Smile supports 20 languages for loyalty programs, which are automatically displayed based on the customer’s store language on Shopify. On BigCommerce, your program appears in your default program language instead.
This article explains which languages Smile supports, how automatic translation works on Shopify, how to set your default language, what content Smile translates automatically, and what you’ll need to translate manually.
ℹ️ Note: This article covers customer-facing languages. Smile Admin uses separate language settings and supports a different set of languages. For details, see Translate Smile Admin.
Supported languages
Smile supports translation for the following 20 languages, which are automatically detected on Shopify and can be set as your default program language in Smile Admin.
Chinese (Simplified)
Chinese (Traditional)
Croatian
Czech
Danish
Dutch
English
Finnish
French
German
Hungarian
Italian
Japanese
Norwegian
Polish
Portuguese (Brazil)
Romanian
Spanish
Swedish
Turkish
ℹ️ Platform-specific behavior
Shopify: Smile detects the customer’s store language and displays your loyalty program in that language automatically.
BigCommerce: Automatic translation isn’t supported. Smile displays your program using your default language setting instead.
How automatic translation works (Shopify only)
On Shopify, Smile detects the language your customers use to browse your store.
If the detected language matches one of Smile’s 20 supported languages, your loyalty program displays in that same language — no setup required.
If the customer's store language isn’t supported or can’t be detected, Smile uses your default program language as a fallback.
Default language setting
Your default program language is used on BigCommerce and acts as a fallback on Shopify when Smile can’t display your program in the customer’s store language.
You can choose your default language in Smile Admin under
Settings > Display > Language.
Any of Smile’s 20 supported languages can be selected as your default.
ℹ️ Note: Embedded features such as points at checkout and the Loyalty Hub default to English if the customer’s store language isn’t supported. Other areas, such as the panel and customer emails, use your default program language instead.
Translated content in your loyalty program
Smile automatically translates most standard program text when a supported language is detected or when your default program language is set to one of Smile’s 20 supported languages. Custom text that you’ve added manually will not be translated automatically.
Automatically translated by Smile
The following content is translated automatically:
The Smile panel
Points and VIP labels
Referral links and instructions
Standard program emails
Common button text and notifications
Custom text and translations
Any text you manually enter and customize in Smile isn’t translated automatically.
To avoid showing mixed languages to customers, Smile uses your customized text only for your store’s default language, which you set in Settings > Display > Language.
When a customer views your store in a different language, Smile doesn’t show your customized text. Instead, it shows Smile’s default text, which is automatically translated into the customer’s language.
Example:
Your store’s default language is Spanish.
You add custom Spanish text to the panel.
Customers browsing in Spanish see your customized text.
Customers browsing in English see Smile’s default (translated) text.