Step 1: Install Required Dependencies
First, install the required packages:
npm install react-i18next i18next i18next-http-backend
This will install react-i18next
for React integration, i18next
for managing translations, and i18next-http-backend
to load JSON translation files from the server.
Step 2: Set Up Translation Files
Create translation JSON files for each language in the public
folder of your React project.
For example:
/public
/locales
/en
home.json
about.json
/bn
home.json
about.json
/th
home.json
about.json
Each language folder contains JSON files for each page (home, about, etc.). You can add more languages or pages as needed.
Example of /locales/en/home.json
:
{
"welcome": "Welcome to our website",
"slogan": "CONNECT, SHARE, GROW - ALL IN ONE TAP"
}
Example of /locales/en/about.json
:
{
"aboutTitle": "About Us",
"aboutDescription": "We are a company dedicated to growth and innovation."
}
Similarly, add the corresponding files for other languages (bn
, th
, etc.).
Step 3: Initialize i18n
Create an i18n.js
file to configure i18next
with the backend loader and set up the languages and namespaces.
/src/i18n.js
:
import i18n from "i18next";
import { initReactI18next } from "react-i18next";
import HttpBackend from "i18next-http-backend";
i18n
.use(HttpBackend) // Enables loading JSON files
.use(initReactI18next) // Initializes react-i18next
.init({
fallbackLng: "en", // Default language if not set
backend: {
loadPath: "/locales/{{lng}}/{{ns}}.json", // Load path pattern for the JSON files
},
ns: ["home", "about"], // Define namespaces for each page
defaultNS: "home", // Default namespace
interpolation: {
escapeValue: false, // Disable escaping for simplicity
},
});
export default i18n;
-
loadPath
specifies where to fetch the translation files. -
ns
defines the namespaces, which are the translation files likehome.json
,about.json
, etc. -
defaultNS
is the default namespace used for missing keys.
Step 4: Load Translations in Components
Use the useTranslation
hook to load translations in different components.
Example of Header.js
Component:
import { useTranslation } from 'react-i18next';
import { Link } from 'react-router-dom';
import { useEffect } from 'react';
const Header = () => {
const { t, i18n } = useTranslation('home'); // Use 'home' namespace
const changeLanguage = (e) => {
const selectedLanguage = e.target.value;
i18n.changeLanguage(selectedLanguage)
.then(() => localStorage.setItem('language', selectedLanguage)) // Store selected language in localStorage
.catch(err => console.error("Language change error:", err));
};
useEffect(() => {
const savedLanguage = localStorage.getItem('language') || 'en'; // Load saved language
i18n.changeLanguage(savedLanguage)
.catch(err => console.error("Language load error:", err));
}, [i18n]);
return (
<div>
<div className="navbar container mx-auto">
<div className="navbar-start">
<Link to="/">
<div className="font-queensides text-3xl text-primary font-bold">
Card<span className='text-5xl text-secondary'>X.</span>
<br />
<p className='relative bottom-3 text-[8px]'>
{t('slogan')} {/* Use translation key */}
</p>
</div>
</Link>
</div>
<div className="navbar-end flex gap-8 font-poppins">
<select
onChange={changeLanguage}
value={i18n.language}
className="p-1 border rounded-md bg-white shadow-sm focus:outline-none focus:ring-2 focus:ring-blue-500"
>
<option value="en">🇺🇸 English</option>
<option value="bn">🇧🇩 বাংলা</option>
<option value="th">🇹🇠Thai</option>
</select>
<Link to="#" className="text-sm text-black whitespace-nowrap">{t('contactUs')}</Link>
</div>
</div>
</div>
);
};
export default Header;
-
useTranslation('home')
loads thehome.json
file. For the "about" page, you would useuseTranslation('about')
.
Step 5: Use Translations in Other Pages
Similarly, use the useTranslation
hook in other components and pages.
Example of About.js
Component:
import { useTranslation } from 'react-i18next';
const About = () => {
const { t } = useTranslation('about'); // Use 'about' namespace
return (
<div>
<h1>{t('aboutTitle')}</h1>
<p>{t('aboutDescription')}</p>
</div>
);
};
export default About;
Step 6: Update App.js
or Routes
Ensure that your routes are set up properly to render different components and load translations based on the selected language.
import React from 'react';
import { BrowserRouter as Router, Route, Routes } from 'react-router-dom';
import Header from './Header';
import About from './About';
function App() {
return (
<Router>
<Header />
<Routes>
<Route path="/" element={<Home />} />
<Route path="/about" element={<About />} />
</Routes>
</Router>
);
}
export default App;
Step 7: Test the Language Switch
Now, you should be able to switch languages using the dropdown in the Header
, and the translations should be updated accordingly across your pages.
Final Directory Structure
/src
/components
Header.js
About.js
i18n.js
/App.js
/public
/locales
/en
home.json
about.json
/bn
home.json
about.json
/th
home.json
about.json
Conclusion
-
Namespaces are used to organize translations per page or component (e.g.,
home.json
,about.json
). - The
useTranslation
hook loads translations based on the current namespace. - The
i18next-http-backend
plugin loads JSON files from the server. - LocalStorage helps persist the selected language across sessions.
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