Translate Joomla two ways: universal, or native on Joomla 4/5/6

Most Joomla sites still run a version no modern extension supports, so the language subdomain is the universal path: point a subdomain at Lingvit and the translated site is served at the edge, for Joomla 3, 4, 5 and 6 alike. On Joomla 4, 5 and 6 you can instead install a native system plugin that translates pages server-side with /fr/-style paths.

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What gets translated

Every page, module and component output, on any Joomla version
Menus, breadcrumbs, forms and system messages
Meta descriptions, Open Graph tags and image alt text
Translated URLs and hreflang, with a localized sitemap
Native /fr/-style path prefixes and a switcher module (Joomla 4/5/6 plugin)
Optional in-page language switcher via a script tag (subdomain path)

Setup guide

Create a Lingvit project
Sign up at app.lingvit.com, create a project for your Joomla site and pick the languages to offer.
2
Option A — Language subdomains (universal, required for Joomla 3)
In the Lingvit dashboard open Integrations → Domains and add fr.yoursite.com for French (repeat per language). At your DNS provider create a CNAME for each subdomain pointing at the target shown in the dashboard. Within minutes the subdomain is Active with its own TLS certificate. This is the only path that works on Joomla 3, since it needs nothing installed in the site.
```
fr.yoursite.com.   CNAME   dns.lingvit.com.
```
3
Option A, optional: add the language switcher
For a switcher on the original site, paste your project's script tag into your template's index.php inside <head> (Joomla 4/5: System → Site Templates → your template → index.php), or into a System plugin that adds scripts. Skip this if links between language subdomains are enough.
```
<script src="https://cdn.lingvit.com/widget/v1/widget.bundle.js" data-widget-key="lng_wpk_…" async></script>
```
Option B — Native plugin (Joomla 4, 5 and 6)
In the Lingvit dashboard open Integrations → Joomla and generate a pairing code. In Joomla go to System → Plugins → System - Lingvit, paste the pairing code and enable the plugin. Pages are then translated server-side with /fr/-style path prefixes, hreflang, and a switcher module — no subdomain or DNS change needed for this path.
Review translations
Translations appear in the Lingvit dashboard as pages are served, on either path. Edit any of them; edits are pinned and never overwritten.

Frequently asked questions

Does it really work on Joomla 3?

Yes, via language subdomains — the universal path. Nothing runs inside Joomla: the language subdomain fetches your published pages and serves translated HTML, so the Joomla version, PHP version and installed extensions do not matter. Joomla 3 can't run the native plugin, since it requires Joomla 4, 5 or 6, so the subdomain path is Joomla 3's only option.

Which option should I use, subdomains or the native plugin?

On Joomla 3, subdomains — it's the only option. On Joomla 4, 5 or 6, the native plugin gives you /fr/-style paths under your existing domain with no DNS change, which many sites prefer; language subdomains remain a valid choice too, for example if you'd rather not install a system plugin. Both can be reviewed and edited from the same Lingvit dashboard.

How is the subdomain path different from a proxy translation service?

Lingvit serves each language on its own hostname with translated URLs, hreflang and a localized sitemap, so search engines index the translated pages as pages. Your original domain is never proxied and keeps its own DNS and certificate.

What about Joomla's built-in multilingual and language packs?

Keep them if you use them. Lingvit translates what your site serves; if a page is already in the visitor's language nothing is changed. Many sites use Lingvit to add languages they have no content team for.

Is there a native Joomla extension?

Yes — a system plugin for Joomla 4, 5 and 6 is available now: dashboard pairing, full-HTML rewrite at render time, /fr/-style paths, hreflang and a switcher module. Joomla 3 sites still use the language subdomain path, since the native plugin needs Joomla 4 or later.

Translate Joomla two ways: universal, or native on Joomla 4/5/6

What gets translated

Setup guide

Create a Lingvit project

Option A — Language subdomains (universal, required for Joomla 3)

Option A, optional: add the language switcher

Option B — Native plugin (Joomla 4, 5 and 6)

Review translations

Frequently asked questions

Start translating your Joomla site