Internationalization
Shopify helps merchants expand their business to a global audience, sell to multiple countries, and scale internationally. This means that many merchants need to sell in multiple languages and currencies.
This guide describes the process of internationalizing your app, offers definitions associated with the concept of internationalization, and provides a list of use cases for internationalization.
How it works
Anchor link to section titled "How it works"Internationalization helps merchants expand their business to a global audience by creating shopping experiences in local languages and currencies.
The following diagram illustrates the different stages in the process of internationalizing your app:
- Prepare strings: The first stage in internationalizing your app includes preparing localized strings. This involves externalizing strings, getting access to the user's locale, formatting strings, and translating strings in your app.
- Manage your App Store listing: After you've prepared localized strings, you can promote your app to a global audience by writing an app listing and translating the app listing.
Definitions
Anchor link to section titled "Definitions"The following definitions provide a starting point for understanding key terms associated with internationalizing your app:
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Internationalization | Building your app and interface so it can be used in different locales. This includes creating flexible interfaces that allow for text expansion and changes to word order. |
| Localization | Adapting your app and interface for different locales to make them a good cultural fit. This includes adapting features, changing visuals, and translating text. |
| Translation | Converting text from one language to another. Not to be confused with localization, translation is just one part of localizing a product. |
- The merchant is going global as their addressable market is growing, and their buyers live in different parts of the world.
- The merchant has staff that use the Shopify admin in multiple languages.
- You want to promote your app in the Shopify community. Shopify promotes localized apps in the App Store over apps that aren’t localized.
- You want to sell your app cross-border in other markets.
- Learn how to get started with internationalizing your app.