WordPress can use English (UK) for its interface. The site-wide language and your own dashboard language are separate settings, so check which one you want to change.
Set the site language
With an account authorised to change site settings, go to Settings → General → Site Language. Choose English (UK), then save. WordPress may need to download the language pack, so the server must be able to reach the relevant WordPress service and write to its language directory.
Set your own dashboard language
If you only want to change the interface for your account, check the Language option in your user profile. Other users may have their own preference. Changing a language setting does not translate the page copy you have written.
If English (UK) is missing
Check available updates and ask the site administrator to investigate language-download or filesystem errors. Use WordPress’s supported language installation process. Do not change shared server permissions or copy an unknown language archive into a live site as a quick fix.
Older WordPress versions handled language files differently, which is why earlier tutorials sometimes focus on manual file uploads. The dashboard is the normal starting point for a current installation. Multisite administrators may have additional network-level controls.
Check the dashboard, date display and the parts of the site you expected to change. Theme and plugin translations depend on what their authors supply; changing the setting does not guarantee every phrase will be translated.
Need help with a particular installation? Explore our WordPress support.
Sources and further reading
Guidance checked 26 October 2026: WordPress’s language installation guidance.
Illustrations
