A/B Testing Compatibility with Shopify Translate & Adapt


This guide explains how Shogun A/B Testing works with Shopify’s native multilingual setup and the Translate & Adapt app.

Does Shogun A/B Testing support Shopify’s locale-based routing (e.g., /en/ , /fr/ )?

Yes.

Shogun A/B Testing is fully compatible with Shopify’s native locale-based routing. When duplicating templates, Shogun copies over existing translated content.

If you create new content on duplicated templates or pages, make sure to translate that content using Shopify Translate & Adapt before publishing your experiment.

When running experiments, does traffic splitting occur before or after Shopify resolves the user’s locale?

Traffic splitting occurs after Shopify resolves the shopper’s locale.

Shogun is aware of the active locale when delivering a test variant. Shopify first determines the shopper’s language and location, and then Shogun delivers the appropriate experiment variant within that specific locale.

Can experiments be configured separately per language?

By default, experiments apply globally across all locales.

If you would like to limit an experiment to a specific language:

  1. Use an Audience condition.
  2. Target the URL structure for the desired locale.

For example:

  • Create an audience rule such as:

    URL contains '/fr'

    This will apply the experiment only to your French locale.

How does Shogun handle hreflang and canonical tags when multiple variants exist?

Shogun does not modify your store’s:

  • hreflang  tags
  • canonical  tags

All tests (except Split URL Tests) run on your existing URLs. Since the URL structure does not change, there is no need to update canonical tags.

If your store already defines alternate and canonical URLs, those settings remain unchanged during experiments.

Does the experiment script manipulate the DOM client-side?

No.

Shogun prevents flashes of incorrect content by intercepting the page request before the browser renders content. It redirects users to the appropriate variant using Shopify view parameters.

This server-side routing ensures:

  • The correct variant loads immediately
  • No post-load DOM manipulation is required
  • No visible content flicker

After rendering, Shogun updates the browser’s address bar to reflect the original URL.

Has Shogun worked with stores using Shopify Translate & Adapt?

Yes.

Shogun has implemented custom handling to detect and respect the shopper’s active locale and incorporates multilingual considerations into ongoing feature development.

Yes. Before publishing a test:

  • Confirm that all variant content has been translated.
  • Review each required locale inside Translate & Adapt.
  • Verify preview links in each language.

This ensures consistency and avoids untranslated content appearing in experiments.

How is variant persistence handled?

Variant assignment is session-based:

  • A shopper assigned to a variant remains in that variant throughout their session.
  • If the shopper returns in a new session, they are re-evaluated according to the experiment’s traffic distribution.
  • If a shopper switches languages during the same session, they remain assigned to their original test variant.