Handling Multilingual Old Slugs with Slugs Manager & WPML

Problem Description #

When using WPML (or another multilingual plugin), Slugs Manager either doesn’t detect old localized slugs, or manual removal causes unintended redirects in translated content.

Common symptoms:

• Old slugs from translated languages do not appear in the plugin scan. 
• Removing slugs seems to affect only one language or breaks language-specific permalinks. 
• Users report WPML-related errors or unexpected behavior after cleanup. 

Cause:
Multilingual plugins like WPML often store language variants and translations using custom postmeta, custom tables, or language-specific slug fields. Slugs Manager primarily scans core WordPress permalink storage—if WPML stores old slugs differently, Slugs Manager may not find them or may require special handling. There’s a WP.org thread referencing a WPML issue tied to slug management. WordPress.org

Solution – step-by-step #

1. Back up database and files 
   1. Before running any bulk slug deletion on a multilingual site, create a full site backup (DB + files). Do not skip this step. 
2. Test on staging 
   1. Clone site to staging and run Slugs Manager there first. Confirm behavior for all languages before applying to production. 
3. Scan for language-specific slug storage 
   1. Inspect WPML tables or posts with language meta. Search the DB for candidate old slugs across the WPML tables (e.g., icl_translations or WPML meta fields). If old slugs exist outside core tables, Slugs Manager may not detect them. (If they are in meta, you might still delete manually after verifying.) 
4. Remove slugs only for targeted language if necessary 
   1. If Slugs Manager exposes post ID context, ensure you select only slugs for the intended language/post. Don’t run a site-wide “remove all” until you confirm language-specific effects. 
5. If you’re unsure, contact WPFactory support with reproducible steps 
   1. Provide a sample post (post ID), the old slug, and the language code (WPML). Support can advise whether Slugs Manager supports that WPML data or whether a custom approach is needed. WordPress.org

Prerequisites #

• Full site backup, staging environment. 
• Knowledge of WPML setup in your site.
  

Additional Notes / Prevention #

For multilingual sites, always test plugin cleanup operations on staging first. Consider using WPML’s own URL/slug management documentation to locate language-specific slug storage.