Supported languages
Lapels ships its own interface already translated. These are the theme’s own strings. That covers button labels, badges, messages, form labels, the names screen readers read out, and every setting label you read in the theme editor.
They are not your catalog. Translating your product, collection, and page content is a separate job, covered at the foot of this page.
The bundled languages
Section titled “The bundled languages”Fourteen locales in total: English, which is the default, plus thirteen translations.
| Language | Shown in the picker as | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| English (default) | English | Left to right |
| French | Français | Left to right |
| German | Deutsch | Left to right |
| Spanish | Español | Left to right |
| Italian | Italiano | Left to right |
| Portuguese (Brazil) | Português (Brasil) | Left to right |
| Dutch | Nederlands | Left to right |
| Japanese | 日本語 | Left to right |
| Simplified Chinese | 简体中文 | Left to right |
| Korean | 한국어 | Left to right |
| Swedish | Svenska | Left to right |
| Danish | Dansk | Left to right |
| Polish | Polski | Left to right |
| Arabic | العربية | Right to left |
The language picker lists each language in its own name rather than in English, because a shopper looking for their language is not reading yours.
Arabic is the only right-to-left language in the set. Lapels mirrors its whole layout automatically when a right-to-left language is active. There is no setting for it, and nothing to configure. See Translations & internationalization for what mirroring covers.
Every language ships in two halves
Section titled “Every language ships in two halves”Each language is a pair of files, and both are included for all thirteen:
- The storefront half translates what your customers read.
- The theme-editor half translates what you read while customizing. That means section names, setting labels, and the help text under a field.
That second half is the one themes commonly skip. Without it, a merchant working in German gets a German storefront and an English theme editor. Lapels ships both, so the whole product is in the language you chose.
How the storefront language is chosen
Section titled “How the storefront language is chosen”The languages available to shoppers are the ones you publish in Shopify admin under Settings → Languages, not something set in the theme. Publish a language there and Lapels serves that language’s translated interface text automatically.
Switching between them is the shopper’s to do, through the language picker. In the footer it is the Country and language block, which ships in the default footer with the picker already on. In the header it is Show language selector under Localization, which is off by default. Either way, the picker appears only when more than one language is published. With a single language there is nothing to switch between, so Lapels does not draw a control.
If you publish a language Lapels does not bundle, nothing breaks: Shopify falls back to English for the theme’s own wording until you supply translations for it.
Translating your catalog is a separate step
Section titled “Translating your catalog is a separate step”The bundled locales cover the theme’s own strings only. Your product titles and descriptions, collection names, page and blog copy, menu labels, image alt text, and policies are store data. You translate them with Shopify’s free Translate & Adapt app, under the matching resource.
Publishing a language in Settings → Languages is what makes it available to shoppers. Translate & Adapt is what fills it with your content.
For the full workflow, see Translations & internationalization. It covers editing theme wording, the country and language pickers, currency and markets, and right-to-left behavior.
Related: Translations & internationalization · Performance & accessibility · Setup guide · Lapels support replies within 12 hours.