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Shopify checkout language is the setting that controls which language appears across your store's payment flow — the fields, button labels, error messages and order confirmations that customers see from the moment they click "Buy" through to the final receipt. For a Shopify store in South Africa, getting this right carries real weight: the country has 12 official languages, and a buyer who reads Afrikaans, isiZulu or isiXhosa fluently may stall — or leave — when the payment screen appears only in English.
This guide covers exactly how to configure the setting, which SA locales Shopify supports natively, which Shopify checkout translation method fits your plan, and where you will need to do manual work because no pre-built translation exists. It also includes a decision table so you can pick the right approach in under two minutes, without reading three separate Shopify help pages.
Quick Answer
Shopify checkout language is changed in two places: Settings > Languages to add and publish a locale, and Settings > Checkout > Edit checkout content to customise individual field labels and error messages. Shopify's free Translate & Adapt app provides automatic translation for up to two languages and manual translation for unlimited languages (Basic to Advanced plans support up to 20 languages). Afrikaans, isiZulu and isiXhosa are all supported locales in the Shopify Storefront API, but checkout-specific translations in those languages must be entered manually or imported via CSV — pre-built checkout translations for these SA languages are not confirmed in Shopify's pre-translated checkout set.
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Get a Free Store ReviewWhat Shopify Checkout Language Controls
The Shopify checkout language setting governs every piece of text that Shopify generates automatically in the payment flow: field labels ("First name", "Last name", "Province"), button copy ("Continue to payment", "Place order"), error messages ("can't be blank", "invalid postcode"), and default wording in transactional emails like order confirmations and shipping notifications. Knowing exactly which Shopify store language settings to configure — and in what order — prevents hours of guesswork for merchants setting up a bilingual store. When you add a second language to your store and a customer arrives with that language set in their browser, Shopify selects the matching translation automatically — if you have one configured.
What it does not control is your product descriptions, collection names, blog content, or policies — those live in a separate translation layer and require their own work. Setting the checkout to Afrikaans while leaving your product pages in English is possible; the two layers are independent.
Two routes to the same setting:
- Settings > Languages — add and publish a locale, which makes the language available to browser-detection and the language-switcher widget.
- Settings > Checkout > Edit checkout content — edit individual field labels and error messages within whatever language is currently default, without adding a full second locale.
Most SA stores need both: add the locale first, then review the field-level text for anything that reads awkwardly in the target language.
Why SA Stores Leave Revenue at the Payment Step
An English-only checkout is rarely a deliberate decision — it simply happens by default, because Shopify launches every store with English as its only language. The question is whether that default serves your actual customers. South Africa has 12 official languages, and while English is widely understood in urban retail, it is the first language of a minority of the population. Afrikaans and isiZulu are each spoken as a home language by substantially larger groups of South Africans than English — together they are home languages for a large share of the population.
Global research from CSA Research (2020) — a survey of 8,709 consumers across 29 countries (Europe, Asia and the Americas; South Africa was not in the sample) — found that 76% of online shoppers prefer to buy with information in their native language, and 40% said they will not buy from a website in a language other than their own. South African consumer behaviour is not directly represented in that dataset, but the direction is instructive: the payment step is the highest-trust moment in a transaction, and unfamiliar text at that point raises hesitation, particularly for first-time buyers on mobile.
SA online retail is forecast to reach R159 billion in 2026 — roughly 10% of total retail for the first time, up from 8.49% in 2025 (World Wide Worx, Online Retail in SA 2026, Sep 2026, forecast figure). As more of that volume comes from buyers outside major English-first metros, the translation gap between product page and payment screen becomes a practical revenue question, not just a localisation checkbox.
The checkout is the highest-trust moment in a transaction. If a customer has browsed in Afrikaans but hits an English payment screen, they face a language change at exactly the point where doubt is most costly. Even a partial translation — field labels and button copy — reduces that friction without requiring full-site localisation.
Step-by-Step: Changing Your Store's Translation
Setting up a second checkout language achieves a bilingual payment experience where the translation appears automatically based on the customer's browser settings — no toggle required from the buyer. The steps below cover the standard approach using Shopify's native tools, documented in Shopify's checkout language guide. See the app comparison below if you need automatic translation or more than two languages.
Add and publish the language
- In your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Languages.
- Click Add language and select your target locale from the dropdown (Afrikaans appears as "Afrikaans", isiZulu as "Zulu", isiXhosa as "Xhosa").
- Once added, the language appears in the Unpublished languages section. Click Publish to make it available in your store and checkout.
- If you are using Shopify Markets, assign the language to the relevant market under Settings > Markets.
Add checkout translations
- Go to Settings > Checkout and click Edit checkout content.
- Select your newly published language from the language tab at the top of the editor.
- Translate each field label, placeholder text and error message. For Afrikaans, Zulu and Xhosa, pre-built checkout translations are not confirmed — you enter the text manually.
- Click Save when done.
Import translations via CSV (for larger stores)
If you have an extended checkout or many custom fields, export your existing translations from Settings > Languages > Export, fill in the target-language column in the CSV, and reimport. This is faster than editing field by field for stores that have customised checkout extensions.
Test before going live
Set your browser or device language to the new locale, open your storefront in an incognito window, and complete a test purchase to confirm the checkout displays correctly. Pay particular attention to error messages — these are easy to miss in the editor but the first thing a confused buyer will see.
Remember: Any time you customise checkout text — error messages, button labels, custom fields — you will need to update all published translations manually. Shopify notes this explicitly: changes to default text do not cascade into translated versions automatically.
Which SA Locales Are Supported Out of the Box
Shopify's Storefront API confirms Afrikaans (locale code AF), isiZulu (ZU) and isiXhosa (XH) as supported language codes — meaning you can build a store that serves content in these languages through the storefront layer. The practical question for most SA merchants is whether Shopify provides pre-built checkout translations for these languages.
Shopify's localization documentation references pre-translated checkout content for 33 languages, centring on major commercial languages — English, Spanish, French, German, Mandarin, Japanese and others across Europe and East Asia. Afrikaans, isiZulu and isiXhosa are not confirmed in that set, which means checkout text in these languages will require manual entry in practice. This is not a blocker — it simply means the translation is yours to write and maintain.
| Language | Shopify Storefront API | Pre-translated checkout | What you must provide |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Yes | Yes (default) | Nothing — default state |
| Afrikaans | Yes (AF) | Not confirmed | Manual checkout translations or CSV import |
| isiZulu | Yes (ZU) | Not confirmed | Manual checkout translations or CSV import |
| isiXhosa | Yes (XH) | Not confirmed | Manual checkout translations or CSV import |
Afrikaans, Zulu and Xhosa are all available Shopify locales. Shopify's Storefront API confirms support for all three. What you need to add yourself is the checkout-specific text — field labels, error messages, button copy — because pre-built checkout translations for these SA languages are not confirmed in Shopify's pre-translated set. The manual work is finite: the standard checkout has a limited set of recurring text strings, and a native speaker can work through them in a focused afternoon.
Decision Table: Which Translation Method to Use
Choosing the right translation method depends on your Shopify plan, how many languages you need, and whether you want browser-automatic switching or a simpler single-language change. The table below maps these variables to a recommendation so you can skip the research loop.
| Situation | Method | Cost | Plan required | Automatic browser detection |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Switch entire store to a single new language (e.g. Afrikaans-only store) | Settings > Languages: change default + manual translations | Free | Basic+ | N/A — one language |
| English + 1 other language with auto-translation (not Afrikaans/Zulu — see note) | Translate & Adapt app (auto) | Free | Basic+ | Yes (browser language) |
| English + Afrikaans or English + Zulu (manual translations) | Translate & Adapt app (manual) or CSV import | Free | Basic+ | Yes (browser language) |
| 3 or more languages, or need richer auto-translation | Third-party translation app (e.g. Weglot, LangShop, Transcy) | Paid monthly fee | Basic+ | Yes (browser + geo) |
| 30+ languages or enterprise-scale localisation | Third-party app + Shopify Plus | Higher monthly fee + Plus subscription | Plus (premium plan) | Yes |
Note on auto-translation: Translate & Adapt's automatic translation uses Shopify's AI translation and covers up to two languages at no cost. The important limit is that once you have auto-translated two languages, you cannot swap them out by removing one — the count does not reset. For Afrikaans and Zulu, where no Shopify-provided base translation exists, auto-translation may produce results that need human review before publishing to a live store. Manual entry is slower but produces cleaner results for these locales.
For most SA stores running English as their primary language and wanting to add Afrikaans, the free approach to translate Shopify checkout text — using Translate & Adapt with manual field entry — is the practical starting point, and supports a Shopify multilingual checkout without a monthly app fee. The checkout text is short enough to translate manually in an afternoon.
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Book a Free Fit AssessmentWhat Gets Left Behind Without Extra Work
Knowing what the Shopify checkout language setting does not cover saves you the frustration of a buyer reporting that parts of their experience are still in English after you have done the translation work.
| Store element | Covered by checkout language setting | What to do instead |
|---|---|---|
| Checkout field labels & button copy | Yes — if you provide the translation | Manual entry or CSV import for SA languages |
| Checkout error messages | Yes — if you provide the translation | Manual entry; easy to miss, worth testing |
| Order confirmation email | Partly — default content translates; custom blocks do not | Translate custom email blocks separately in Translate & Adapt |
| Subscription product disclosure text | No — Shopify locks this wording | Cannot be changed; leave in English |
| Privacy policy and terms pages | No — policies are not auto-translated | Manual translation required; link from your customer accounts page |
| Product descriptions and collection names | No | Translate in the storefront layer via Translate & Adapt or a third-party app |
| Payment gateway UI (PayFast, Peach Payments, Ozow) | No — payment gateway screens are controlled by the gateway | Check your gateway's own language settings; Shopify Payments is not available in SA |
The payment gateway exception is particularly relevant for South African stores. Because SA merchants use third-party gateways — PayFast, Peach Payments, Ozow, Yoco and others — the gateway's own payment interface is outside Shopify's control. If a customer is in Afrikaans mode on your store and then lands on a PayFast screen in English, there is a language break that you cannot fix from the Shopify admin. Contact your gateway provider about their own language support options.
The gateway screen is outside Shopify's control. SA merchants use PayFast, Peach Payments, Ozow and other third-party gateways (Shopify Payments is not available in South Africa). If you are building a multilingual payment flow, confirm your gateway's own language settings separately — a translated Shopify checkout that drops into an English-only gateway screen creates a language break at the exact moment of card entry.
Why South African Businesses Work With Growth Pulse Media on Their Shopify Stores
Growth Pulse Media was founded by Dirk van Greuning, who built and scaled a South African ecommerce business before starting the agency. That operator background shapes how we approach Shopify build and configuration work: the decisions that matter are the ones that affect conversion, retention and revenue — and checkout localisation is one of them, particularly for stores targeting buyers outside the main English-first metros.
Our Shopify marketing and build service includes checkout configuration, Shopify Markets setup, translation layer review and payment gateway integration across the SA gateways SA stores actually use — PayFast, Peach Payments, Ozow, Yoco. We work with a limited client load so every engagement gets direct senior attention, not a junior account manager reading from a playbook. As a registered Shopify Partner, we have direct access to platform documentation and technical support.
If your store is live and you are not sure whether your checkout is configured correctly for your target audience — or if you are planning a bilingual launch — a short conversation will either confirm you are in good shape or give you a clear list of what to fix.
Who This Setup Is Not Right For
Stores selling exclusively in one language to a single metro. If your buyers are overwhelmingly English-speaking Johannesburg consumers and your analytics confirm it, adding Afrikaans or Zulu translations is work with no return at that point. Validate the market first before investing translation time.
Merchants who need the gateway interface translated. Shopify's translation tools stop at the checkout boundary. If your product requires the payment screen itself — not just the Shopify fields — to appear in Afrikaans or Zulu, you need to solve that at the gateway level, not in Shopify admin. Shopify cannot control PayFast's or Peach Payments' own UI.
Stores on the Starter plan targeting multiple languages. Shopify's Starter plan does not support multi-language selling. You need at least a Basic plan to add and publish additional languages. If cost is the driver, Translate & Adapt on Basic is the most affordable path to a bilingual checkout.
Businesses expecting automatic AI translation to be publication-ready for SA languages. Auto-translation works well for major commercial languages with large training datasets — Spanish, French, German. For Afrikaans, Zulu and Xhosa, machine translations often need human review before they are appropriate for a public-facing store. Budget for a native-speaker review pass if you are using AI-generated translations for these locales.
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Request a Free Pre-Launch AuditFrequently Asked Questions
How do I change the Shopify checkout language in my store?
Go to Settings > Languages in your Shopify admin, click Add language, choose your target locale (for example, Afrikaans), then click Publish. Next, go to Settings > Checkout > Edit checkout content, select the new language tab and enter translations for each field label and error message. For SA languages not confirmed in Shopify's pre-translated set, every string needs to be entered manually or imported via CSV. Always do a test purchase with your browser set to that language before making the store live.
Does Shopify support Afrikaans, Zulu or Xhosa at checkout?
All three are confirmed supported locales in the Shopify Storefront API — you can add them to your store under Settings > Languages. However, pre-built checkout translations for these SA languages are not confirmed in Shopify's pre-translated set (pre-built coverage focuses on 33 major commercial languages). This means checkout field labels, button copy and error messages in Afrikaans, Zulu or Xhosa will need to be entered manually or imported via CSV. The manual work is finite — the standard Shopify checkout has a small set of recurring text strings — and can be completed in a focused session.
Is there a free way to translate my Shopify checkout?
Yes — Shopify's Translate & Adapt app is free and built into the platform, providing automatic translation for up to two languages and manual translation for unlimited languages at no cost. For SA languages like Afrikaans and Zulu where AI translation quality is variable, the manual path in Translate & Adapt is the better choice — full control over wording with no recurring fee. Stores on Basic through Advanced plans can publish up to 20 languages; Plus supports up to 30.
Does the checkout language switch automatically for my customers?
Yes — once you have published multiple languages, Shopify uses the customer's browser language preferences to determine which language to display in your store and checkout. If their preferred language is not available in your market configuration, the store defaults to your primary language. Customers can also switch manually using a language selector widget, which most Shopify themes support natively. For more complex geo-based switching, third-party translation apps offer additional detection logic.
What part of the payment flow can't be translated through Shopify?
The payment gateway interface — the screen where customers enter their card details — is controlled by your gateway, not Shopify. In South Africa, where merchants use PayFast, Peach Payments, Ozow, Yoco and similar third-party gateways (Shopify Payments is not available here), the gateway's own language settings determine what language appears on that screen. Contact your gateway provider directly about their localisation options. Additionally, subscription product disclosure text is locked by Shopify and cannot be changed regardless of language setting.
How many languages can I add to a Shopify checkout?
On Shopify Basic, Grow (formerly Shopify) and Advanced plans, you can publish up to 20 languages. On Shopify Plus and Enterprise Commerce, the limit is 30 languages. For most SA stores targeting English plus one or two SA languages, the 20-language limit on standard plans is more than sufficient. The Starter plan does not support multi-language selling — you need at least Basic.
Ready to Set Up a Bilingual Shopify Checkout?
Growth Pulse Media is a registered Shopify Partner based in Johannesburg. We configure checkout translations, Shopify Markets and SA payment gateway integrations — PayFast, Peach Payments, Ozow, Yoco — for stores serving South African buyers across all 12 official language communities. No obligation. We'll get back to you within 24 hours.
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