Overview

The three separate layers of language in the app, and which one you need.

Language in this app means three different things. Most cases of "I translated it but nothing changed" come from changing one layer and expecting another to update.

The three layers

Layer	What it covers	Where you change it
The app's own interface	The admin you are looking at — menus, buttons, setting names	The language control on the Dashboard. See App admin language
Your option content	Labels, option values, help text, placeholders — the words you wrote	The Translations tab on each option set, by hand or with Auto-translate. See Translate option content
The widget's fixed text	Text the app supplies — Choose file, This field is required, and every other message	Settings > Translations. See Translate widget text

Changing the app admin language does not affect your storefront. It changes the language you work in. The two storefront layers are separate from it, and from each other.

Which one do you need?

You want	Go to
To work in the app in your own language	App admin language
Your option labels and choices in your customers' languages	Translate option content
Error messages and upload prompts translated	Translate widget text
To change the wording of an error message, in one language	Translate widget text
Right-to-left layout, or non-Latin scripts	Right-to-left and non-Latin text

A complete multi-language setup

For a storefront in more than one language, set up all three layers:

1

Set the app admin language to yours

This is the language you work in.

2

Translate the widget's fixed text, per storefront language

Settings > Translations. Do this once for the store. It applies to every option set.

3

Translate your option content, per option set

On the option set's Translations tab, by hand or with Auto-translate. This is done separately for each option set.

4

Check what is not translated

Option Name fields are not translated, and neither is prefix or suffix text. See below.

5

Test each storefront

Switch language on your storefront and work through a product page in each one.

What is never translated

Not translatable	Why
Option Name	It appears on your orders. Keeping it in one language means your team reads one consistent name whatever language the customer used. See Label and Name
Prefix and suffix text	Units and symbols. For units that differ by market, use separate option sets with country rules
Option set names	Internal only
Add-on product titles	They are Shopify products — translate them with Shopify's own tools

Notes

• Translating option content may not be available on all plans. See Compare plans.

• The languages available for translation are your storefront languages, as configured in Shopify.

• The date picker's calendar has its own language setting, separate from these three layers. See Date and time picker.