Set Up Shopify Translations in Airtable: Columns and Steps

In Shopify, fields like title, description, handle, and SEO copy can be translated for each store language, and optionally for a specific market. Shoppers see the translation when they shop in that language or market, and the original value when there’s no translation.

Translating in the Shopify admin happens one field, one record, and one language at a time. For larger catalogs and several languages, there’s no overview of what’s translated and what isn’t.

AirPower brings translations into Airtable. Each language and market gets its own column on the data type’s table, next to the original values. Download current translations, edit them in bulk, and send them back to Shopify.

Translations work on Products, Variants, Collections, Blogs, Blog posts, Pages, and metaobjects. For translated metafields, see Bulk Edit Shopify Metafield Translations. For metaobject entries, see Bulk Edit Shopify Metaobject Translations.

For a summary of every field and what goes back to Shopify, see Bulk edit Shopify translations with Airtable.

Before you start

Your store needs at least one language besides its main one, or at least one market. Each data type’s tab then has a Translations card.

Translation sections

The Translations card has one section per language and scope.

Global
A section marked Global holds the translation for that language in every market. It appears for each additional store language.

For a specific market
A section marked with a market, such as For France market, holds a translation that only applies in that market. It overrides the global translation there. Market sections also appear for the store’s main language, so wording can vary by market.

Add translations

1. On the dashboard, click Edit on your Shopify to Airtable sync
2. Click the data type’s tab, such as Products
3. Click Whole product
4. In Translations, find the section for the language and scope you want
5. Click + Add a translation
6. Choose the Translation field, such as Title, and the Airtable column it goes to
7. Click Save in the save bar
8. In Save changes, keep the data type ticked and click Save changes

Until a translation is added, the card shows only in the Whole view. If the column doesn’t exist yet, the card shows a Create column button. Use a long text column for translated descriptions.

Download translations

Shopify doesn’t tell apps when translations change, so translations update only when you download them. Saving the sync downloads them. To download them again later:

1. On the Shopify to Airtable sync’s page, click Settings
2. Find Download data
3. Click Download next to Translations

The dashboard sync card has the same download in its Download now menu.

Each download overwrites the translation columns. When a record has no translation for a column’s language and scope, that cell is cleared.

Send translations to Shopify

The data type needs to be on the sync. If it isn’t, add it with Add data first.

1. On the dashboard, click Edit on your Airtable to Shopify sync
2. Click the data type’s tab, such as Products
3. Click Whole product
4. In Translations, find the section for the language and scope
5. Click + Add a translation, then choose the Airtable column and the Translation field it sends to
6. Click Save in the save bar
7. Click Sync now

Blank cells remove translations
Each run sends every translation column. A blank cell removes that translation from Shopify, so add only the languages and scopes you keep in Airtable.

Original value required
A translation is skipped when the record’s field has no value in the store’s main language.

What you’ll see after saving

After a download, each translation column holds the translated value for its language and scope. After an Airtable to Shopify run, the translations show in the Shopify admin’s Translate & Adapt app and on the storefront for that language or market.

Related pages

• Bulk Edit Shopify Metafield Translations with Airtable
• Bulk Edit Shopify Metaobject Translations with Airtable