Setting up a multilingual Shopify store takes five steps: add the language under Settings > Languages, connect it to a market in Shopify Markets, add a language selector to your theme, translate content with the free Translate & Adapt app, then publish and test. Shopify creates a subfolder such as /en/ for each additional language and adds hreflang tags automatically.
A multilingual Shopify store serves several language and country markets from a single Shopify account, with separate language options, localized content, and country-specific pricing. Shopify manages this setup through Shopify Markets; translations can be done with the built-in Translate & Adapt app or with third-party translation tools. It lets a Turkey-based Shopify store sell to both local and global markets, but technical components such as hreflang tags, language selector widgets, URL structure, and multi-currency support have to be planned together.
Technical Foundations of a Multi-language Setup in Shopify
Shopify's multi-language architecture optimizes both user experience and search engine accessibility by including the language in the URL structure.
Each language you add in Shopify gets a URL structure like this:
- Default language (e.g., Turkish): yourdomain.com/products/product-name
- Additional language (e.g., English): yourdomain.com/en/products/product-name
This subdirectory structure is the preferred way to help Google crawl each language version correctly. Shopify also supports subdomains (en.yourdomain.com) and separate domains (yourdomain.co.uk), but subdirectories are usually more practical to manage.
hreflang tags: Once your languages are set up, Shopify automatically adds the <link rel="alternate" hreflang="tr" href="..."> and <link rel="alternate" hreflang="en" href="..."> tags to the <head> section of each page. These tags tell Google "this content has versions in other languages" and prevent the duplicate content issues that can arise when language versions aren't separated.
Important Note: hreflang tags are automatically generated only for languages supported by Shopify. If you are using a custom theme or a headless setup, verify that hreflang is generated correctly using the URL Inspection tool, the page source, or an hreflang checker (Screaming Frog, Ahrefs Site Audit).
Language Configuration with Shopify Markets
Shopify Markets (launched for all plans in 2022) lets you manage country and market settings from one place. Language settings, currency, payment methods, and domain structure are all defined in Markets.
Markets setup path: Admin → Settings → Markets → Manage
By default, the "Primary Market" is your home country (Turkey). When you add "International" or a new market, you can define separate language, currency, and shipping settings for each one.
How to Add a New Language to Shopify: Step-by-Step
Adding a new language to Shopify involves three main stages: installing the language, connecting it to Markets, and translating content with Translate & Adapt.
Step 1: Add the language to the system
Go to Admin → Settings → Languages and click Add language. Select "English" from the dropdown and confirm. This adds the language to your store, but customers won't see it yet.
Step 2: Connect the language to Markets
Go to Admin → Settings → Markets, select the market (e.g., "International"), and activate the language you added in the Languages section. The language is now active in that market, and its URL structure is created.
Step 3: Add a language selector to your store theme
Place the language selector widget where customers can see it. Official Shopify themes, including Dawn, have a built-in language selector under Online Store → Customize → Header. In custom themes, you may need to add this component manually.
Step 4: Translate content with Translate & Adapt
Install Shopify's free official app, Translate & Adapt. The app lists all translatable content in your store, including product titles, descriptions, collection names, navigation texts, email templates, and theme texts.
In the app, each item shows the source and target language side by side. The "Auto-translate" button translates the content automatically using the Google Translate API, and you can edit these translations manually.
Step 5: Publish and test the translations
Once the translations are complete, go to yourwebsite.com/en/ in your browser to verify that every page appears in English. Check that the language selector is working and that the cart and checkout pages load in the correct language.
Translate & Adapt: Features and Limitations
Translate & Adapt launched in 2022 as Shopify's official free translation tool, significantly reducing reliance on third-party translation apps.
Content types covered:
- Product titles, descriptions, variant names
- Collection titles and descriptions
- Page content (About Us, Policies)
- Navigation menu text
- Blog post titles and content
- Theme texts (button names, placeholder texts)
- Automated email notifications (order confirmation, shipping notification)
Limitations:
- Metafield data translation is limited; some metafield types are not visible in the app.
- App-generated content (third-party review apps, chat widgets) is outside the scope of Translate & Adapt.
- Video and image content is not translated; separate image uploads may be required for each language.
At Nodus Works, we've seen that most stores that start with Translate & Adapt find it sufficient for 2-3 languages. Stores usually move to Weglot when they need to translate third-party review apps or want to support 5+ languages.
SEO Configuration for Multilingual Stores
Getting the SEO setup right in a multilingual Shopify store is critical, so that search engines index each language separately and ranking equity is preserved across the language versions.
hreflang Validation
The combination of Translate & Adapt + Shopify Markets automatically generates hreflang tags. However, after adding each language, check the hreflang tags with the URL Inspection tool, the page source, or an hreflang checker (Screaming Frog, Ahrefs Site Audit). If you see missing or conflicting hreflang warnings, your theme code may be generating custom hreflang tags that conflict with the Markets tags.
URL structure and slug translation
By default, Shopify only adds a language prefix to product URLs; if you don't translate the slug, it stays the same. For example:
- /products/deri-ceket
- /en/products/deri-ceket
An untranslated slug stays in Turkish in the English URL, which is not ideal for SEO. In Translate & Adapt, you can translate the URL handle of each resource per language (e.g., /en/products/leather-jacket, /products/deri-ceket).
Meta title and description translation
Translate meta titles and meta descriptions separately for each language. Translate & Adapt also lists SEO fields, so translate them in the app rather than under "Online Store → Edit SEO". Always review machine translations manually: meta titles need precise keywords, and Google Translate can't deliver that.
Tip: In English meta titles aimed at international shoppers, add "Turkey" or "Turkish" depending on your target audience (e.g., "Leather Bags | Free Shipping to Turkey"). This helps foreign buyers interested in Turkish products find you.
Multi-Currency and Multi-Language Structure
Shopify Markets offers not only language management but also geo-specific currency display and pricing rules.
Currency setup:
Go to Admin → Settings → Markets, open the market, and select the target country's currency in the Currency section. Shopify updates exchange rates automatically every day; you can also set a fixed rate ("Fixed" mode).
Pricing rules:
You can adjust prices by a percentage or a fixed amount for each market. For example, the Turkey market uses the base price, while UK prices are 10% higher (to reflect differences in operating costs). You manage this rule in Markets, under the market's Pricing section.
Checkout currency:
Can customers pay in the currency they see? To collect payments in the local currency, your main payment provider has to be Shopify Payments or Adyen. Shopify Payments isn't available to stores based in Turkey; with other providers, payments are collected in your store currency, and the converted price shown to the customer is for information only.
Expanding from Turkey to the Global Market: Practical Configuration
Expanding a Turkey-based Shopify store to the global market requires operational planning beyond technical setup.
Which language should you add first?
If you're targeting global demand for Turkish products, English is the most logical first language to add. If there's specific demand from Germany, France, or Arab countries, you can prioritize those languages instead; however, starting with one additional language and tracking the store's SEO performance keeps operational risk to a minimum.
Why is translation quality critical?
Machine translation (Google Translate or DeepL) is a starting point for product information, but product descriptions, policy pages, and email templates should be finalized by a native speaker or a qualified translator. Poor translation directly erodes trust and increases cart abandonment. On the Lazzoni project, we at Nodus Works reworked machine-translated copy so it reads naturally to readers in the target language and sounds like it was written by a person.
Shipping and customs
Accepting international orders requires an international shipping integration and customs declarations from Turkey. The "Duties and import taxes" feature in Shopify Markets shows estimated customs duties at checkout. If you can't use this feature, you need to add this information manually to the product page or policy page.
Setting Up and Customizing the Language Selector Widget
The language selector is an interface component that allows visitors to change the store's language. Shopify's modern themes (Dawn, Refresh, Crave) include this component built-in.
Activating the language selector in the Dawn theme:
Go to Online Store → Customize → Header. Turn on the "Country/region selector" and "Language selector" toggles. The language selector will appear in the header with a flag icon or the language name.
Where should the language selector appear?
Besides the header (the most common spot), it's good practice to add it to the footer as well. On mobile devices in particular, a footer selector is visible at the point where visitors stop scrolling. Placing it in both locations improves the experience for international visitors.
Visual customization of the language selector:
In the Shopify theme editor, the appearance of the language selector (language name only, with a flag icon, or flag only) is offered as a theme option. You can restyle the button with custom CSS, but don't modify the theme's original language-switching JavaScript. If that logic breaks, the page may load incorrectly when a customer tries to switch languages.
Content Update Process in a Multilingual Store
Once your multilingual setup is live, there are a few operational points to keep in mind when you add new products and update content.
When a new product is added:
A new product is created only in the primary language. The Translate & Adapt app lists untranslated content in the "Missing translations" section. Complete the translation for all languages before the product goes live; otherwise, Turkish text will appear on the English page.
When the price is updated:
A price change in the primary currency is automatically reflected in exchange-rate-dependent prices in other markets. Markets where you have set fixed price rules are not affected; you will need to update these manually.
When the theme is updated:
Changes made to a Shopify theme can sometimes reset theme translations. After a theme update, check the "Theme content" tab in Translate & Adapt; if there are missing translations, re-add them.
At Nodus Works, our standard process for multilingual store setups is to manage new products through a "pending translations" workflow in Translate & Adapt. When a new product is created, its translation is completed by the next business day. With this system, untranslated content on the English store practically never happens.
Common Mistakes in Shopify Multi-Language Setup
1. Translating before the design is final
If you start translating before the theme design is complete, later theme updates can break your translations. Finalize the theme first, then start translating.
2. Neglecting checkout language
Even if the store homepage and product pages are translated, the checkout page (cart, payment, order confirmation) must be configured separately. For Shopify checkout language, check the Admin → Settings → Checkout → Language setting and email notifications separately.
3. Publishing automatic translations
Translate & Adapt's "Auto-translate all" feature is useful for an initial draft; however, publishing machine translations as they are makes the store look unprofessional. Human review is essential, especially for product titles, policy pages, and email templates.
4. Planning the URL structure poorly
Turkish product slugs stay in the English store too unless you translate them. If your slugs are in Turkish (e.g., deri-ceket) and you see this as a problem in the English market, translate the URL handles into English in Translate & Adapt.
5. Failing to validate hreflang
After setting up Markets + Translate & Adapt, check for hreflang errors in Google Search Console. Incorrect hreflang negatively affects the indexing of both languages and splits organic traffic.
FAQ
How to add a language to Shopify?
Go to Admin → Settings → Languages → Add language. Then activate the language in the relevant market under Admin → Settings → Markets and translate your content with the Translate & Adapt app. For the language selector, add the widget to the header in the theme editor.
Is a paid app necessary for a Shopify multi-language store?
No. Translate & Adapt is Shopify's free official translation app and is sufficient for most stores with 2-3 languages. Paid tools like Weglot or Langify are preferred for translating third-party app content, managing 5+ languages, or for more advanced translation workflows.
How does Shopify multi-language SEO work?
For each language you activate with Shopify Markets, Shopify automatically generates a subdirectory URL (/en/, /de/) and hreflang tags. Since each language has its own URL, search engines index each language as a separate page. Check that hreflang is correct with the URL Inspection tool, the page source, or an hreflang checker (Screaming Frog, Ahrefs Site Audit).
How to have Turkish and English stores simultaneously on Shopify?
Multiple languages can be configured within a single Shopify account. While the primary language remains Turkish, English is added as an additional language. Both languages share the same product catalog, stock data, and order system; only the customer-facing content (text, metadata) changes based on the language.
What is Shopify Markets and what does it do?
Shopify Markets is a platform that enables you to manage multiple geographic markets (countries or groups of countries) from a single Shopify account. For each market, you can define separate languages, currencies, shipping settings, and domain names. With Markets, you can set market-specific pricing and language combinations for three different markets, such as Turkey, the EU, and the USA.
What happens if translations are missing in Shopify?
Untranslated content will appear on the additional language page with the primary language text (Turkish). This negatively impacts the user experience and erodes trust among foreign buyers. Use Translate & Adapt's "Missing translations" filter to list missing translations and prioritize completing product titles and the checkout flow.
What is the difference between Shopify Translate & Adapt and Weglot?
Translate & Adapt is Shopify's native, free tool; it manages Shopify content and generates hreflang tags natively. Weglot scans the page with JavaScript and translates all visible text (including third-party apps); it may carry SEO risks due to JavaScript rendering. For 2-3 languages and a standard store, Translate & Adapt is sufficient.
How to set up a multilingual URL structure in Shopify?
Activate Shopify Markets and assign the additional language to a market via Markets. Shopify automatically creates a subdirectory structure like yoursite.com/en/. This structure cannot be changed; for a subdomain or separate domain, a custom domain must be defined in Markets.
Is Shopify Plus necessary for a multilingual Shopify store?
No. The basic multilingual setup (adding languages, Translate & Adapt, Markets) is available on all Shopify plans. Shopify Plus is required for enterprise features such as full customization of the checkout language and advanced B2B pricing.
Conclusion
Setting up a multilingual Shopify store is a growth strategy that requires managing both technical infrastructure (Markets, hreflang, URL structure) and operational discipline (translation quality, update process) simultaneously. For e-commerce stores in Turkey looking to expand into international markets, this infrastructure directly impacts customer trust, SEO visibility, and conversion rates.
Contact Nodus Works if you need help setting up a multilingual Shopify store, installing Translate & Adapt, or configuring Shopify Markets. We can work through every stage with you, from technical setup to translation workflow management, SEO validation, and conversion testing.
