Languages and markets
Change the wording of your store, translate it into other languages and let customers choose their country, currency and language.
You need: nothing to change the wording · the free Translate & Adapt app for other languages · Markets settings in your Shopify admin for other countries · 15 minutes to a few hours, depending on how much you translate.
Which languages Alpha Start includes
Section titled “Which languages Alpha Start includes”Alpha Start comes with storefront text in English only. Buttons, labels and messages such as “Add to cart” or “Thanks for subscribing” are in English when you install the theme. Translations into other languages are not included in the theme. You can change any of these texts yourself and add translations with Translate & Adapt, as described below.
Change the wording in your main language
Section titled “Change the wording in your main language”Every fixed text of the theme can be changed without code, for example “Add to cart” to “Add to bag”.
- In your Shopify admin, open Online Store → Themes.
- Click … next to Alpha Start and choose Edit default theme content.
- Search for the text, for example
Add to cart, or open a group in the list. - Enter your wording and click Save.
Leave the parts in double curly brackets, such as {{ count }}, as they are: the theme puts numbers and names there.
Texts you type in the theme editor, such as section headings and button labels, are changed in the theme editor itself, not in the theme content.
Step 1. Add languages and markets in Shopify admin
Section titled “Step 1. Add languages and markets in Shopify admin”Languages
- In your Shopify admin, open Settings → Languages and click Add language.
- Choose the language. Shopify installs the Translate & Adapt app if it isn’t installed yet.
- Open Apps → Translate & Adapt, choose the language and translate your products, collections, pages and the theme. In the theme resources, you translate both the fixed texts of the theme and the texts you typed in the theme editor. You can use auto-translation and then correct it.
- Back in Settings → Languages, publish the language.
Markets
- In your Shopify admin, open Settings → Markets.
- Add the countries and regions you sell to, and choose their currency and language.
- Save the market.
Step 2. Show the selectors in the theme editor
Section titled “Step 2. Show the selectors in the theme editor”The country and language selectors are in the bottom row of the footer.
- In the theme editor, click Footer in the left sidebar.
- Under Bottom row, turn on Show country/region selector. Info in the editor: “Shown when the store sells to more than one country/region. To add one, go to Settings > Markets”
- Turn on Show language selector. Info in the editor: “Shown when the store has more than one language. To add one, go to Settings > Languages”
- Click Save.
The country selector shows the current country with its currency, for example “Canada (CAD $)”. The language selector shows the current language. Both lists open upwards. When a customer picks a country or a language, the page reloads with the new prices or text.
Check the result
Section titled “Check the result”Open your storefront and scroll to the footer. Choose another country: prices change to its currency. Choose another language: the theme texts and your translated content switch to it. Check a product page and the cart, where most theme texts are.
Why don’t the selectors appear in the footer?
Section titled “Why don’t the selectors appear in the footer?”A selector appears only when there is something to choose: the country selector needs more than one country or region in your markets, and the language selector needs more than one published language. Also check that the settings are on in the Footer section.
Why are some texts still in English after I added a language?
Section titled “Why are some texts still in English after I added a language?”Those texts aren’t translated yet. Open Translate & Adapt, choose the language and look for empty fields in the theme resources. Text without a translation is shown in your main language.
Can I change the wording in one language only?
Section titled “Can I change the wording in one language only?”Yes. Edit default theme content changes your main language. For other languages, change the translation in Translate & Adapt.
Can I add the selectors to the header?
Section titled “Can I add the selectors to the header?”Not in the theme editor. The theme shows them in the footer only.