SmartLang Documentation

1. Getting Started

Step 1: Install SmartLang

Install SmartLang from the Shopify App Store. After installation, you'll be redirected to the app dashboard.

Step 2: Configure Languages

1. Go to Settings in the sidebar
2. Your Source Language is auto-detected from your Shopify store settings
3. Select your Target Languages - these are the languages you want to translate into
4. Click Save Changes

Step 3: Set Up Your Glossary (Recommended)

Before translating, add your brand names and important terms to the Glossary. This ensures they're preserved or translated consistently across your store.

Step 4: Start Translating

Navigate to Products, Collections, or any content type and start translating!

2. Dashboard

The Dashboard provides an overview of your translation progress across all content types.

What You'll See

• Resource Cards: Shows progress for Products, Collections, Menus, Metaobjects, and Theme Content
• Progress Bars: Visual indicator of how many items have been translated
• Quick Actions: Jump directly to any section to start translating
• Plan Usage: See how many translations you've used this month

Progress Calculation

Progress is calculated based on completed translations across all your target languages. An item is considered "fully translated" when all fields have been translated to all target languages.

3. Translating Products

Product List View

The Products page shows all your Shopify products with their translation status.

Translation Status Badges:

• Completed - All fields translated to all languages
• Partial - Some translations completed
• Pending - Not yet translated
• Outdated - Source content changed since translation

Translating a Single Product

1. Click on any product row to open the detail view
2. You'll see a side-by-side editor with source text on the left and translation on the right
3. Click Translate to auto-translate using AI
4. Review and edit the translation if needed
5. Click Sync to Shopify to publish the translation

Batch Translation

Translate multiple products at once:

1. Select products using the checkboxes
2. Click Translate Selected
3. Choose your target language(s)
4. The translations will be queued and processed automatically

Translate All

To translate your entire catalog:

1. Click Translate All button
2. Select target language(s)
3. Confirm the action

Translatable Fields

SmartLang translates these product fields:

• Title
• Description (HTML preserved)
• SEO Title (meta_title)
• SEO Description (meta_description)
• Product Metafields (if enabled)

4. Translating Collections

Collections work similarly to Products. You can translate:

• Collection Title
• Collection Description
• SEO Title
• SEO Description

How to Translate Collections

1. Navigate to Collections in the sidebar
2. Select collections to translate or use "Translate All"
3. Review translations in the detail view
4. Sync to Shopify when ready

5. Translating Menus

Translate your store's navigation menus to help international customers navigate your site.

What Gets Translated

• Menu item titles
• Nested menu items (submenus)

How to Translate Menus

1. Go to Menus in the sidebar
2. You'll see all your navigation menus (Main Menu, Footer Menu, etc.)
3. Click on a menu to see all its items
4. Translate individual items or use batch translation

6. Translating Metaobjects

Metaobjects are custom content types in Shopify (like FAQs, size guides, store locations, etc.).

Supported Field Types

• Single-line text
• Multi-line text
• Rich text

How to Translate Metaobjects

1. Go to Metaobjects in the sidebar
2. Select the metaobject type (e.g., "FAQ", "Size Guide")
3. View all entries of that type
4. Translate individual entries or use batch translation

7. Translating Theme Content

Theme Content includes all the text strings in your Shopify theme (buttons, labels, section headings, etc.).

What Gets Translated

• Section headings and subheadings
• Button text
• Form labels
• Custom theme settings text

How to Translate Theme Content

1. Go to Theme Content in the sidebar
2. Browse through your theme sections
3. Select items to translate
4. Review and sync to Shopify

8. Glossary Management

The Glossary is one of SmartLang's most powerful features. It ensures your brand names, product names, and important terms are handled correctly during translation.

Term Actions

Adding Terms Manually

1. Go to Glossary in the sidebar
2. Click Add Term
3. Enter the source term
4. Select action (Keep or Translate)
5. If translating, enter translations for each target language
6. Click Save

Auto-Detected Brands

SmartLang automatically detects brand names from your product vendors. Look for the "Detected Brands" section to quickly add them to your glossary.

Glossary Limits by Plan

9. Settings

Source Language

This is the language your content is written in. It's auto-detected from your Shopify store's primary language and cannot be changed in SmartLang (change it in Shopify Admin → Settings → Languages).

Target Languages

These are the languages you want to translate into. To add a target language:

1. Make sure the language is enabled in Shopify (Admin → Settings → Languages)
2. Go to SmartLang Settings
3. Click on the language to add it
4. Save changes

Language Limits by Plan

10. Billing & Plans

Available Plans

How Translations are Counted

Each product field translated to one language counts as 1 translation.

Example: Translating 10 products (with 4 fields each) to 5 languages:

10 products × 4 fields × 5 languages = 200 translations

Upgrading Your Plan

1. Go to Billing in the sidebar
2. Review the available plans
3. Click Start 7-Day Free Trial or Upgrade
4. Confirm in Shopify's billing screen

Usage Resets

Your translation count resets on the 1st of each month.

11. Syncing to Shopify

After translating content, you need to sync it to Shopify for it to appear on your storefront.

Single Item Sync

1. Open any translated item (product, collection, etc.)
2. Review the translation
3. Click Sync to Shopify

Batch Sync

1. Select multiple items with completed translations
2. Click Sync Selected
3. Translations will be pushed to Shopify

Sync Status

• Synced - Translation is live on your store
• Not Synced - Translation exists but not pushed to Shopify
• Sync Failed - Error occurred during sync

Where to See Translations

After syncing, you can verify translations in:

1. Shopify Admin → Settings → Languages → View translations
2. Your storefront (switch language using your language selector)

12. Frequently Asked Questions

Need Help?

If you have questions not covered in this documentation, please contact us:

• Email: [email protected]

We typically respond within 24 hours on business days.