Blog
Translating a Shopify store, properly
Practical guides for the parts of a store that usually stay untranslated, and honest comparisons of the translation apps merchants use.
Guides
- How to translate variant options in Shopify
Option names like Size and Color, and values like Blue or Large, are often left untranslated. Here is where they live in Shopify and how to translate them.
- How to translate hard-coded text in your Shopify theme
Text typed straight into a theme file or a Custom Liquid block is invisible to most translation tools. How to find it and get it translated.
- Multilingual SEO for Shopify: get found in every language
Translated pages only bring visitors if Google and AI assistants can find them. What to translate, what Shopify does for you, and what to avoid.
- How to translate Shopify order and shipping emails
A shopper who bought in German should get their order confirmation in German. How Shopify picks the email language and how to translate the templates.
- How to keep Shopify translations up to date
Translations go out of date the moment you add a product or change a price note. Why it happens, how to spot it, and how to keep every language in sync.
- How to add a language selector to your Shopify store
Translated pages are useless if shoppers can't switch to them. How to turn on your theme's language selector, and what to do if your theme has none.
- How much does it cost to translate a Shopify store?
Most translation apps price by words, languages or products. How to estimate your store's word count and what that means for the plan you need.
- Do translation apps slow down your Shopify store?
Some translation apps swap text in the shopper's browser or route pages through their own servers. Why that matters for speed and SEO, and how to check what your app does.
- Can you trust AI to translate 1,000 product pages?
AI translation is fast, but one wrong word can repeat across a thousand pages. The safeguards that matter: product names, a glossary, a review list and edits that are never overwritten.
- How to get your translated store found in ChatGPT and Perplexity
Shoppers increasingly ask AI assistants what to buy, in their own language. What makes a translated Shopify store show up in those answers.
- How much does each language earn your Shopify store?
Translating a store costs time and money. How to see what each language earns, so you know which ones pay off.
- Translation app pricing explained: credits, words or a flat plan?
Translation apps charge per credit, per word or per plan. How each model works, where the cost can surprise you, and how to estimate what your store needs.
Comparisons
- Shopify translation apps compared (2026)
Translate & Adapt, Weglot, T Lab, Transcy, LangShop and Unlost side by side: free plans, prices, automatic updates and what each is good at.
- Weglot alternative for Shopify: Weglot vs Unlost
Weglot and Unlost compared for Shopify stores: plans, word limits, automatic updates and what each translates.
- Translate & Adapt alternative: when Shopify’s free app is not enough
Shopify's Translate & Adapt is free, with AI translation for two languages (eight in select countries) and a weekly Auto-sync in some countries. How it compares with Unlost.
- T Lab alternative for Shopify: T Lab vs Unlost
T Lab and Unlost compared: plans, automatic translation of new content, API keys and what each app translates.
- Transcy alternative for Shopify: Transcy vs Unlost
Transcy and Unlost compared: plans priced by languages and products, automatic translation and what each app is best at.
- LangShop alternative for Shopify: LangShop vs Unlost
LangShop and Unlost compared: languages and products per plan, automatic updates and what each app translates.
- langify alternative for Shopify: langify vs Unlost
langify and Unlost compared: plans, AI words included, automatic translation of new content and what each app is good at.
- Hextom alternative for Shopify: Hextom AI Translate & Currency vs Unlost
Hextom AI Translate & Currency and Unlost compared: AI words per month, when automatic updates start and what each app is good at.
- GTranslate alternative for Shopify: GTranslate vs Unlost
GTranslate and Unlost compared for Shopify: unlimited words versus translations saved in Shopify, SEO, URL translation and quality checks.