TL;DR

If you sell to customers in more than one country, or in a country with more than one official language, translations are essential. Without them, every customer sees the same name and description on a shipping option regardless of the language their browser or checkout session is set to. A Finnish customer should see "Kotitoimitus", not "Home Delivery." A Swedish customer should see "Hemleverans."

Translations in Shipit are straightforward: you add one or more language-specific versions of a shipping option's name and description, and Shipit automatically shows the right one based on the customer's locale. If no matching translation exists, it falls back to the default name — so you will never show a blank label, but you might show the wrong language.

Why Translations Matter

Shipping option names are one of the most visible pieces of text in your checkout. Customers read them carefully before deciding how they want to receive their order. A well-translated option name builds trust. A label in the wrong language — or worse, a blank label — creates confusion and can cause customers to abandon the checkout entirely.

Beyond the customer-facing impact, translated descriptions help customers understand exactly what they are selecting. "Pakettiautomaatti" tells a Finnish customer immediately that their parcel will be delivered to a parcel locker. "Parcel Locker" does not carry the same clarity for someone who primarily thinks in Finnish.

How Translation Lookup Works

When a customer enters your checkout, the checkout provider sends Shipit a locale code — a short identifier like fi for Finnish, sv for Swedish, en for English, or de for German. Shipit uses this code to find the best matching translation for each shipping option.

The lookup follows this priority order:

1. Exact locale match — if you have a translation for fi and the customer's locale is fi, that translation is shown.
2. Fallback to default — if no matching translation exists, Shipit shows the default name and description set directly on the shipping option.

There is no partial matching — if you have a translation for en but a customer's locale is en-GB, it will not automatically match. Use the locale codes your checkout provider actually sends, which your implementation team can confirm.

Tip: Check which locale codes your checkout provider sends in practice before adding translations. Adding a translation for en_GB when your provider sends en-GB (with a hyphen) means the translation will never be shown.

Adding a New Translation

To add a translation for a new language:

1. Open the shipping option you want to translate.
2. Navigate to the Translations section.
3. Select the locale (language) from the available list.
4. Enter the translated name — this is required. A missing name means the customer sees nothing in that locale.
5. Enter the translated description — optional, but recommended for clarity.
6. Save.

You can add as many translations as you need. There is no limit on the number of locales you can support on a single shipping option.

Translation Fields

The Preferred Translation and Checkout Setup Languages

Your checkout setup has one or more configured languages — these are the languages your store is expected to operate in. These configured languages influence which translation tabs appear by default in the Shipit UI, making it easier to spot which translations still need to be completed.

When viewing translations in the Shipit interface, the translation matching your checkout setup's primary configured language is shown first. This is purely a UI convenience — it does not change how translations are served to customers.

Tip: Use your checkout setup's language configuration as a checklist. If your setup is configured for Finnish and Swedish, make sure every shipping option has both a fi and an sv translation. The UI will highlight any gaps.

Common Pitfalls

Leaving the Translated Name Empty

If you add a translation for a locale but leave the name field blank, customers in that locale will see no label for the shipping option. This is one of the most common and most damaging mistakes in translation setup. Always fill in the name, even if it is just a rough translation you plan to refine later.

Translating Only Some Options

If you have five shipping options and translate three of them into Swedish, Swedish customers will see three translated options and two in your default language. This inconsistency looks unprofessional. Whenever you add a language, go through every active shipping option and add the translation.

Using the Wrong Locale Code

Locale codes must match exactly what your checkout provider sends. Small differences — nb vs no for Norwegian, zh-hans vs zh-CN for Simplified Chinese — will cause the translation to be skipped and the default to be shown instead.

Tags

What Tags Are

Tags are freeform text labels you attach to a shipping option for your own internal organization. They are never shown to customers — they exist purely to help you and your team manage your shipping option library.

Common examples:

• express — to group all fast-delivery options
• eco — to identify sustainable delivery methods
• b2b — for options only used on business accounts
• return — to mark return shipment options
• seasonal — for options active only during specific periods

How to Use Tags Effectively

Tags have no built-in behavior in Shipit — they are labels only. Their value comes from how consistently you apply them. If you tag every return option with return from the start, you can quickly filter your shipping option list to see all return methods at once.

Tip: Agree on a standard tag vocabulary with your team before you start tagging. Inconsistent tags (mixing eco, green, and sustainable for the same concept) defeat the purpose of having them.