Overview
Weglot is a website translation layer founded in Paris in 2016. It sits on top of an existing store or marketing site, detects copy, machine-translates it, and publishes language-specific URLs with hreflang. Editors can override strings, lock a glossary, and later send key pages to human translators. Official materials (August 2026) say it is used on 110,000+ sites, with 110+ languages and integrations across WordPress, Shopify, Webflow, Squarespace, Wix, BigCommerce, and custom stacks.
For independent-store teams the job is “second language live in days,” not a CMS rebuild. That is the cross-border use: a Shopify or SHOPLINE-class catalog that already converts in English (or Chinese) and now needs Japanese, German, or French storefront copy, checkout strings, and indexable URLs. Marketplace listings on Amazon or Shopee are out of scope.
Weglot is not a store builder and not a general translator for supplier emails. Install it after the primary catalog is stable. Translate checkout, shipping, and legal copy first, then product titles. Keep currency and tax logic in the store, not in the translation layer.
Core features and advantages
Detection, AI translation, and a visual editor
Weglot scans the live site — including theme strings, product descriptions, app widgets, and many JavaScript-rendered bits that field-by-field CMS tools miss. First-pass engines include DeepL, Google, and Microsoft, plus Weglot’s own model. The visual editor is the operational win: a merchandiser can fix a Japanese size chart without exporting CSV. Shopify App Store reviews (4.6 from 800+ ratings when checked) repeatedly cite setup speed versus native Translate & Adapt.
Multilingual SEO: URLs and hreflang
Subdirectory (example.com/fr) or subdomain (fr.example.com) integrations translate server-side and add hreflang automatically. That is what you want for Google.jp or Google.de. The JavaScript-only snippet translates in the browser on the original URL and does not give SEO; Weglot’s own Shopify SEO article is explicit about this. Metadata, alt text, and (on supported stacks) sitemaps are included. Weglot does not insert x-default unless you handle it yourself.
Glossary, human translation, and team workflow
A glossary locks brand names and legal terms so “FBA” does not become a poetic phrase. Higher plans let you order professional translators from the dashboard. That mix — cheap AI for 90% of SKUs, human review for checkout, refund policy, and hero products — is how a small cross-border team should run it. Support on paid plans is email in English and French only.
Platform coverage versus a store rebuild
Because Weglot is a layer, you keep Shopify, WordPress, or a custom theme. You do not migrate catalogs to SHOPLINE just to get languages. The cost is architectural: unique translated words do not reset each month. A 2,000-SKU store with long descriptions will climb the pricing table as you add languages, even if traffic is modest.
Supported platforms
Weglot is a translation layer, not a marketplace connector.
- Shopify (app; checkout and notification translation is a stated product claim on all Shopify plans, unlike native checkout translation which is Plus-oriented)
- WordPress / WooCommerce plugin
- Webflow, Squarespace, Wix, BigCommerce, Teachable, and 100+ other stacks via snippet or subdomain
- Custom sites via JavaScript and DNS
It does not translate Amazon, eBay, or Shopee listings. Currency, duties, and market pricing stay in Shopify Markets, SHOPLINE Markets, or your ERP.
Who it's for
Solo and small DTC teams that need one extra language on a live Shopify or WordPress store and can live with AI plus spot edits. The free plan (2,000 unique words, 1 language) is only enough for a landing page.
Mid-size catalogs selling into JP/DE/FR from an English or Chinese original. Budget for Business or Pro once product copy, filters, and emails are in the word count.
Agencies managing several client sites (projects are a plan dimension). Enterprise is for custom languages, DPA/SLA, and dedicated support.
Skip it if you only need to translate supplier PDFs or Amazon listings (use DeepL), if you are rebuilding the whole store on a platform that already includes markets, or if a 50,000-word catalog in five languages would make the subscription larger than your gross margin on those markets.
Concrete use case: a US apparel Shopify store opening Japan. Install the app, choose subdirectory /ja, lock brand names in the glossary, human-edit size charts and the returns page, leave long material stories on AI, then spot-check titles before Google Shopping Japan.
Pricing and value
Official weglot.com/pricing (checked 2026-09-01) bills in euro; USD figures on the page are estimates.
- Free: $0 / €0 — 1 language, 2,000 unique words (limit does not renew), Weglot badge on many stacks
- Starter: $17/month or $170/year — 1 language, 10,000 words, 14-day trial
- Business: $32/month or $320/year — 3 languages, 50,000 words
- Pro: $87/month or $870/year — 5 languages, 200,000 words
- Advanced / Extended: listed around €299 and €699 per month for 1M and 5M words
- Enterprise: custom
Annual billing is advertised as two months free (~17%). Word count includes navigation, metadata, and alt text, not just product bodies. When you exceed the cap, new strings stop translating until you upgrade; existing translations stay live. Human translation is extra. Always run Weglot’s word-count estimator on the production catalog before you pick a tier.
Community feedback
Shopify and WordPress review scores are high (Shopify ~4.6, WordPress plugin ~4.8, Trustpilot ~4.8–4.9 in third-party roundups). r/shopify threads in 2026 describe Weglot beating native Translate & Adapt on checkout coverage and visual editing, with one merchant saying French pages indexed in about three weeks. Independent reviews (Style Factory, EcommerceTrix) praise setup and SEO, and warn that large catalogs get expensive because words do not recycle.
Recurring complaints: surprise upgrades when word count jumps, AI still needing native QA for JP/DE product names, email support only in English/French, and JS-only installs that merchants thought were SEO-ready. There is little Chinese-forum depth compared with DeepL or Youdao; most public talk is Shopify/WordPress agencies.
Competitive positioning
DeepL is a translator for documents and API jobs, not a storefront SEO layer. You may use DeepL inside Weglot as an engine, then still need Weglot for URLs and hreflang.
SHOPLINE (and Shopify Markets) can ship multiple languages without Weglot, but you take on URL, hreflang, and string-management work. Weglot is the faster overlay if the store is already live.
Langify, Translate & Adapt, WPML, and Polylang are CMS-native alternatives: often cheaper at huge catalogs, slower to cover checkout and apps. Google Translate in the browser is not a localization strategy.
Alternatives
- DeepL Translator: best for listing drafts, tickets, and files — not for hreflang storefronts.
- SHOPLINE: rebuild on a multi-market store platform if you want languages inside the commerce admin rather than a translation overlay.
Limitations
Unique word count is a lifetime-style quota, not a monthly bucket, so content-heavy stores pay for growth twice (SKUs × languages). JavaScript integration skips SEO. Checkout translation quality still needs a native pass. Currency, tax, and shipping must stay in the commerce platform. Marketplace pages are unsupported. Support language coverage is narrow. AI output is a first draft, not a legal translation of terms of sale.
Verdict
Weglot is the practical overlay when an independent store must add a real language version without a CMS migration. It is the wrong tool for Amazon copy, for PDF contracts, or for a catalog so large that word-tier fees exceed the market’s contribution margin.
Next step: install the free plan or 14-day trial on staging, run the word-count tool on production URLs, lock a glossary for brand and legal terms, and human-edit checkout plus one hero collection before opening ads in the new language.
Data notes
Rechecked 2026-09-06 against weglot.com/pricing, weglot.com/ai-info-page, Shopify App Store listing, Weglot Shopify SEO help article, and WordPress.org plugin page. Founding year 2016 is first-party; exact calendar day is unverified. User-count and rating snapshots are vendor or marketplace claims at access time.