Simple Language Extension
One way to really f*ck up your Joomla website is enabling the Language filter plugin without knowing exactly what you are doing. It will open Pandora's box full of SEO-mayhem, and it will send your site into a deep abyss filled with broken links, duplicate content, wrong canonicals and more.
Another problem with the language filter or maybe Joomla in general is that it doesn't allow you to add just a few pages in a different language. It is the full Monty or nothing.
If you have just a few pages in a different language, one option is to simply add that page and publish it under the default language. Issues with this method is that the <html lang="default-default" dir="ltr"> will be set to the wrong language and that messages will be in the wrong language as well.
This small extension will allow you:
- to add language tags to items in the administrator of your site
- set the correct language in the frontend.
Usage
Your main content should keep 'All' as language. Set the language only on content in a different language.
If you need to set (or remove) the &lang=<lang> query parameter on links, you can use the SEF Plus plugin.
Limitations
Smart Search will not find terms in content with a language set.
It is impossible to use Language Associations without the Language filter plugin. Unlike with the Multilanguage option, the setting to enable Associations is hard coded to the Language filter plugin.