The challenge
Not every string is straightforward text. While working through the Astra theme strings, I encountered one that stopped me: “Transparent header settings updated: %s.” The %s is a variable — a placeholder that gets replaced dynamically by WordPress at runtime with an actual value.
Why this was tricky
The rule in Polyglots is clear: never translate or move variables like %s, %d, or %1$s. They must appear in the translation exactly as they do in the original. The challenge is building a natural Spanish sentence around a placeholder you can’t touch. My translation was: “Configuración de encabezado transparente actualizada: %s.” — keeping the variable in place while making the sentence sound natural in Spanish.
A second challenge came with strings containing HTML tags like <strong> and <br>. The tags structure how the text appears visually — bold, line breaks — and must be preserved exactly. Translating only the text between the tags while leaving the HTML untouched requires focus and careful reading.
How I resolved it
I re-read the Polyglots contribution guide on variables and tested my translation by comparing the structure of the original and my version side by side. Once I confirmed the variable and tags were intact, I submitted the suggestion. It’s now in “waiting” status.
What I learned
This was the moment I understood that translation is not just language — it’s also technical. A wrong move with a variable or an HTML tag can break how the string displays for the end user. Attention to detail is as important here as it is in writing code.
What comes next
With this challenge resolved, I returned to the translation queue with more confidence. The next post documents my continued progress and a new batch of strings.
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