Multilanguage website SEO

[SilviaAntibes]

Good Morning. 
I am revamping my website www.cosedibottega.com  I have 2 questions:

1) Currently the main language is italian however the main market is France (I have also a phisical store and leave in France). Given that I am reworking all the text contents, is it worth to change French as main language? Will it make a difference at SEO level (assuming all tech stuff are done properly?)

2) the second question is that I will plan also to choose a new template (more flexible, more beautiful/usable). Can I do it in a second step? Or better work directly on the the template?

thansk for your help. Silvia

[Moeed]

Hey @SilviaAntibes 

For your first question, switching your main language to French can indeed make a positive impact on SEO, especially if your primary audience and physical presence are in France. It can improve local search visibility and user experience for your French customers, which is a big plus.

As for the template, while you can technically change it later, starting with a fresh, flexible design now might save you time and effort. A new template can be tailored to your evolving content, creating a seamless experience for visitors from the start.

Revamping a website for optimal SEO and user experience can be a delicate process, so if you’d like some support or guidance along the way, feel free to connect if you’d like any insights or assistance to make the most of your website revamp!

Best Regards,

Moeed

[Langwill_Lynn]

Hi Silvia,

Regarding your questions:

1) Changing French as the main language:

There’s no need to change French to the main language. The Default Language setting does not impact your store’s SEO performance. Search engine rankings are determined by the default language for each market, not by the Default Language set in Shopify. You can adjust the default language for each market in Shopify's market settings.

If your store's Default Language is already configured, there's no need to change it. Switching Default Language can be complex and doesn't improve SEO performance. Instead, focus on:

1. Set the default language for each marketplace individually.
2. Optimize SEO for the language versions of your main market.

2) Changing the template:

If you decide to change the default language to French, most of the theme's French text will be provided by Shopify. However, some parts like navigation may require manual changes to French in the new theme.

To learn more about the impact of switching the default language, you can read this article.

Hope this helps! Let me know if you have more questions or need further advice.

Lynn | Langwill Product Manager
Langwill - Language Translate