Add language translations using the Translate & Adapt app

With the Translate & Adapt app, you can add translations to your store for products, collections, blog posts, policies, and pages.

Install the app

When you add a new language to your store, the Translate & Adapt app is installed automatically.

If you already have languages published to your store and you want to install the app, then in your Store languages settings, click Install Shopify Translate & Adapt.

Manually translate content

You can access the translation editor directly in your Shopify admin from the Translate & Adapt app, or from any content page that you want to translate.

Manually translate content in the Translate & Adapt app

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Apps.
2. Click Translate & Adapt.
3. Select the language that you want to translate.
4. Select the resource that you want to translate.
5. Enter your translated content into the appropriate field.
6. Click Save.

Manually translate content from a content page

1. From your Shopify admin, go to the content page that you want to translate. For example, to add translations for a product, go to the product page.
2. Click More actions > Localize.
3. Optional: If you have multiple languages, then from the drop-down menu, select the language that you're providing translations for.
4. Enter your translations into the appropriate field.
5. Click Save.

Note

If a content type such as Policies doesn't display the More actions button, then the Localize button displays on the content page.

Localize images, videos, and other files

When translating a resource that includes images or videos, you can add a different version of the image or video file for different languages.

Steps:

1. Ensure that you've uploaded a new version of the file in Content > Files. Learn about managing file uploads.
2. From your Shopify admin, go to Online Store.
3. In the section for your current theme, click Customize.
4. In the theme editor, select an image or video.
5. Click the three-dot button in the upper right corner, and select Localize. This will open the Translate & Adapt translation editor.
6. Select the language that you want to translate to.
7. In the row where the file is displayed, click Change.
8. Select the image or video that you want to translate from your uploaded files.
9. Click Close.
10. Click Save.

You can also localize other files, such as PDFs, by using metafields. After you add a file metafield to your resource, it's displayed in the translation editor.

Translate URL slugs

When translating a resource, you can also localize the URL slug for different languages. Sitemaps will update to included translated URL slugs. Redirects will be created from default language urls to translated URLs when translated URL slugs are created.

Steps:

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Apps.
2. Click Translate & Adapt.
3. Select the language that you want to translate.
4. Select the localized content that you want to have translated URL slugs.
5. Navigate to the URL handle row and add your translated URL slug.

Search and Filter

You can search and filter across resources within the app.

Steps:

1. In Translate & Adapt, select the search icon (magnifying glass), and enter a search term in the search box.
2. Select the filter option to choose a specific resource.

Search results are grouped by resource type. If the word or group of words you searched for are included multiple times within a resource type, then it's displayed as one group. Selecting an individual search result will take you to that field. Search will also try to find similar words to your search term. If the field that you're trying to find isn't displayed, then try exporting the CSV from Settings > Languages to determine if it’s available in the Translation API. If the field isn't in the Translations CSV, then it isn't translatable.

Automatically translate content

You can use the Translate & Adapt app to automatically translate content. Automatic translations are provided by the Google Cloud Translation API. Before you publish translations to your storefront, you should review them for accuracy.

Note

Policies aren't automatically translated, and you can only manually translate them. Consider consulting with a professional translator to ensure that your legal and policy pages have the most accurate translations possible.

Automatically translate content for a language

If you add automatic translations, then you need to activate them for each individual language that you want to translate. After you automatically translate a language, the translations will take a few minutes to display on your storefront.

Steps:

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Apps.
2. Click Translate & Adapt.
3. Select the language that you want to translate.
4. Click Auto-translate.
5. Click Translate.

Auto-translations will be added for:

• Content that has not been translated yet
• Auto-translated content that is out of sync

Automatic translations are out of sync when the source language has been updated after running automatic translation. When you click Auto-translate on your content, empty and outdated content will be translated. This will not change any translations that you have added, or edited, manually.

New automatic translations won't be added unless you click Auto-translate.

If new content is added (for example, a new product has been added), then you need to return to the app and click Auto-translate again to add the translations to the new content, in each language.

Note

You can automatically translate a maximum of 2 languages.

Automatically translate content for a single resource

If you want to automatically translate only a specific part of your content, then you can initiate an automatic translation for a single resource. After you automatically translate a single resource, the translations will take a few minutes to display on your storefront.

Steps:

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Apps.
2. Click Translate & Adapt.
3. Select the localized content that you want to translate.
4. Click Auto-translate.
5. Click Save.

Create custom content for a market

Custom content can be created to help adapt to the regional and cultural aspects in each market.

The following are some examples of how custom content can be used:

• Support regional spelling or preferred terms in a market. For example, creating a Sweaters menu title for a United States market, and a Jumpers menu title for a United Kingdom market.
• Display promotional content based on the customer's market. For example, creating a custom Thanksgiving announcement bar in October for Canadian customers.
• Use metafields to display a fixed money value for a given market. For example, creating a display in Canadian dollars that displays how much you have contributed to charities in your Canadian market.

Steps:

1. From your Shopify admin, go to the content page that you want to customize for a market. For example, to add custom content for a product page, open the product page.
2. Click More actions > Localize.
3. Select the market that you want to display customized content for from the drop-down list.
4. Optional: Select the language that you want to display customized content for from the drop-down list.
5. Enter your customized content into the appropriate field.
6. Click Save.

Tip

Content can only be customized in languages that have been added to a market. If a language isn't available in a market, then you can update your languages for markets.

Content can be customized in your store's default language if that language has been added to multiple markets.

Third-party app compatibility

The Translate & Adapt app is compatible with other third-party translation apps that use the Translations API. Content created with these apps will be in the Translate & Adapt app, and vice versa.

Translate & Adapt app limitations

Review the following limitations of the Translate & Adapt app:

• The Translate & Adapt app can't be used to translate certain content. Learn more about unsupported content types.
• Some languages can't be translated using the Translate & Adapt app. Learn more about unsupported languages.
• URL slugs, such as /products/en-ca/shoes can be translated into /products/es-mx/zapatos but the word products can't be translated.
• URLs slugs can't be customized for markets. Translations can only be added for URL slugs on all markets where a language is visible.
• Some Translatable Resource Types aren't supported by Translate & Adapt app search. Learn about unsupported translatable resource types.

Unsupported content types

The following types of content can't be translated with the Translate & Adapt app:

• Collection filters
• Forms created using the Forms app
• Manual payment method instructions
• Product images
• Tags
• Third-party app content that isn't hosted as a Shopify translatable resource type or storefront locale file

Unsupported languages

The following languages can't be translated with the Translate & Adapt app:

• Bengali
• Cebuano
• Corsican
• Frisian
• Haitian Creole
• Hawaiian
• Hmong
• Latin
• Nyanja (Chichewa)
• Odia (Oriya)
• Samoan
• Scots Gaelic
• Sesotho
• Tagalog (Filipino)

Unsupported translatable resource types

Search includes support for resources listed in the resource type filter. Additional resources can be searched for within CSV export. The following Translatable Resource Types aren't supported by search:

• DELIVERY_METHOD_DEFINITION
• EMAIL_TEMPLATE
• FILTER
• METAFIELD
• ONLINE_STORE_THEME_APP_EMBED
• ONLINE_STORE_THEME_SETTINGS_CATEGORY
• ONLINE_STORE_THEME_SETTINGS_DATA_SECTIONS
• PACKING_SLIP_TEMPLATE
• PAYMENT_GATEWAY
• SELLING_PLAN
• SELLING_PLAN_GROUP
• SHOP
• SHOP_POLICY

Language selectors

Note

Language selectors are part of your theme, and aren't a part of the Translate & Adapt app.

You can let customers choose their preferred language by activating language selectors in your theme. If you're using a free theme from Shopify, then language selectors are built in.

Steps:

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Online Store > Themes.
2. Find the theme that you want to edit, and then click Customize.
3. Search your theme settings for Enable language selector. It might be in Theme settings, the footer, or the header, depending on your theme and the theme developer.

If you’re not using a free theme from Shopify, then review the support documentation for your theme or contact the theme developer. You can use the Geolocation app to add language and country selectors to any theme. Language selectors can also be built for a theme.