How do I translate my theme into another language?

What you are seeing

Your products are in your own language, but the store's own wording is not: buttons such as Add to cart, the cart drawer labels, the search box and the footer links are all still in English. Or you sell to more than one country and want each visitor to read the store in their own language.

Theme text is separate content from your products, so it has to be translated on its own. There are two setups, depending on whether you need one language or several.

1. Single language

Use this when your whole store is sold in one language that is not English.

Step 1: Set your published language

Result: your storefront is now served in that language, even though the theme text has not been translated yet.

Step 2: Open the theme content editor

Result: you get the full list of theme text, grouped by where it appears in the store.

Step 3: Translate the wording you care about

Result: the new wording appears on your storefront immediately. You can translate everything, or only the strings customers actually read.

2. Multi-language

Use this when you sell into several countries and want each visitor served in their own language.

Step 1: Install the two apps

Result: both apps appear under Apps in your Shopify admin.

Step 2: Add a market

Result: the market exists but has no extra language attached to it yet.

Step 3: Add the language

Result: the language is live, but not yet tied to your new market.

Step 4: Attach the language to the market

Result: visitors in that market can now switch to the new language.

Step 5: Auto translate the theme

Result: the app translates your theme text. It can take around ten minutes. When it finishes, open your storefront and switch language to check the result.

When to contact support

Contact support if translated wording breaks the layout, for example text that overflows a button or a menu item that wraps onto two lines, or if a piece of theme text has no field to translate anywhere in Edit default theme content. Translation accuracy itself comes from Shopify's app, not from the theme.

Send this with your first message:

• Your store URL, and the URL of a page showing the problem in the translated language.
• Which language and which market the visitor is in.
• A screenshot with the problem circled.
• Theme name and version: Laurel 1.0.0, shown under the theme name in Online Store > Themes.
• A staff account for the support team.

Related pages

• How to translate a theme after adding a new default language?: what to do when the auto translation refuses to run
• Change currency : setting the currency for each market
• Staff account: how to give the support team access to your store