> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.elevateab.com/elevate-helpcenter/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.elevateab.com/elevate-helpcenter/page-testing/shopify-translate-and-adapt.md).

# Shopify Translate & Adapt

Many merchants use the official Shopify **Translate & Adapt** app to translate their storefront into different languages for each market. If your store uses Translate & Adapt, you'll need to manually translate your test variations — auto-translation of variants created in Elevate is not currently supported.

This guide walks you through how to translate your test variants so the experiment works correctly across all languages.

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### Why This Is Needed

Page experiments use Shopify's alternate template system. Each variation is a separate template file in your theme. Translate & Adapt stores translations at the template level — so when Elevate creates a new variation template, it has no translations by default.

If you skip this step, visitors viewing the variation in a non-default language will see untranslated content, which can hurt the experience and skew your test results.

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### How to Translate Test Variants

#### Step 1: Create Your Test Variant in Elevate

Set up your experiment in Elevate as normal. When you create a variation, Elevate generates a new template file with a naming convention that includes an `eab-` suffix followed by a template ID — for example, `product.eab-abc123.json`. This is how you'll identify your variation template in the Translate & Adapt app.

#### Step 2: Make Your Changes to the Variant

Before translating, finalize all edits on the variation template in the **Shopify Theme Editor**. This ensures your translations apply to the actual content visitors will see during the test — not to content you're about to change.

Get the variation looking exactly how you want it in the default language first, then move to translation.

#### Step 3: Translate the Variant in Translate & Adapt

1. Open the **Translate & Adapt** app in Shopify
2. In the navigation sidebar, look for your variation template using the `eab-` identifier from Step 1
3. Translate the content for each market/language your store supports

Make sure to translate everything that appears on the page — headings, descriptions, button text, section content, and any other visible text. The translations should be equivalent to what exists on your control template, with only the intentional test changes differing.

#### Step 4: Review and Launch

Once translations are saved, review the variation in each language before launching:

* If you have a **VPN**, use it to view the store from different geographic locations and confirm the correct translations load for each market
* Alternatively, use Shopify's **market preview** to check how the page looks in each language
* Pay attention to layout — translated text can be longer or shorter than the original, which may affect spacing and element positioning

Once everything looks good, launch your test in Elevate.

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### Common Issues

**Can't find the variation template in Translate & Adapt** Look for the template name containing the `eab-` prefix. If your control template is `product.json`, the variation will be something like `product.eab-abc123.json`. Use the search or scroll through the template list in the sidebar.

**Variation shows untranslated content in some languages** The variation template hasn't been fully translated. Go back to Translate & Adapt and check that all sections of the variation have translations for every language.

**Layout looks broken in certain languages** Some languages produce significantly longer text than English (German and French are common examples). Check that your variation layout handles longer text gracefully — this can happen on the control too, but it's worth verifying on your variations.

**Experiment not running for some locales** If your store uses Shopify Markets with locale-specific URL prefixes (e.g., `/fr/`, `/de/`), Elevate handles these automatically. But during QA, visit the experiment page through each locale prefix to confirm it's working.

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### Best Practice

Build translation into your experiment workflow so it doesn't become an afterthought:

1. Create the variation in Elevate
2. Customize it in the Shopify Theme Editor
3. **Translate it in Translate & Adapt**
4. Review in each language
5. Launch the experiment

This ensures every visitor sees a properly translated page, regardless of which variation they're assigned to — keeping the experience clean and the data reliable.