Set the language for your store by adjusting the Languages settings, then use the Edit languages settings to modify the current language for your theme.
Access the Languages settings
- Open Settings
- Open Languages
Change to another language set
In most cases, themes will come pre-packaged with complete translations in one or more languages.
In the Published languages section, select Change default.
In the modal window, select the desired language from the Language dropdown.
Manually translate the language
In some cases, languages will have to be manually translated using the Edit languages settings.
Use these settings to change the wording of a theme feature.
Access the Edit languages settings
- In the Online Store, locate your theme
- Open the [···] (Actions) menu
- Select Edit languages
Sculpting your language
This open framework allows for not just other languages, but also other terms, wordings, and phrasing. For example, a store might prefer “Bag” to “Cart”—which can be modified using the Edit languages settings.
Translating dynamic checkout buttons
The theme is unable to control how the text of dynamic checkout buttons are presented. These are controlled by the Shopify platform and the payment providers activated for the store.
Navigate the language editor
The language editor is organized through tabs that correspond to elements of your theme (General, Blogs, Cart, Collections, Contact, etc.). In most cases, translations are created from scratch by entering them into the form.
Searching and filtering translations
Search for translations by using the Search field. Use keywords that match portions of the desired text.
Use the Filter dropdown to locate missing translations.
Code change considerations for language
Every theme is required to replace all the hard-coded website content with translation keys. That is, hard-coded strings (e.g. "Checkout" or "Recent posts") are replaced with a translation key and tagged with a translation filter.
e.g.
<span>{{ 'element.tag.id' | t }}</span>
The element.tag.id is the translation key— and generally a placeholder for the translation. The t tag is the filter, which acts as the gatekeeper between the translation key and the particular translations stored in the locale file. Locale files represent individual languages and house all the translations to be used for the site.