To translate your storefront content (i.e. content that you add to the store), you will need to use an app. The default Shopify Translate & Adapt app is a convenient option, allowing you to seamlessly translate your store into two languages for free. Additional translations will incur charges.

Alternatively, there are plenty of third-party apps on the Shopify App Store that offer content translation services, each with its unique process.

To begin, choose what languages you want to add to your store. Then utilize the app to do the translations.

Step 1: In your Shopify admin, go to Settings.

Step 2: Click Languages.

Step 3: Click Add Languages then select a language.

Step 4: Click Add to add the unpublished language to your Shopify admin.

Step 5: Using your translation app, follow the steps to translate your store's content. Clicking the Translate should provide a list of available translation apps.

Step 6: Preview and Publish your new language/s.

If you only have one language available then customers will see this by default.

If you have multiple languages available then customers will then be able to select a language. However, please ensure you have enabled the language selector option via your Theme Editor. For detailed steps on enabling this, scroll down to the next section.

Notes: For more information about translating your store, read Shopify's Help Center guide.
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If you use third-party apps, then it is possible that those apps don’t support selling in multiple languages by default. To check if an app supports multiple languages, contact the app's developer.

To allow your customers to change the language of your store, you need to enable the language selector option within your theme. You can do this either through your Header section and your Footer section.

Step 1: Within your Shopify admin, go to Online Store > Themes.

Step 2: Go to your selected theme, and select Customize.

Step 3: There are two sections where you can add the language selector for customers to find:

1. Header

2. Footer Bottom

Both sections need to be enabled separately if you want to display both.

Step 4: Scroll down to the Language selector setting, and select Enable language selector.

Step 5: Save your changes.

Example of language selector in the Header:

Want to translate your storefront into right-to-left languages (such as Arabic)? Read our FAQ: How can I translate my store into right-to-left languages?