LocaleBatch

THE WORKBOOK / LocaleBatch

Shopify Translation CSV Checklist: Keys, Existing Text & Imports

Keep a backup of the Shopify translations export. Preserve the row identity, leave existing translations intact and review protected names and numbers before importing edited text.

By LocaleBatch project team · Published · Fictional examples, reproducible calculations

Check a translation CSV →Download the fictional CSV

A safe practice file

The download contains three fictional product rows, not products from your shop. Its first row is an untranslated German title: Cedar insulated bottle, 750 ml. A second row already contains a German translation. A third row contains HTML and falls outside this pilot's supported text fields.

RowInputChecker result
Product 1001 / title / deBlank translation, plain product titleEligible for the pilot's text workflow
Product 1002 / title / deExisting translated textKept unchanged
Product 1003 / body_html / deHTML descriptionKept unchanged; outside pilot scope

Eight columns to preserve

Type,Identification,Field,Locale,Market,Status,Default content,Translated content

The checker requires these unique headers. A general product export is a different file. The combination of Type, Identification, Field, Locale and Market identifies a translation row; duplicate keys are rejected. Keep the original identifiers instead of substituting a product title or spreadsheet row number.

Before your next import

  1. Export translations from Shopify Settings → Languages and keep an untouched backup.
  2. Check a small batch in LocaleBatch. The free checker handles 1–500 rows and a file under 700 KB.
  3. Review eligible rows. This pilot handles PRODUCT title, meta_title and meta_description text in its listed languages.
  4. Protect your brand names, model labels, placeholders and numeric claims. Keeping those strings does not prove that the translation is linguistically correct.
  5. Have a competent speaker review the text, then test a small import and inspect the storefront before scaling.

Does the free checker translate my store?

No. Your own CSV is checked locally; the delivery demonstration uses fixed example translations. Paid AI translation and store publishing are unavailable. The tool cannot prove that a Shopify import will succeed or that the translated copy is legally or commercially suitable.

Shopify's import instructions

Shopify supports translation export and import through CSV. Follow the current Shopify translation documentation when exporting, selecting import options and publishing languages. LocaleBatch is an independent checker and is not endorsed by Shopify.