Managing languages and currencies on Shopify
Shopify Markets is the native tool for selling in several currencies and adapting a store to different markets. For languages, the native Translate & Adapt app or third-party alternatives like Weglot or Langify handle theme and product translation — but a custom theme can still break what’s meant to work automatically.
How I approach a multilingual or multi-currency request
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Separate configuration from development
The first question is whether Shopify Markets and a properly configured translation app are enough, or whether the current theme is blocking their normal behaviour.
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Check the Shopify Markets setup
I check the per-market domains or subfolders, currency conversion, and local-currency settlement, which can depend on Shopify Payments being active depending on the setup.
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Audit the theme for language switching
I check that the language or currency selector is wired into every template, not just the homepage: that’s usually where a theme built without multi-market in mind fails.
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Check multilingual SEO
I check that hreflang tags and language-specific URLs are present and consistent, so search engines match the right language version to the right query.
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Fix in Liquid what configuration doesn’t cover
When a theme component ignores the active language or currency — a hardcoded block, a price displayed without going through Shopify’s currency filter — I step into the code directly.
What I hear regularly
- My prices don’t display in the right currency based on the visitor’s country
- I installed a translation app but some blocks in my theme stay in French
- The language switcher disappears on some pages of my theme
- I don’t know whether to use Translate & Adapt or a third-party app like Weglot
- My site doesn’t rank in search results abroad
What’s natively handled, and where the theme can interfere
Shopify Markets handles currency conversion, per-market domains or subfolders, and duty estimation for international selling. Actual settlement in local currency can depend on Shopify Payments being active, depending on the market and plan involved. On translation, Translate & Adapt is the free native app, covering the theme and product listings; third-party alternatives such as Weglot or Langify exist, with real differences in SEO handling, translation workflow and cost — there’s no obvious answer that fits every case.
For SEO to work properly across languages, consistent hreflang tags and language-specific URLs are needed, which Shopify Markets handles largely automatically once set up correctly. But a custom theme, built without anticipating multi-market selling, can still get it wrong: a language selector missing from one template, a hardcoded content block that ignores the active language, a price shown without going through Shopify’s currency filter.
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