Anyone who wants to translate a Shopify store quickly ends up with a translation app or an external service. At LOULEX it was a service that sat in front of the store as a layer and swapped the text only on the way out. That had three catches: the translations lived in someone else's system, not in Shopify. They could only be edited there. And the service cost 299 € a month.
Today a bot of our own translates directly in Shopify, once an hour, in seven languages. This article shows what Shopify already brings to the table and how the bot is built.
Before: translation service
- Shopifyonly knows German
- Translation serviceswaps text on the way out
- Customers abroad
The translations live with the provider. They can only be edited there, and the service cost 299 € a month.
Today: our own bot
- Botonce an hour
- Shopifystores all seven languages
- Customers abroad
The translations live in the store. Shopify serves them itself, even if the bot isn't running.
Multilingual Shopify: what Shopify already does
Shopify stores translations natively and serves them itself. For Google, the structure matters as well: languages per market, a URL per language, hreflang and sitemaps. Shopify handles most of that on its own.
| Task | Does Shopify handle it? |
|---|---|
| Store and serve translations | Yes, per language for products, collections, pages and menus |
| Theme text such as footer, buttons and cart | Yes, in separate fields that have to be translated as well |
| Set languages per market | Yes, in Shopify Markets, with a default language per market |
| A URL per language | Yes, for example with /fr at the start of the path |
| hreflang and sitemap | Yes, for all published languages |
| Number of languages | Up to 20, up to 30 on Shopify Plus |
| Translate automatically | Only two languages, with Shopify's own Translate & Adapt app |
| Keep new and changed text up to date | No, someone has to trigger it |
A mistake we see when we check stores: products and pages are translated, the theme text isn't. Footer, buttons and cart notes stay German because they live in separate fields. Every page then shows two languages side by side, and your customers notice right away.
So the fields are there. What's missing is someone who fills them and keeps them current. That's exactly what the bot does.
What our bot does every hour
The process is deliberately small and starts over every hour:
- LookWhat's missing or outdated?
- Translatewith Claude, against the glossary
- SafeguardCheckanything odd goes to quarantine
- Writeas a native Shopify translation
- Reportevery change by email
The bot also writes into the theme's language files. Footer, buttons and cart are translated just like the products. The source stays German, maintained in the Shopify admin as before. Seven languages, around 14,000 words per language. The next run picks up new or changed text without anyone having to trigger it.
Another language doesn't mean another subscription. It gets enabled in Shopify, receives its glossary entries, and the next runs translate the catalog. That costs model usage once, and afterwards only for new and changed text. Shopify sets the limit at 20 languages, 30 on Shopify Plus.
The glossary protects the brand
A model happily translates everything, including product names and technical terms. The glossary defines how brand and technical terms are translated and what never gets translated. Without that list, automatic translation is a matter of luck.
The check is strict where it hurts
Translating is the easy part. The difference lies in the check afterwards. HTML and Liquid code must stay unchanged, and so must links, numbers and placeholders. Anything odd goes to quarantine instead of into the store. If findings pile up, the run stops. That way a broken placeholder doesn't land in seven languages at once. An example of how the check decides:
| Source | Translation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Nur noch {{ count }} auf Lager | Only {{ count }} left in stock | Goes into the store |
| Nur noch {{ count }} auf Lager | Solo quedan {{ cuenta }} | Quarantine: placeholder changed |
| Gratis-Versand ab 50 € | Free shipping from 60 € | Quarantine: number changed |
Traceable and reversible
Every run writes a log with the previous values. A rollback undoes a complete run. Fields the team corrected in the Shopify admin themselves stay untouched.
There's also a hard limit: at most 5,000 words and 300 fields per hour. That keeps costs predictable and stops a mistake from hitting the whole catalog.
What it brought at LOULEX
- Translation service in front of the store
- 299 €
- gone
299 €less, every month
- languages as native Shopify translations, maintained from the German source
- 7
- words per language, new and changed text updated every hour
- ~14,000
Source: LOULEX case study
And the translations belong to the store. They live in Shopify, not in someone else's system.
The translation was one part of the rebuild. At the same time six apps went out, and their features now sit in the theme. How we chose them is in the article Replace Shopify apps. Numbers and details of the whole project: LOULEX: six apps out, seven languages in our own hands.
Frequently asked questions
Can you translate Shopify without a translation app?
Yes. Shopify stores translations itself. You can fill them with Shopify's own Translate & Adapt app (automatic for two languages), via CSV import, or with your own solution through the Admin API, as in the example above.
How many languages does Shopify support?
Up to 20 languages in one store, up to 30 on Shopify Plus. You decide in Shopify Markets which language is offered in which market.
What does another language cost?
No extra subscription. Translating the catalog the first time costs model usage once, and afterwards only for new and changed text.
What happens to the translations if the bot is switched off?
They stay in the store. They are native Shopify translations, so Shopify keeps serving them. New text would then have to be translated by hand or some other way.