Translate OpenCart without installing an extension

Point a language subdomain at Lingvit and your OpenCart store is served translated at the edge — products, categories, and CMS pages, with translated URLs, hreflang and a localized sitemap. Nothing is installed in the store.

Get started View all integrations

What gets translated

Product, category and manufacturer pages

CMS/information pages and the blog, if your theme has one

Cart, search and account pages rendered by your store

Navigation, breadcrumbs and footer text

Meta descriptions, Open Graph tags and image alt text

Translated URLs and hreflang, with a localized sitemap

Optional in-page language switcher via a script tag

Setup guide

1
Create a Lingvit project
Sign up at app.lingvit.com, create a project for your OpenCart store and pick the languages to offer.
2
Add a language subdomain
In the Lingvit dashboard open Integrations → Domains and add fr.yourstore.com for French (repeat per language). At your DNS provider create a CNAME for each subdomain pointing at the target shown in the dashboard. Within minutes the subdomain is Active with its own TLS certificate.
```
fr.yourstore.com.   CNAME   dns.lingvit.com.
```
3
Optional: add the language switcher
OpenCart has no single built-in field for header scripts across all themes. In OpenCart 4, Design → Theme Editor lets you edit your theme's header template from the admin; on older versions, or if your theme ships one, use its header/footer custom-code option, or edit the theme's header.twig template directly. Paste the script tag before </head>. Skip this if links between language subdomains are enough.
```
<script src="https://cdn.lingvit.com/widget.bundle.js?v=1" data-widget-key="lng_wpk_…" async></script>
```
4
Review translations
Translations appear in the Lingvit dashboard as pages are served. Edit any of them; edits are pinned and never overwritten.

Need the full platform overview? Browse the use case guides →

Frequently asked questions

Does this cover my store's checkout?

Yes. OpenCart's checkout runs on your own store and domain rather than a separate hosted page, so it renders through the language subdomain like any other page. Test a full purchase in each language before launch, since payment method text from installed extensions varies by theme.

Where exactly do I paste the optional switcher script?

It depends on your theme. OpenCart 4's Theme Editor (Design → Theme Editor) can edit the header template for you from the admin without FTP; earlier versions, or themes without Theme Editor support, require editing catalog/view/theme/<your theme>/template/common/header.twig directly, ideally through a small OCMod so the change survives theme updates. If you would rather not touch template files, the language subdomain alone works without this step.

Does it work on OpenCart 2, 3 and 4?

Yes. Nothing runs inside OpenCart for the language subdomain path — it fetches your published pages and serves translated HTML, so the OpenCart version and installed extensions do not matter. Only the optional switcher script depends on your theme's template structure.

Is there a native OpenCart extension?

Not yet. The language subdomain setup is the supported path today and works on any OpenCart version, including installs where you cannot add extensions.

What gets translated

Product, category and manufacturer pages

CMS/information pages and the blog, if your theme has one

Cart, search and account pages rendered by your store

Navigation, breadcrumbs and footer text

Meta descriptions, Open Graph tags and image alt text

Translated URLs and hreflang, with a localized sitemap

Optional in-page language switcher via a script tag

Setup guide

Create a Lingvit project

Add a language subdomain

In the Lingvit dashboard open Integrations → Domains and add fr.yourstore.com for French (repeat per language). At your DNS provider create a CNAME for each subdomain pointing at the target shown in the dashboard. Within minutes the subdomain is Active with its own TLS certificate.

fr.yourstore.com.   CNAME   dns.lingvit.com.

Optional: add the language switcher

OpenCart has no single built-in field for header scripts across all themes. In OpenCart 4, Design → Theme Editor lets you edit your theme's header template from the admin; on older versions, or if your theme ships one, use its header/footer custom-code option, or edit the theme's header.twig template directly. Paste the script tag before </head>. Skip this if links between language subdomains are enough.

<script src="https://cdn.lingvit.com/widget.bundle.js?v=1" data-widget-key="lng_wpk_…" async></script>

Review translations

Translations appear in the Lingvit dashboard as pages are served. Edit any of them; edits are pinned and never overwritten.

Frequently asked questions

Does this cover my store's checkout?

Where exactly do I paste the optional switcher script?

Does it work on OpenCart 2, 3 and 4?

Is there a native OpenCart extension?

Not yet. The language subdomain setup is the supported path today and works on any OpenCart version, including installs where you cannot add extensions.

Translate OpenCart without installing an extension

What gets translated

Setup guide

Frequently asked questions

Start translating your OpenCart site

Translate OpenCart without installing an extension

What gets translated

Setup guide

Frequently asked questions

Start translating your OpenCart site