Shopify - How does Weglot manage your website's SEO
In this article, you'll learn how Weglot manages your Shopify store's SEO to ensure that Google indexes your website's language versions.
Depending on when you installed Weglot on your Shopify store, the method used for your website's multilingual SEO may differ.
First, please check whether your Shopify store uses a Weglot subdomain or subdirectory-based integration. To do so, please visit your translated website. If your Shopify store uses subdomain or subdirectory-based integration, its URLs should change.
For example, if your website mywebsite.com is translated from French into English, with Weglot subdomain-based integration, your website URL should be en.mywebsite.com . With Weglot subdirectory-based integration, your website URL should be mywebsite.com/en .
Otherwise, please log in to your Shopify administration > App > Weglot Translate. You may notice the following window:
The window above indicates that your website's SEO isn't supported by Weglot on your Shopify store. We therefore recommend you click on the Active subdomains button and follow the instructions. We would be pleased to assist you in this process if necessary. Don't hesitate to contact us at support@weglot.com.
To summarize, there are two options:
- Option 1: SEO with Weglot subdomain or subdirectory-based integration
- Option 2: SEO with Weglot standard app integration (outdated)
1. SEO with Weglot subdomain or subdirectory-based integration
I. A unique URL for each page version
With subdomain-based integration, your website URL should be [language-code].mywebsite.com .
With subdirectory-based integration, your website URL should be mywebsite.com/[language-code] .
II. Hreflang tags for Google indexing robots
Weglot automatically adds hreflang tags to your website's source code. These tags inform Google about multiple versions of the same page, thus enhancing search engines' indexing. You can find these hreflang tags in your website's <head></head> .
Note: using this method, you don't need to edit your website's sitemap, although you may be using an SEO application.
The "x-default" tag
The "x-default" hreflang is not necessary for most websites and is not added to your website by Weglot.
This tag is specifically used to indicate which version of your site should be served to users whose language isn't explicitly covered by other hreflang tags. This is typically only needed for a homepage that serves as a language selection page and doesn't match any specific language itself.
If you wish to add it to your website, you can do so manually. We recommend checking the documentation for the technologies used on your website (e.g., your CMS or hosting platform) to understand how to implement this.
For more detailed information, you can also refer to the Hreflang Google documentation.
III. Content translated within the source code, not only dynamically
With subdomain or subdirectory-based integration, your website content is server-side translated. This means that HTML content is directly translated into your website's source code, while JavaScript translation is neither seen nor indexed by search engines.
IV. Detect and translate your website's SEO metatags
Weglot automatically detects and translates your website's SEO meta tags.
E.g., the English version of the website's meta-description:
E.g. the French version of the website's meta-description:
Weglot follows Google's SEO best practices. It means that every translated pages should be indexed and displayed for foreign visitors, with no additional work required from the website owner.
2. SEO with Weglot standard app integration (outdated)
The standard app integration is now deprecated. It remains operational for our customers, who have been using it without interruption since its initial configuration. However, it is no longer available for the integration services that Weglot offers.
Google's multilingual SEO best practice guidelines require the inclusion of the following key aspects.
I. A unique URL for each page version
With standard app integration, Weglot automatically creates /a/l/[language-code] subdirectories for each translated page.
Note: subdirectories are only visible to crawlers. In other words, neither you nor visitors will see subdirectories with the standard app integration.
E.g., the website's Italian version:
E.g., the website's French version:
II. Hreflang tags for Google indexing robots
Weglot automatically adds hreflang tags to your website's source code. These tags inform Google about multiple versions of the same page, thus enhancing search engines' indexing. You can find these hreflang tags in your website's <head></head> .
Note: using this method, you don't need to edit your website's sitemap, although you may be using an SEO application.
The "x-default" tag
The "x-default" hreflang is not necessary for most websites and is not added to your website by Weglot.
This tag is specifically used to indicate which version of your site should be served to users whose language isn't explicitly covered by other hreflang tags. This is typically only needed for a homepage that serves as a language selection page and doesn't match any specific language itself.
If you wish to add it to your website, you can do so manually. We recommend checking the documentation for the technologies used on your website (e.g., your CMS or hosting platform) to understand how to implement this.
For more detailed information, you can also refer to the Hreflang Google documentation.
III. Content translated dynamically
With standard app integration, your website content is server-side translated. This means that HTML content is directly translated into your website's source code, while JavaScript translation is neither seen nor indexed by search engines.
IV. Detect and translate your website's SEO metatags
Weglot automatically detects and translates your website's SEO meta tags.
E.g., the meta-description for the website's English version:
E.g., the meta-description for the website's French version:
Weglot follows Google's SEO best practices. It means that every translated pages should be indexed and displayed for foreign visitors, with no additional work required from the website owner.