There are plenty of blogs out there in the Shopify universe that talk about the importance of localization. But they usually only go so far as to tell you what it is or why it’s important, which isn’t going to help you if you have no idea how to get started.
If you want your e-commerce store to be successful, you need to make it available in as many currencies and languages as possible.
In this article, I will go over the importance of localizing Shopify for a foreign market, what’s a good localization strategy, and related essential tools.
Table of Contents
Why Is Localization Important?
The answer is simple: global reach! Localized content is one of the ways to improve user experience on your e-commerce store and reach customers from all over the world. If customers can’t find what they’re looking for in their native language, they might leave the site without making a purchase.
In fact, online shoppers do this quite often by abandoning their carts if a website or app doesn’t support their preferred language. Therefore, localization is essential to your strategy if you want to grow your business and develop an international customer base.
Language Translation for Shopify
Shopify offers a variety of language translation options to help you facilitate translations for your content management system on the Shopify platform. These include:
- CMS Translation Softwares include free plugins and apps that allow you to translate your product titles, descriptions, and metadata into a new language. They also allow you to translate your store’s navigation tabs, customer service, privacy policy, and more.
Although several apps in the Shopify App Store allow you to translate various aspects of your store, you can opt for a more versatile and user-friendly CMS translation software for your e-commerce store needs for even better results.
- Google Translate API – This API is free and allows you to use Google Translate to translate content on your website. You can use it for individual pages or entire websites by installing the plugin on each page that needs translating.
- Google Translate API for Shopify – This API allows you to integrate Google Translate directly into your store’s backend so that all translations are done automatically when a customer purchases an item from your store.
Currency Conversion for Shopify
If you have a multilingual store, then the currency conversion is an absolute must. Currency conversion for Shopify stores lets your customers see prices in their native currency and can increase your conversion rates significantly.
Shopify already has built-in currency conversion features, but they’re limited compared to what third-party apps offer.
The most significant limitation is that you can only use one base currency (USD) to display prices on your website and keep track of transactions in different currencies, so you may want to consider third-party solutions instead.
Picking the Right Shopify Theme for Your Multilingual Store
One of the most common mistakes people make when setting up their store is choosing a theme that doesn’t support their language.
If you’re planning to launch your store in multiple languages, choosing a theme that can easily be translated and customized for each language is important.
Shopify offers both free and paid themes, so there are plenty of options available to you. However, if you’re just starting, there might be insufficient time or resources to create a custom theme for every language. In this case, you should look for themes designed with multilingual stores in mind.
How to Optimize Your Multilingual Shopify Store for SEO
If you have a multilingual Shopify store, you should ensure that your titles and descriptions are translated into all the languages used on your website.
It’s also worth considering using structured data markup (JSON-LD) or microdata if you want to get even more out of your content optimization efforts.
These processes will help increase your page rankings in local search results because it enables Google to understand what each page is about without relying solely on keywords.
Conclusion
The basic concepts of localization and translation can be daunting. It may seem intimidating if you’re new or expecting to translate or localize a site that hasn’t been done before. However, with a bit of care and planning, you can translate your site in no time.
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