# 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.

- Source canonique : [https://allaux.fr/en/shopify/problemes/langues-et-devises](https://allaux.fr/en/shopify/problemes/langues-et-devises)
- Langue : EN
- Dernière mise à jour : 2026-09-30

## Direct answer

> Everything is set under Settings then Markets: that is where you add a country, assign it a currency and publish languages. Translate the listings with Translate & Adapt. If the country or language selector never appears on the storefront, the theme is almost always the cause: check that theme.liquid really renders the localisation form, which is often missing from an older custom theme.

## How I approach a multilingual or multi-currency request

1. **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.
2. **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.
3. **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.
4. **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.
5. **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.

## Configuration or development, depending on what’s blocking it

> Turning on Shopify Markets and configuring a translation app properly is configuration work, not development. Fixing a missing language selector in a template, or a currency display wired incorrectly in a custom theme, needs Liquid work — I make that distinction before proposing anything.

## Worth reading next

- **Customising a theme beyond the editor** — To understand when a theme limitation is code, not configuration. ([/shopify/problemes/personnaliser-theme-au-dela-editeur](/shopify/problemes/personnaliser-theme-au-dela-editeur))
- **Custom development** — For adapting a theme to multi-market selling it wasn’t built for. ([/services/developpement-sur-mesure](/services/developpement-sur-mesure))
- **Shopify: overview** — The other Shopify topics I work on. ([/shopify](/shopify))

## FAQ

### Should I use Translate & Adapt or a third-party app like Weglot?

It depends on the volume of content to translate, the budget, and how important multilingual SEO is for the business: I can compare both options against those specific criteria before choosing.

### Why do some blocks in my theme stay in one language despite the translation app being installed?

Often because that content is hardcoded in the theme’s Liquid rather than managed as translatable content; that gets fixed in code, not in the app’s settings.

### Is Shopify Markets enough to sell in several currencies?

For display and currency conversion, yes in most cases. Actual settlement in local currency can, however, sometimes depend on Shopify Payments being active for the market in question.

### Why doesn’t my site rank in search results abroad?

It’s often a matter of missing or misconfigured hreflang tags, or URLs that don’t clearly distinguish languages: I check those two points first.

### Can a language or currency selector disappear on certain pages?

Yes, if the theme doesn’t include it in every template. It’s one of the first things I audit: a selector present on the homepage but missing from a product page is a common case.