How to Change WordPress from US to British English

WordPress defaults to US English, which is fine if you’re targeting American visitors. 

But if your audience speaks British English, your website should speak their language too. By using localised language and spelling, you’re more likely to connect with a UK or Commonwealth audience and improve your search engine visibility in those regions.

Grab a cup of tea and let me show you how to change WordPress from US to British English in just a few minutes. The process is much simpler in modern WordPress than it used to be.

Method 1: Change Your Site Language (Recommended for Most Users)

This is the easiest and most straightforward method. It changes the entire WordPress interface and frontend to British English for all visitors and users.

Step 1: Navigate to Settings > General

Log in to your WordPress dashboard. In the left sidebar menu, click Settings, then select General.

Step 2: Change the Site Language

Scroll down until you find the Site Language dropdown menu. By default, it will show “English (United States)”.

Click on the dropdown and search for English (UK) or English (United Kingdom). Select it from the list.

Step 3: Save Your Changes

Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the Save Changes button.

Step 4: Clear Your Cache and Verify

After saving, it’s important to clear your browser cache to see the changes immediately.

You can do this by pressing Ctrl+Shift+Delete (Windows/Linux) or Command+Shift+Delete (Mac) in your browser, then clearing the cache.

Alternatively, log out of WordPress and log back in. Then open your website in a new browser tab to verify the changes have taken effect.

Method 2: Change Only Your Dashboard Language (For Individual Users)

If you’re part of a team and only want to change the dashboard language for yourself—leaving the public website in US English—you can do this from your user profile.

Step 1: Go to Your User Profile

Click on your username in the top-right corner of the WordPress dashboard, then select Edit Profile (or go to Users > Profile from the sidebar).

Step 2: Change Your Personal Language

Scroll down to find the Language dropdown in the “Personal Options” section. Select English (UK) from the list.

Step 3: Update Your Profile

Click the Update Profile button at the bottom of the page to save your changes.

This change applies only to your dashboard and doesn’t affect the website’s frontend for visitors.

Verifying Your Changes: The “Colour” Test

The easiest way to confirm that British English is working correctly is to check if WordPress is using British spelling. Here’s how:

1. Go to Users > All Users in the WordPress dashboard
2. Click Edit on any user (including yourself)
3. Look for the Color Scheme option (or Colour Scheme if it’s working correctly)

If it displays as “Colour Scheme” with a ‘u’, your British English settings are working perfectly.

Troubleshooting: Common Issues and Solutions

Issue 1: Language Not Changing After Update

Problem: You’ve selected English (UK) and saved, but the dashboard still shows US English.

Solution:

• Clear your browser cache completely (Ctrl+Shift+Delete on Windows/Linux, Command+Shift+Delete on Mac)
• Log out of WordPress completely
• Close your browser entirely
• Reopen your browser and log back in
• If the issue persists, check if your hosting provider has cached pages. Contact them to clear the server cache.

Issue 2: Plugins Still Showing in US English

Problem: WordPress itself is in British English, but some plugins are still using US English.

Solution:

• This is normal. Not all plugins are fully translated into British English
• The plugin developer needs to provide British English translations
• You can contact the plugin developer to request British English support
• Alternatively, use a translation plugin like WPML or Polylang to override plugin text

Issue 3: Language Pack Not Available in Dropdown

Problem: You don’t see English (UK) in the Site Language dropdown.

Solution:

• Go to Dashboard > Updates at the top of your WordPress admin
• Scroll to the bottom and look for “Translation Updates”
• Click “Check again” to refresh available language packs
• Wait a moment for WordPress to fetch the latest language files
• Go back to Settings > General and the English (UK) option should now appear

Issue 4: Changes Not Appearing on Frontend

Problem: Your dashboard is in British English, but the website frontend still shows US English.

Solution:

• Clear your WordPress caching plugin (if you have one like WP Rocket, W3 Total Cache, or LiteSpeed Cache)
• Clear your browser cache
• If you’re using a CDN (like Cloudflare), clear the CDN cache as well
• Wait 5-10 minutes for caches to fully clear
• Visit your website in an incognito/private browser window to bypass browser cache

Setting Your Browser’s Spell Checker to British English

Once WordPress is set to British English, you’ll want your browser’s spell checker to match. This prevents red squiggly lines under correctly spelled British words like “colour” and “organisation”.

Google Chrome

1. Click the three-dot menu in the top-right corner
2. Select Settings
3. Click Languages in the left sidebar
4. Under “Spell check”, toggle it On
5. Scroll down to find English (United Kingdom) in the list and click it
6. Alternatively, right-click in any text field and select Languages > English (United Kingdom)

Firefox

1. Click the hamburger menu (three horizontal lines) in the top-right corner
2. Select Settings
3. Go to General in the left sidebar
4. Scroll down to the Language section
5. Click the dropdown next to “Spell checker language”
6. Select English (United Kingdom)

Safari (Mac)

1. Click Safari in the top menu bar
2. Select Settings (or Preferences on older versions)
3. Go to the General tab
4. Look for Spell checker options
5. Select English (United Kingdom) from the available options

Microsoft Edge

1. Click the three-dot menu in the top-right corner
2. Select Settings
3. Click Languages in the left sidebar
4. Under “Spell check”, toggle it On
5. Select English (United Kingdom) from the language list

WordPress Version Compatibility

This guide applies to WordPress 6.4 and all recent versions. The Settings > General method for changing language has been the standard approach for many years and works reliably across all modern WordPress installations.

If you’re running an older version of WordPress (prior to 5.0), the interface may look slightly different, but the process is essentially the same: Settings > General > Site Language.

Summary

Changing WordPress to British English is now incredibly simple—just a few clicks in Settings > General. 

Your website will instantly reflect British spelling and terminology, helping you connect better with UK and Commonwealth audiences while improving your local SEO performance.

If you encounter any issues, refer to the troubleshooting section above or contact your hosting provider’s support team.

They can help verify that language packs are properly installed and that caching isn’t preventing your changes from taking effect.

Now you can write your content with proper British English spelling and feel confident that your website is speaking your audience’s language.

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