How To Translate Shopify Metafields and Metaobjects

Metafields and metaobjects allow Shopify merchants to customize their storefront according to their exact needs.

Indeed, metafields give you the ability to store and display information that isn’t accounted for in the default Shopify settings — for example, a sunglasses store could create a metafield that indicates the level of polarization for each pair of glasses. And with metaobjects, you can combine multiple metafields into one convenient chunk of reusable structured data. 

If you ship your products internationally, you should know that there are a couple different ways to translate your metafields and metaobjects in Shopify — we’ll walk you through each of these methods below.

Using the Translate & Adapt App for Metafields and Metaobjects

Metafields and metaobjects can be translated through the Translate & Adapt app, which was developed by Shopify themselves and is available to all merchants at absolutely no cost. 

Once you’ve installed the app (there’s a decent chance that you’ve done this already without realizing it — Translate & Adapt is automatically installed once you add a new language to your store), all you need to do is follow these steps to translate metafields on Shopify:

• Log in to your Shopify account and select the “Apps” option in the left sidebar of the main dashboard.
• This will open a popup window listing all the apps you’ve installed on your store — from here, you can open the Translate & Adapt app. 
• Use the dropdown menu located near the top of the page to select which language you’re translating your content into. 
• Open the type of resource that you would like to translate, such as a product page or blog post. 
• Select the specific page you want to translate.
• The translation editor is split into a side-by-side view — on the left you’ll find your content presented in your store’s default language, and on the right there are empty fields for your translations. If a page has any metafields, they’ll be listed on the left, and you can add your translations on the right.

The process for translating metaobjects is similar to translating metafields — the only difference is that metafields are included as items within resources, while metaobjects are categorized as their own resource:

• Open Translate & Adapt. 
• Select the “Metaobjects” resource.
• Select whichever metaobject you would like to translate. 
• Add your translations to the empty fields on the right. 

Using the CSV Method to Translate Metafields and Metaobjects

If you’re having any trouble translating your metafields or metaobjects through the Translate & Adapt app, another option is to use the CSV method.

First, you’ll need to download the spreadsheet file that contains your translations:

• Select the “Settings” option in the left sidebar of the main Shopify dashboard.
• Select the “Languages” option in the left sidebar of the settings page.
• Click on the “Export” button.

The following export settings are available:

• Language: You can choose “All languages” or select a specific language that you would like to export.
• Translation status: You can choose to download only outdated content or content that has not yet been translated, which may make editing the file more manageable. 
• Content: This option allows you to select specific types of content to download for translation, including metafields and metaobjects. 
• File: You can either download a CSV for spreadsheet programs (Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, etc.) or a CSV for text editors.

Once you finish configuring these settings and hit the “Export” button, the CSV file will be emailed to you.

You’ll find that this spreadsheet has the following columns:

• Type: The type of resource (product, collection, etc.)
• Identification: The resource ID
• Field: The type of field for the translated content (title, body_html, etc.)
• Locale: The language that the content is being translated into
• Market: If applicable, the market that the content was created for
• Status: If the content is up-to-date this column will be empty; if it is outdated this column will read “outdated”
• Default content: The content written in your store’s default language
• Translated content: This column is where you add your translations

The only column you should be modifying in your CSV file is “Translated content”. Also, if you’re using a spreadsheet program rather than a text editor to work on this file, make sure the default delimiter is set to commas rather than semicolons — otherwise, the columns may not render correctly. 

Once you’ve finished adding your translations to the spreadsheet, the final step is to import the updated CSV file back into your Shopify account:

• Go back to the “Languages” section of your Shopify settings.
• Click on the “Import” button. 
• Select “Add file” to import your spreadsheet from your personal computer files (you can also drag and drop the file into this space).
• Determine whether or not you would like to overwrite any existing translations, and then select “Upload and continue”. 
• Review the import summary — if everything checks out, click on the “Import” button.  

Building Custom Data Models with Shogun Page Builder

Shogun Page Builder’s CMS Collections feature is quite similar to metafields and metaobjects, as it allows you to create your own custom data models for your Shopify store. 

CMS Collections can be referenced as variables in Custom Elements, which is a Shogun feature that allows you to custom-code your own content for use within Shogun Page Builder.

Let’s face it — a lot of online stores look the same these days. Many merchants sell similar products and services, and they use similar ecommerce templates and features to do so.

With CMS Collections and Custom Elements, you can create truly unique shopping experiences. You’ll be able to stand out from the competition, grab the attention of those who visit your store, and address highly specific customer needs. 

Another benefit of CMS Collections is that any changes you make will automatically be reflected on every page where the collection is deployed. For example, let’s say you’ve previously created a CMS Collection for the sizing of a jacket and now you need to update these details — instead of going in and manually updating each page that happens to reference this information, you would only need to make the edit once.

Translating Your Store with Shogun’s Personalization App

Finally, it’s worth noting that Shogun’s personalization app offers a particularly intuitive way to manually translate content for your Shopify store.

This app allows you to create custom audience segments based on a variety of different conditions, including the visitor’s location. You’ll then be able to publish a version of your storefront that is only shown to these particular visitors. 

For example, let’s say you want to translate a page into Spanish. Shogun allows you to design a new variant of the page using Shopify’s built-in theme editor, so you can see exactly what the live page will look like as you’re translating its content. And once you’re done making these edits, you can set it up so that this translated version of the page is only shown to visitors from Spanish-speaking regions of the world.

The point of all this is that while you could just rely on the visitor’s browser to translate your content for you, these automatic translations often have errors or are at least missing cultural context. 

By taking the time to set up a more accurate translation, you’ll provide your visitors who speak another language with a better user experience, ultimately leading to more brand loyalty, a higher conversion rate, and more success for your store.