Translate a PrestaShop store into German

What PrestaShop XLIFF files actually cover

PrestaShop 1.7 and 8 export translations as .xlf files, one file per domain: the theme (catalogue, basket, checkout), individual modules, notification messages and the back office. Each file is uploaded separately to Manuce and gets its own quote, based on the words in the values, with keys and tags excluded.

These files hold interface strings: “Add to cart”, “Free shipping from %s”, “Your cart is empty”. They do not hold what lives in the database: product descriptions, category names, CMS pages, carrier descriptions. That content is not part of the XLIFF export, so it is not covered by this upload.

In practice, a store with a German interface but English or French product pages will show In den Warenkorb beneath a foreign-language description. Plan that work separately.

What changes when a store goes German

• Label length. German typically runs 20 to 35% longer than English, and compounds grow fast: “Shipping costs” becomes Versandkosten, “Payment terms” Zahlungsbedingungen, “Order confirmation” Bestellbestätigung. A button sized for “Checkout” may overflow or wrap onto two lines.
• Capitals. Every noun is capitalised: Mein Konto, Ihre Bestellung, Kostenloser Versand. A theme that forces text-transform: lowercase on headings will produce visible errors.
• Register. Formal Sie remains standard in professional and B2B settings (“Melden Sie sich an”), while many consumer shops use informal du (“Melde dich an”). Decide up front and check consistency across theme and modules, which sit in different files.
• Plurals. German has just two plural categories, one and other. A string such as “%d product(s)” translates cleanly as %d Artikel, which does not change form.
• Expected wording. German law requires the final order button to make the obligation to pay explicit, for example zahlungspflichtig bestellen; a plain “Bestellen” is not enough. Shoppers also expect inkl. MwSt. and zzgl. Versandkosten next to prices. Check these strings individually.

What Manuce returns, and what it does not do

You receive the same .xlf file in the same format: indentation, element order, quotes, comments, line endings, encoding and BOM preserved. Only the values change, so the file can go straight back into your project.

Every translated value is compared with the source: if Free shipping from %s becomes Kostenloser Versand ab %s, the placeholder is confirmed present. If a discrepancy persists (a lost placeholder, an altered <br> tag), the source value is kept and the report says so.

Not translated: keys, empty values, URLs, email addresses, numbers, colours, date formats, identifiers and anything marked as non-translatable. The report lists the strings translated and those left as they were, with the reason.

Manuce does not translate your database content (products, categories, pages) and does not produce sworn or certified translations. For your terms and conditions (AGB) or cancellation notice (Widerrufsbelehrung), have the German version checked by a lawyer familiar with German law.

Preparing the export and checking after import

1. Export every domain you use as .xlf: theme, checkout, and the active payment and shipping modules. A forgotten module leaves your source language in the middle of payment.
2. Settle your vocabulary: Artikel or Produkt, Warenkorb for the basket, Kasse for checkout. Use the free extract to confirm the register (Sie or du) suits you before paying.
3. Read the report: strings kept in the source language often point to a misplaced placeholder in the original.
4. After import, walk through the basket, checkout and transactional emails on a phone. Look for truncated buttons; CSS hyphens: auto together with lang="de" helps break long words.
5. Check prices: displaying 19,99 € with a decimal comma depends on the language settings in PrestaShop, not on the translated files.

In practice

1. Export the domains you need as XLIFF (.xlf): theme, modules, notifications.
2. Upload each file separately, review the quote and the free German extract.
3. Download the translated files and read the report of untranslated strings.
4. Re-import the files into PrestaShop and test basket, checkout and emails on mobile.