Setting Up Google Translate API

Overview

This guide walks you through obtaining and configuring a Google Translate API key for ShahiTranslate Pro.

Why You Need an API Key

Google Translate API allows ShahiTranslate Pro to automatically translate your content. Without an API key, you’ll be limited to manual translations only.

Benefits:

1. Instant translation of all content
2. Support for 130+ languages
3. High-quality neural machine translation
4. Scalable for large websites

Costs:

5. $20 per 1 million characters
6. Free tier: $300 credit for new Google Cloud accounts
7. Pay only for what you use

Step-by-Step Setup


Step 1: Create Google Cloud Account


8. Go to Google Cloud Console

– Visit: https://console.cloud.google.com/
– Click “Get started for free” or “Sign in”

9. Sign In or Create Account

– Use existing Google account or create new one
– Accept terms of service

10. Enter Billing Information

– Required even for free tier
– No charges without explicit approval
– You’ll get $300 free credit for 90 days

11. Complete Account Setup

– Enter your country
– Agree to terms
– Click “Start my free trial” or “Activate”

Step 2: Create a New Project


12. Access Project Selector

– Click the project dropdown at top of page
– Next to “Google Cloud Platform” logo

13. Create New Project

– Click “New Project” button
– Or use existing project if you have one

14. Name Your Project

– Enter name: e.g., “My Website Translation”
– Project ID: auto-generated (can customize)
– Organization: Leave as “No organization” (unless you have one)

15. Create Project

– Click “Create” button
– Wait for project creation (10-30 seconds)

16. Select Your Project

– Ensure new project is selected in dropdown
– You’ll see project name at top of page

Step 3: Enable Cloud Translation API


17. Open API Library

– Click “☰” menu (hamburger icon, top-left)
– Select “APIs & Services” → “Library”
– Or visit: https://console.cloud.google.com/apis/library

18. Search for Translation API

– In search box, type “Cloud Translation API”
– Click on “Cloud Translation API” from results

19. Enable API

– Click “Enable” button
– Wait for activation (few seconds)
– You’ll see “API enabled” message

20. Verify Enabled

– Go to “APIs & Services” → “Dashboard”
– You should see “Cloud Translation API” in the list

Step 4: Create API Key


21. Open Credentials Page

– Click “☰” menu → “APIs & Services” → “Credentials”
– Or visit: https://console.cloud.google.com/apis/credentials

22. Create Credentials

– Click “+ CREATE CREDENTIALS” at top
– Select “API key” from dropdown

23. Copy API Key

– A popup appears with your new API key
– Click “Copy” button or manually copy the key
– Important: Save this key securely!
– It looks like: AIzaSyABCD1234567890EFGHIJ_KLMNOPqrstuv

24. Click “Close”

– You can always view the key later in Credentials page

Step 5: Restrict API Key (Recommended)


For security, restrict what your API key can do:

25. Edit API Key

– In Credentials page, click on your newly created API key
– Or click the ✏️ edit icon

26. Application Restrictions

– Choose “HTTP referrers (web sites)”
– Click “Add an item”
– Enter your website URLs:
– https://yourwebsite.com/*
– https://www.yourwebsite.com/*
– Add staging site if you have one

27. API Restrictions

– Choose “Restrict key”
– Select “Cloud Translation API” from list
– Uncheck everything else

28. Save Changes

– Click “Save” button at bottom
– Restrictions take a few minutes to apply

Step 6: Set Up Billing Alerts


To avoid unexpected charges:

29. Go to Billing

– Click “☰” menu → “Billing”
– Select your billing account

30. Create Budget Alert

– Click “Budgets & alerts” in left sidebar
– Click “+ CREATE BUDGET”

31. Configure Budget

– Name: “Translation API Budget”
– Projects: Select your project
– Services: Select “Cloud Translation API”
– Amount: $25 or your preferred limit

32. Set Alert Thresholds

– 50% of budget
– 90% of budget
– 100% of budget
– Enter your email for notifications

33. Save Budget

– Click “Finish”
– You’ll receive email alerts at set thresholds

Step 7: Add API Key to ShahiTranslate Pro


34. Access Plugin Settings

– In WordPress admin, go to “ShahiTranslate Pro” → “Settings”
– Click “API Settings” tab

35. Enter API Key

– Paste your API key in “Google Translate API Key” field
– The key you copied in Step 4

36. Choose API Version

– V2 (Basic): Standard translation, faster, cheaper
– V3 (Advanced): Better quality, more features, slightly more expensive
– Recommended: Start with V2

37. Configure Additional Settings

– Format: HTML (preserves formatting) or Text (plain text)
– Model: Leave as default unless you have specific needs

38. Test API Key

– Click “Test API Connection” button
– Should see “Connection successful” message
– If error, double-check API key and that API is enabled

39. Save Settings

– Click “Save Changes” button
– API key is now active

Verifying Setup


Test Translation


40. Visit Your Site

– Go to your website’s front end
– Look for the language switcher

41. Switch Language

– Click switcher and select a language
– Page should reload with translated content

42. Check Dashboard

– Go to ShahiTranslate Pro → Dashboard
– Look at “API Usage” section
– Should show recent API calls

Monitor Google Cloud Console


43. Check API Usage

– Go to Google Cloud Console
– APIs & Services → Dashboard
– Click “Cloud Translation API”
– View usage metrics and quotas

44. View Billing

– Go to Billing → Transactions
– See charges for API usage
– Remember: $20 per 1 million characters

Understanding Costs


How Charging Works


45. Charged per character translated
46. $20 USD per 1 million characters
47. Excludes spaces, HTML tags, and special characters
48. Minimum charge: $0 (no minimum)

Example Calculations


Small Blog:

49. 50 posts
50. 500 words per post = 25,000 total words
51. ~150,000 characters
52. 3 languages
53. Total: 450,000 characters
54. Cost: ~$9 one-time

Medium Site:

55. 200 pages
56. 1000 words per page = 200,000 words
57. ~1,200,000 characters
58. 5 languages
59. Total: 6,000,000 characters
60. Cost: ~$120 one-time

Large Site:

61. 1000 pages
62. 800 words average = 800,000 words
63. ~4,800,000 characters
64. 5 languages
65. Total: 24,000,000 characters
66. Cost: ~$480 one-time

Note: With caching enabled (recommended), you pay only once for translation. Subsequent visitors see cached translations at no cost.

Reducing Costs


67. Enable Aggressive Caching

– Cache for 90 days or permanent
– Reduces repeat translation costs to zero

68. Translate Selectively

– Only translate published content
– Exclude comments, archives, search results

69. Use Manual for Key Pages

– Translate important pages manually
– Use automatic for less critical content

70. Translation Memory

– Reuses common phrases automatically
– Included in plugin, no extra cost

71. Limit Languages

– Only activate languages you truly need
– Each language multiplies character count

Troubleshooting


“API Key Invalid” Error


Causes:

72. Key copied incorrectly (extra spaces, incomplete)
73. API not enabled in Google Cloud Console
74. Restrictions too strict

Solutions:

75. Copy API key again carefully
76. Verify Cloud Translation API is enabled
77. Check API key restrictions (temporarily remove all restrictions to test)
78. Create new API key

“Quota Exceeded” Error


Cause: Reached free tier limit or set quota

Solutions:

79. Check Google Cloud Console → Quotas
80. Enable billing if on free tier
81. Increase quota if possible
82. Wait for quota reset (usually daily)

“Authentication Failed” Error


Cause: API key restrictions blocking your site

Solutions:

83. Edit API key in Google Cloud Console
84. Add your site URL to HTTP referrer restrictions
85. Or temporarily disable restrictions to test
86. Wait 5 minutes for restrictions to update

Charges Higher Than Expected


Check:

87. Go to Google Cloud Console → Billing → Reports
88. Filter by Cloud Translation API
89. See detailed usage breakdown

Common Causes:

90. Cache not working (translations repeat)
91. Many languages activated
92. Dynamic content being translated repeatedly
93. No exclusions set (translating everything)

Solutions:

94. Enable and verify cache is working
95. Set up exclusions for unnecessary content
96. Limit active languages
97. Use manual translation for frequently changing content

Best Practices


Security


98. Never share your API key publicly
99. Don’t commit API key to GitHub or version control
100. Use environment variables or wp-config.php for storage
101. Restrict API key to your domain only
102. Rotate API keys periodically (annually)

Performance


103. Enable caching (reduces API calls by 90%+)
104. Use V2 API unless you need V3 features (faster)
105. Batch translations when possible
106. Monitor usage to catch issues early

Cost Management


107. Set budget alerts at $25, $50, $100 or your limits
108. Review monthly usage in Google Cloud Console
109. Enable cache warming for predictable costs
110. Use manual translation for high-traffic pages

Alternative: Google Cloud Service Account


For advanced users or high-volume sites:

Benefits


111. More secure than API keys
112. Better for server-to-server communication
113. Supports more advanced features

Setup (Brief Overview)


114. Create Service Account in Google Cloud
115. Download JSON key file
116. Grant “Cloud Translation API User” role
117. Upload JSON key to plugin settings

Note: Service accounts are more complex. Use API keys unless you have specific needs.

Next Steps


Now that your API key is set up:

118. Quick Start Guide
119. Translation Methods
120. Improving Translation Quality
121. Translation Cache

Need Help?


122. Google Cloud Support: https://cloud.google.com/support
123. Google Cloud Documentation: https://cloud.google.com/translate/docs
124. ShahiTranslate Pro Support: Through your account dashboard