Why I created Zelvo
The question comes up often when a client wants their site in multiple languages: which plugin should I use? WPML and Weglot are the market references. They work well. But their business model depends on your growth: the bigger your site gets, the more content you publish, the more you pay.
For a SME or freelancer growing their business, this model creates an uncomfortable dependency. And for me, it also creates a delicate conversation with the client every year when the bill goes up.
I looked for an alternative. I didn’t find one that really suited me. So I built it.
What makes Zelvo different
The basic principle is simple: Zelvo translates your content with AI, then stores the translations directly in your own WordPress database. Your translations stay with you, on your server. Not with a third party.
Billing follows the same logic: you pay a fixed annual license fee. The only variable expense is the AI engine API you choose, billed directly to the provider. To translate an entire website, we're talking just a few euros. No per-word counter that ticks up with every update.
Zero page duplication
WPML creates a mirror page for each language. Your English site version is a full page, separate from your French version. Result: your database doubles, your site slows down, and maintenance becomes complicated.
Zelvo works differently. Translations are served on the fly via dedicated URLs, /en/, /es/, /nl/, without creating extra pages. The database stays clean. The site stays fast.
Different images depending on the language
A detail few plugins offer: Zelvo lets you display different visuals depending on the active language. It’s not just translated text. It’s true localization, adapted to the visual codes of each market.
6 AI engines to choose from, including a sovereign option
OpenAI, Anthropic, Mistral, Gemini, DeepSeek, and Apertus for a European option hosted in Switzerland. You choose the engine based on your convictions, budget, or GDPR constraints. And if a new engine becomes available tomorrow, Zelvo’s architecture lets you integrate it.
Compatible with your page builder
Zelvo supports 234 languages and works with Elementor, Bricks, Divi, and Gutenberg. You don’t have to change how you build your pages to make your site multilingual.
An integrated editor to correct translations
AI translates well. But it doesn’t always translate perfectly, especially for industry-specific terms or phrasing unique to your business. Zelvo includes an editor that lets the client correct their own translations directly in WordPress, without touching the code.
Available for free on WordPress.org
The free version of Zelvo is available on the official WordPress.org repositoryIt covers one site and one language. That’s enough to test and get a concrete idea.
To go further, paid plans start at 79 euros per year For a site with unlimited languages, up to €349 per year for use on unlimited sites — the plan I use for my clients’ sites.
Why this was important to me
Zelvo was tested on my real clients’ sites before being submitted to WordPress.org, especially on the sites I manage in Web SerenityIt’s not a prototype. It’s a tool running in production, improved by real use, and one I use daily myself.
Seeing it officially validated on WordPress.org is real recognition. And sharing it with the French-speaking WordPress community is the logical next step.
If your WordPress site needs a multilingual version, you can Discover Zelvo on getzelvo.com or Download directly from the WordPress.org repository.
In summary
Zelvo translates your WordPress site using AI, stores translations in your own database, never bills per word, never duplicates your pages, and lets you correct translations yourself. Available for free on WordPress.org, with paid plans starting at €79 per year.
It’s the tool I would have loved to have from the start. Now it exists.
