Introduction

My name is Josué Camacho, and this is my final report for the WP Credits program at Universidad Fidélitas.

Throughout the program, I contributed to the WordPress Polyglots team, focusing on the translation of the WooCommerce plugin into Spanish (Costa Rica). My main goal was to help make WooCommerce more accessible to Spanish-speaking users in Costa Rica by translating interface strings from English into Spanish.

During the project, I submitted more than 120 translations, and these translations were approved. This experience allowed me to participate in a real open-source project and understand how contributions from individual users can help improve software used by people around the world.

This report summarizes my contribution, the resources I used, the challenges I encountered, the skills I developed, and my overall experience throughout the WP Credits program.

Teams and projects I contributed to

My main contribution was to the WordPress Polyglots team, specifically the Spanish (Costa Rica) locale (es_CR).

The Polyglots team is responsible for translating WordPress and many of its plugins and themes into different languages. My project focused specifically on the WooCommerce plugin.

My main task was to review English strings from WooCommerce and provide accurate Spanish translations appropriate for users in Costa Rica.

I worked with different types of interface strings, including messages, settings, notifications, descriptions, and technical texts. Some examples included strings such as:

• “Tracking URL”
• “Fulfillment summary”
• “Platform %s not found.”
• “Failed to reset your %s onboarding.”

This project showed me that localization is not simply replacing words from one language with another. The translation also needs to preserve the meaning, context, and technical structure of the original software.

Learning resources

One of the main resources I used was the WordPress Polyglots Translator’s Handbook, which explains how the Polyglots team works and how contributors can participate in the translation process.

I also used the official How to Translate documentation to understand the process of submitting translations and what happens after a translation is submitted for review.

Another important resource was the documentation about GlotPress and Translate WordPress, which helped me understand how strings are displayed, translated, submitted, reviewed, and approved.

The translation platform itself was the main tool I used throughout the project. It allowed me to work directly with the WooCommerce Spanish (Costa Rica) translation project.

I also learned the importance of maintaining consistency in terminology. The Polyglots documentation recommends using glossaries and style guides to maintain a consistent translation style across a locale.

Challenges and solutions

One of the main challenges I encountered was translating strings that contained technical placeholders, such as %s, %1$s, and %2$s.

At first, these elements could be confusing because they are not normal words that should be translated. They are variables used by the software to insert dynamic information into the final message. I learned that these placeholders need to remain correctly positioned in the translation so that the software can continue displaying the information correctly.

To deal with this challenge, I paid closer attention to the original string before submitting a translation and checked that the technical elements were preserved correctly. The Translate WordPress documentation also explains that missing or mismatched placeholders can generate validation warnings.

Another challenge was maintaining consistent terminology across more than 120 translations. The same concept can appear in different strings, so using different translations for the same term could make the interface feel inconsistent.

I addressed this by reviewing similar strings and paying attention to the terminology already used within the project. This helped me make my translations more consistent and natural.

A final challenge was becoming familiar with the translation platform itself. At the beginning, I needed some time to understand how strings were organized, how to submit suggestions, and how the approval process worked. With practice, the process became much more familiar.

My contributions

My main contribution was translating strings from the WooCommerce plugin into Spanish (Costa Rica).

During the project, I submitted more than 120 translations, and more than 120 of my submitted translations were approved.

My contributions can be viewed directly through the Translate WordPress platform:

WooCommerce – Spanish (Costa Rica) translations:
View my WooCommerce translation contributions

The project included translations of different types of WooCommerce strings, from short interface labels to longer technical messages.

For example, some of the strings I worked with included translations such as:

https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/woocommerce/stable/es-cr/default/?filters%5Bterm%5D=&filters%5Bterm_scope%5D=scope_any&filters%5Bstatus%5D=current_or_waiting_or_fuzzy_or_untranslated_or_rejected_or_changesrequested_or_old&filters%5Buser_login%5D=josuecs06&filter=Apply+Filters&sort%5Bby%5D=priority&sort%5Bhow%5D=desc

I also worked with strings containing technical placeholders, such as %s and %1$s, which required additional attention to make sure the translation remained compatible with the software.

Evidence

I would include a screenshot of my translation contributions in this section. The screenshot shows the WooCommerce Spanish (Costa Rica) translation project and examples of translated strings.

This evidence complements the public translation record and demonstrates the practical work completed during the project.

Key learnings from the WP Credits program

One of my biggest takeaways from WP Credits is that open-source contribution is not limited to programming.

Before this project, I associated open-source contributions mostly with writing code. Through Polyglots, I learned that translation and localization are also important technical contributions because they make software accessible to people who prefer to use it in their own language.

I also learned that quality is very important in open-source projects. Even a short translation needs to be reviewed carefully because it becomes part of a larger product used by many people.

Another important lesson was learning to work with an existing community and follow its standards instead of simply translating everything according to my own preferences.

The project also showed me the importance of patience and attention to detail. A translation may be only a few words long, but understanding its context can make a significant difference in its quality.

New Skills Gained

Personal reflections and next steps

Overall, my experience with WP Credits was very valuable because it gave me the opportunity to participate in a real open-source project instead of only learning about open source from a theoretical perspective.

What I enjoyed most was being able to see my work become part of the WooCommerce translation project. Knowing that more than 120 of my translations were approved made the experience feel meaningful because my contribution was not only an academic exercise; it became part of an actual WordPress project.

I was also surprised by how much attention is required when translating software. At first, some strings seemed very simple, but I learned that technical context, placeholders, terminology, and consistency all matter.

The project also helped me become more comfortable with learning new tools independently. Translate WordPress was new to me at the beginning, but after working with it throughout the project, I became much more confident navigating the platform and submitting translations.

After completing WP Credits, I would like to continue exploring opportunities to contribute to open-source projects. I am especially interested in continuing to improve my understanding of WordPress and learning about other areas where I could contribute in the future.

Most importantly, this experience taught me that even a small individual contribution can become part of something much larger when it is made within an open-source community.

Final thoughts

The WP Credits program gave me the opportunity to move from being only a user of WordPress and WooCommerce to becoming an actual contributor.

Through my work with the Polyglots team, I submitted more than 120 approved translations for WooCommerce in Spanish (Costa Rica). Along the way, I learned about localization, translation workflows, technical terminology, quality standards, and open-source collaboration.

I am proud of the contribution I made and grateful for the opportunity to participate in the WordPress community through this project.

Thank you for following my WP Credits journey.