AccessiTrans – ARIA Translator for WPML & Elementor

The AccessiTrans – ARIA Translator for WPML & Elementor plugin facilitates the translation of ARIA attributes in sites developed with Elementor and WPML, ensuring that accessibility information is available in all languages of your website.

Key Features

• Automatically detects and makes ARIA attributes available for translation
• Fully integrated with WPML String Translation
• Compatible with all Elementor elements and templates
• Multiple capture methods to ensure comprehensive detection
• Translation retry mechanism for failed translations
• Force refresh function to clear all caches
• Debug mode for troubleshooting
• Performance optimization settings
• Translation cache system for improved performance
• Internationalization support

Compatible ARIA attributes

The plugin allows you to translate the following attributes:

• aria-label: To provide an accessible name for an element
• aria-description: To provide an accessible description
• aria-roledescription: To customize the role description of an element
• aria-placeholder: For placeholder text in input fields
• aria-valuetext: To provide textual representation of numeric values

Capture Methods

The plugin offers several capture methods to ensure that all ARIA attributes are detected:

1. Full HTML Capture: Captures all HTML of the page (highly effective but may affect performance)
2. Elementor Content Filter: Processes content generated by Elementor
3. Elementor Template Processing: Processes Elementor template data
4. Individual Element Processing: Processes each Elementor widget individually

Advanced Settings

• Retry Failed Translations: Automatically retries translations that failed on first attempt
• Debug Mode: Enables detailed event logging
• Admin-Only Capture: Limits resource-intensive capture methods to admin users
• Capture in Primary Language Only: Only captures strings when browsing in the default language

Compatibility

Works with all types of Elementor content:

• Regular pages
• Templates
• Global sections
• Headers and footers
• Popups and other dynamic elements

Tested with:
* WordPress 6.8
* Elementor 3.28.4
* WPML Multilingual CMS 4.7.4
* WPML String Translation 3.3.3

Why this plugin matters for accessibility

In multilingual websites, accessibility information should be available in all languages. ARIA attributes provide essential accessibility information that helps assistive technologies understand and navigate your website. By making these attributes translatable, you ensure that all users, regardless of language or ability, can access your content effectively.

Usage Instructions

How to add ARIA attributes in Elementor

1. Edit any element in Elementor
2. Go to the “Advanced” tab
3. Find the “Custom Attributes” section
4. Add the ARIA attributes you want to translate

Compatible formats

Elementor indicates: “Set custom attributes for the wrapper element. Each attribute in a separate line. Separate attribute key from the value using | character.”

You can add ARIA attributes in two ways:

Basic format (one attribute per line):
aria-label|Text to translate

Multiline format (multiple attributes):
aria-label|Text to translate
aria-description|Another description

This will generate the corresponding HTML attributes in the frontend:
aria-label=”Text to translate” aria-description=”Another description”

How to translate the attributes

1. Once you’ve added the attributes, save the page or template
2. Go to WPML → String Translation
3. Filter by the “AccessiTrans ARIA Attributes” context
4. Translate the strings as you would with any other text in WPML

Best practices for optimal performance

For the best experience and website performance, follow these recommendations:

1. Browse your site in the primary language only while generating strings for translation. This prevents registering duplicate strings.

2. Use the Force Refresh function when translations aren’t appearing as expected.

3. Disable capture methods after initial setup:

   • Once you’ve captured all ARIA attributes for translation, we recommend disabling all capture methods
   • This improves site performance and prevents additional strings from being registered in WPML
   • Re-enable the capture methods temporarily when you make changes to your site that include new ARIA attributes

Practical examples

For a menu button:
* Attribute: aria-label|Open menu

For a phone link:
* Attribute: aria-label|Call customer service phone

For an icon without text:
* Attribute: aria-label|Send an email

For a slider:
* Attribute: aria-label|Image gallery
* Attribute: aria-description|Navigate through product images

Author

Developed by Mario Germán Almonte Moreno:

• Member of IAAP (International Association of Accessibility Professionals)
• CPWA Certified (CPACC and WAS)
• Professor in the Digital Accessibility Specialization Course (University of Lleida)
• 20 years of experience in digital and educational fields