Upgrade an existing single language website with multi-language new version

[celfred]

Hi there,

I'm trying to add multi-language support to my site. The site is already online and the database gets changed everyday. On my localhost dev, I looked at adding the multi-language support and noticed that it altered the database by adding new fields. Hence my newbie question : how shall I operate? I understand that I should keep modifying my database on my dev branch by adding the full multi-language support, but how will I eventually throw this online without loosing the new database updates happening in the meantime?

For the moment, on my localhost, I've installed a fresh PW  brand new version, I have imported my freshest database backup, I've changed many things (templates, modules, adapted some code so it works with my new PW version), and now I want to tackle this multi-language issue. But see, I haven't touched the database in my previous changes so far, so I wasn't too worried about throwing it all online again, but now, that's a different story to me

So if you have a little time to point me towards the good direction, that'd be great!

Thanks!

Edit : SORRY for the forum admins, I've just noticed my wrong topic line : Upgrade an existing single language WEBSITE (not file) with multi-language new version. And I can't seem to have the possibility of editing it myself...

[LostKobrakai]

I have no answer for you, but you can change the topic title by yourself is you edit the first post in the "full editor". 

[SiNNuT]

I updated the title.

How are you implementing multi-language? I'm not sure that you would need to synchronize content between your development environment and the live site.

If you are using multi-language fields you can simply convert existing fields to multi-language, right within your live site. You could start translating the content in the live environment. The benefit is that you can also create multi language content for newly added pages.

You could then use you dev environment to update you templates, and other stuff to correctly display multi-lang. When satisfied you would just put these to the live site.

It all depends a bit on how you are working, but in my experience synchronizing content between dev and live can be pain.

PS for fields and templates Processwire also has import/export features which can come in quite handy. This goes for fields and templates, not data.

[celfred]

Thanks for your answers (and for the title update).

I am definitely not at ease with the synchronizing between dev environment and live environment... I guess I'll try little by little following your advice and see how it goes