Shopify: keep product translations up to date
You change the material or care instructions on a product page. The Swedish text is correct, but the English still describes the old version. Shopify Translate & Adapt can now keep machine translations updated each week. That removes a recurring task, but translations someone has corrected by hand still need separate follow-up.
Shopify's October 9 update applies to stores in Sweden and Denmark, among other countries. Here is a routine for a Swedish store already selling in English: update the product, choose when to run the translation, and check the text that automation leaves untouched.
Source: Shopify: Auto-sync translations for up to eight languages.
Check access and choose languages carefully
Open Apps > Translate & Adapt in Shopify admin. If the app displays Translate now, your store has access to up to eight automatically translated languages in addition to its default language, plus Auto-sync. Shopify describes this as AI translation. Its help page says the button indicates access even for a store outside the listed countries.
Choose a language the store actually needs. Every language translated automatically uses one of your language slots. You cannot switch it to another language later, and removing the language does not reset the limit. Do not use an extra language simply to test the feature.
Source: Shopify Help Center: automatic translation availability and limits.
Workflow: from a changed product description to checked English
Carry out these steps yourself in Shopify. The menu labels follow the English documentation. This is our suggested routine, not a built-in app template.
- Finish the source text. Choose a product that needs updating and save the correct Swedish text. Note what changed, such as material, dimensions, or care instructions. Link to the product in your work list.
- Check for previous manual edits. Has someone written or edited the English translation manually? Add it to a separate list for manual updates. Automation does not overwrite these translations, even when the Swedish text has changed.
- Choose now or weekly. For a product change that needs translating now, select the localized content in Translate & Adapt, click Translate now, then Save. For recurring maintenance, select the language and turn on Auto-sync translations. Confirm with Turn on Auto-sync if a dialog appears.
- Read the result against your change list. Compare the English text with the new Swedish version. Check dimensions, material, care instructions, and wording that affects the customer's buying decision. Correct errors manually and mark that text for continued manual follow-up.
- Check the customer's page. Open the English product page after the update. Record the check date and reviewer. If the change is not visible, the work is not finished simply because a translation has started.
Source for controls and translation behavior: Shopify Help Center: translate a single resource and enable Auto-sync.
Auto-sync means weekly, not immediately
Auto-sync is off by default and enabled separately for each language. It runs on the same day and time each week. Turning it on does not start a translation immediately; the first run can be up to a week away. For an unpublished language, it waits until the next weekly time after the language is published.
Use Translate now when a product change must be correct in English before a campaign. If you translate the whole language, you receive an email when the job finishes; larger stores can take a few hours. That has a different scope from translating a single resource.
Source: Shopify Help Center: Auto-sync timing and one-time translation.
Save this checklist for the next product change
- Product link and what changed in the source text.
- Languages that need updating.
- Translations that were written or edited manually.
- Selected run: Translate now or the next Auto-sync.
- Check of changed product facts on the translated page.
- Date, reviewer, and any outstanding corrections.
Use the same list for each product change. It catches both machine translations needing an update and manually edited text that could otherwise be forgotten.
Your store's legal policies cannot be translated automatically. Some existing theme text is also excluded from updates. A completed run is therefore not proof that the entire store has been updated. Shopify recommends reviewing translations before publishing them to the storefront.
Source: Shopify Help Center: content that automation does not update.
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