. When it's done, the message "Your project is now written in German." appears.

Texts that are already in German are kept as they are, the web addresses of posts and products stay the same, and whatever you don't translate keeps its current language. Change is there while your site has one language, whether internationalization is on or off.

Delete a language#

1. Click the language button.
2. Next to the language, click the … button, then Delete.
3. The Delete language from website window warns: "You are about to delete Spanish from your project, together with all the translations. This action cannot be undone."
4. Click Delete. To keep the language, click Cancel.

The language slot that language used becomes free in your workspace. It keeps billing until you cancel it in Workspace settings → Extra Languages, and you can use it for another language. See How to buy extra language slots.

Turn off languages completely#

There is no switch to turn off internationalization: in Project settings → Site → Internationalization, the switch says "It cannot be turned off afterwards." The only way back is to restore the automatic backup named Before Internationalization Enabled. Restoring it also undoes every other change made since you enabled languages. TeleportHQ keeps up to 6 automatic backups per project and deletes the oldest when it makes a new one, so after a while that backup may be gone. See How to back up and restore your project.

On a TeleportHQ trial, backups aren't included: write to hello@teleporthq.io and ask support to restore the backup for you.

Check that it worked#

• The language menu shows the new main language with a house icon, or no longer lists the deleted language.
• After Change, the language button shows the new language, and the texts you chose to translate read in it on the canvas.
• On your live site, the changes appear after you publish.

Troubleshooting#

The language shows a "No slot" badge The tooltip says "Subscription expired": the language's slot subscription ended. Publishing is blocked until you buy a new slot or delete this language from the project. See How to buy extra language slots.

"Publishing failed: you have more languages in this project than active subscription slots. Purchase an extra language slot or remove a language from the project to continue publishing." The project has more extra languages than slots assigned to it. Buy a slot, or delete a language, then publish again. See Publishing failed: what should I do?

"Publish blocked: the following language subscriptions have expired: …" Renew those languages' slots in Workspace settings → Extra Languages, or delete the languages from the project.

"Language deleted, but the subscription slot could not be released. You can reassign it from workspace settings." The language is gone, but its slot is still linked to this project. Workspace settings → Extra Languages has no button to move a slot, so write to hello@teleporthq.io and ask support to free it.

"Some feature data could not be migrated to the new main language. You can manually update the content." The main language changed, but some blog posts or products didn't switch. Open them in the Blog or E-Commerce panel and check each language tab.

"Not enough AI tokens to translate the content: it needs … AI tokens and your workspace has … AI tokens." The Change the project language window shows this when your workspace can't pay for the translation you chose. Click Buy AI tokens, or turn off some switches. If you click Change to … anyway, only the language changes, and the message "Your project is now in German, but its content was not translated…" appears. See How to buy more AI tokens.

"The cost could not be estimated. The content is translated only if your workspace has AI tokens left." TeleportHQ couldn't price the translation. You can still change the language; the content is translated if your workspace has AI tokens left.

"Your project is now in German, but some of its content kept its previous language. The checklist lists what." Some steps of the translation didn't finish. Open the progress card at the bottom of the canvas to see which, then edit those texts on the canvas or in their panels (Blog, E-Commerce, Bookings).

"Your project could not be backed up, so its language was not changed. Please try again." TeleportHQ didn't change anything. Try again in a moment.

"Your project is still being translated into German. Wait for it to finish before changing the project language." (or "Spanish is still being added. …") TeleportHQ changes or adds one language at a time. Wait for the first one to finish, then try again.

I can't find Delete next to my main language The main language can't be deleted. Make another language the main one first, then delete the old one.

"Your current role does not have enough permissions to change the main language", "…to change the project language" or "…to delete languages" Ask a workspace owner or admin to make the change, or to change your role.

Good to know#

• A language with an info icon named No subscription slot has no slot, but publishing still works. Buying a slot keeps it working in the future.
• Pending Cancellation means the language's slot subscription is being cancelled and ends at the end of the billing period. After that, the language shows No slot and publishing is blocked until you buy a slot or delete the language.
• CMS Locale Warning means the language isn't enabled in your connected CMS, so some content may not match. Turn the language on in your CMS, or sync the CMS data.
• You can't cancel a slot that a language still uses. Delete the language from the project first.
• Generated in the wrong language? The AI site builder writes your site in the language of the language menu above the description box. That menu follows the language you write the description in, unless you pick one yourself. To move a generated site to another language afterwards, use Change. See How to generate a website with AI.
• The AI translation of a language change shows in AI Costs & Usage as Translations (Total), together with your other translations. See How to see what AI has cost your workspace.