How to setup Clonable with Woocommerce?

Summary

This article explains how to set up Clonable for a WooCommerce website. It walks you through the recommended configuration, common pitfalls, and platform-specific settings so your translated shop works smoothly. Use this guide when you run WooCommerce and want correct product pages, carts, checkouts, and dynamic content in multiple languages.

FAQ

Is WooCommerce supported by Clonable?

Yes, WooCommerce works well with Clonable when configured correctly.

Do I need a WooCommerce plugin?

No, Clonable works without installing a WordPress plugin but the Clonable plugin offers some additional features you don't have access to without the plugin.

Will prices and products be translated automatically?

Yes, visible text is translated, while prices and product data remain intact.

⏱️ Reading time: 6–8 minutes

Platform overview: WooCommerce

WooCommerce is a WordPress-based e-commerce platform that heavily relies on dynamic content. Product data, carts, and checkout pages are often generated via JavaScript and AJAX.

Clonable supports WooCommerce by translating front-end content while leaving the underlying shop logic untouched. This keeps your store functional and stable across all languages.

Recommended WooCommerce setup

To avoid unexpected behavior, follow these setup guidelines carefully.

Use one primary language

Your original WooCommerce site should use one single base language. Clonable works best when the source site is not already multilingual.

Do not use WooCommerce multilingual plugins

Avoid plugins like WPML, Polylang, or TranslatePress for WooCommerce.

These plugins can:

• Conflict with Clonable translations
• Duplicate URLs and content
• Break carts or checkout flows

Clonable fully replaces the need for translation plugins.

Subfolder exclusions

When you clone your WooCommerce webshop and you use a subfolder, there are a few standard exclusions that you need to add, to make sure the clone functions properly. These exclusions are /wp-admin/, /wp-content/ en /wp-includes/, because they need to be visited from the root. You can manually add these to the Subfolder exclusions of your clone.

Plugin WooCommerce module

De Clonable WordPress plugin offers a built-in WooCommerce module with multiple options.

Conversion tracking

It often happens that a payment provider redirects the user to the wrong site. This is often because WooCommerce's internal redirect url does not know the clones exist. As a result, German customers, for example, might get the French page after checking out a product.

Under the WooCommerce tab, "Enable conversion tracking" can be turned on. After this, you can enter your site's domain and clones domains. These domains will be filled in automatically when you click the 'Sync with Clonable' button on the General Settings page. Make sure domains are entered without https::// and don't end with a slash. For subfolder clones, enter the subfolder after the domain (see the image below as an example).

Product exclusions

The WooCommerce module in the WordPress plugin also allows you to exclude products for certain languages. For example, if you have products that you cannot sell abroad due to legal reasons, you can exclude these products for that country.

To get started with product exclusions, first turn on the setting in the WooCommerce tab in the plugin. This setting will be on by default.

Clonable offers product exclusions for the original shop and all clones. This means you can also sell products only for a specific clone. Clonable provides a number of options for excluding a product. They all work the same in the background, so you can choose the method you prefer.

Product exclusions ensure that your products are not visible and cannot be visited on the specified language. The products will never be removed/modified. This has the side effect that, in theory, products can still be ordered for a specific language. This can be solved using WooCommerce's built-in shipping methods, in which you can turn off shipping options for specific regions. Read more about setting up shipping zones here.

If your shipping zones are set up properly in WooCommerce, we can adjust the default countries via Clone substitution rules.

Checkout country per clone

Set a default billing and shipping country for each (clone) domain. WooCommerce automatically fills in these values during checkout, ensuring that the selected country matches the language and market of the active clone and preventing unnecessary friction or incorrect settings.

Product overview

Clonable adds a number of checkboxes on the products page of WooCommerce, at the back of the table are different checkboxes for all languages. The options are the same for all Clones of Clonable + the original shop. When unchecked and checked, Clonable will automatically save the product exclusion.

By default, all checkboxes will be on, meaning all products will be included.

You can also exclude products via your product details. These can often be found under your product description. In the product data tabs, you will see the Clonable tab, in which you will also find checkboxes to exclude your products.

You can also exclude products via special meta tags from Clonable, this option can be found on the right-hand side of the product page (you may have to scroll all the way down). If you want to exclude a product for a particular language, add that tag to the product.

Bulk export and import

To ensure your product exclusions can also be done in bulk, we also offer the option to set this via CSV export and import.

1. First, go to the product page, and click on the export button.
2. When choosing the columns, select at least "ID", "Name" and the "Excluded from language (country)" columns.
3. Select which product types and product categories you want (can be anything).
4. If all goes well, you now have a CSV file with IDs, names and all the columns for your product exclusions.
5. Clonable accepts the following values as 'yes': true, 1, on.
6. Once you have edited the products, you can import them again via the "Import" button.
7. Select the CSV file you just made the adjustments to.
8. IMPORTANT: also select the "Update existing products" option.
9. When linking the columns, select the "Excluded from x" columns. For the columns you do not want to update, select the "Do not import" option.
10. Run the import function.
11. If all goes well, the changes from the CSV have now been made. In case of errors, you can repeat the previous steps or manually update your errors using the other options.

Handling dynamic WooCommerce content

WooCommerce loads parts of the site dynamically. Clonable handles most of this automatically, but some elements may need extra attention.

Cart and checkout pages

Cart and checkout pages work out of the box.

Best practices:

• Do not exclude cart or checkout URLs
• Keep URL structures identical across languages
• Avoid language parameters like ?lang=

JavaScript-loaded text

Some WooCommerce themes load text via JavaScript.

If text does not translate:

1. Open your clone
2. Start the Clone Editor
3. Use JavaScript Mode to translate dynamic elements

Product pages and SEO

Clonable translates:

• Product titles
• Descriptions
• Attributes
• Category pages
• Meta titles and descriptions

What stays unchanged:

• Prices
• SKUs
• Stock data
• Currency settings

This ensures SEO-friendly product pages without breaking shop logic.

URL structure and permalinks

WooCommerce relies on clean permalinks.

Make sure:

• WordPress permalinks are enabled
• Product URLs are readable
• No language parameters are added by WordPress or plugins

Recommended structure:

/product/product-name/

Clonable automatically generates translated URLs based on this structure.

Common WooCommerce issues and fixes

Here are the most common issues and how to solve them.

Cart buttons not working

Usually caused by:

• Cached JavaScript
• Cookie conflicts
• Aggressive caching plugins

Fix:

• Clear cache
• Disable page caching for cart and checkout pages

Text not translating

Likely causes:

• Text loaded dynamically
• Text rendered after page load

Fix:

• Use the Clone Editor
• Apply JavaScript-based translations

Checkout redirects to original language

This often happens when:

• Absolute URLs are hardcoded
• External payment gateways force redirects

Fix:

• Check payment gateway settings
• Ensure return URLs allow cloned domains

Final checks before going live

Before publishing your WooCommerce clone:

• Test product pages
• Test cart and checkout flows
• Place a test order
• Verify SEO titles and descriptions
• Check mobile behavior

Tags

ecommerce localization, WordPress shop, online store translation, product localization, checkout flow

Updated on: 06/02/2026