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Languages, markets, and translations

Last updated on Jul 14, 2026

Languages, markets, and translations

Selling in more than one language or country is a Shopify feature. You set it up in the Shopify admin, and the theme shows the result: translated content, a language selector, and a country selector. This article points you to each piece.

Add a language

In the Shopify admin, go to Settings, then Languages. Add the language you want and publish it. Your store now has more than one published language, and the theme's language selector appears so shoppers can switch. Until a second language is published, the selector stays hidden, which is expected.

The language selector shows in the top bar and the footer. Each of those articles covers turning it on and placing it.

Translate your content

Shopify's free Translate & Adapt app translates your store. Install it from the Shopify App Store, then translate:

  • Your products, collections, pages, blog posts, and navigation.
  • the theme's own text (button labels, form prompts, and other theme wording) under the app's Theme section. These strings live in the theme's language files, and Translate & Adapt edits them for you, so you do not touch code.

Machine translation gives you a starting point in the app; review and refine the wording before you rely on it.

Sell in more than one country

To sell across countries with local currencies or prices, use Shopify Markets (Settings, then Markets). A market can cover one country or a group of them. When a market offers more than one country, the theme's country selector appears next to the language selector, so a shopper can pick their country and see local pricing.

Right-to-left languages

The theme supports right-to-left languages (such as Arabic and Hebrew): the whole layout mirrors when the active language is right-to-left. See Brand and regional settings for the related controls.

Tips

  • The selectors are driven by your Shopify setup, not by a theme setting. If a selector does not appear, check that you have a second published language (for the language selector) or a market with more than one country (for the country selector).
  • Translate the theme's theme text as well as your products. A half-translated page (translated products, English buttons) reads as unfinished to a shopper.