In short. Shopify automatically generates hreflang for distinct market URLs according to configured domains and languages.
Definition: Hreflang is an annotation that connects language or regional versions of a page. As of 17 October 2026, Shopify documents automatic hreflang generation from a store's market and language configuration when markets have distinct domains, subdomains, or subfolders.
Key facts
- Shopify's international SEO documentation describes automatic annotations that update when market domains or language settings change.
- Shopify's international domains guide requires a custom domain for international domains; the store's myshopify.com address cannot serve this purpose.
- Shopify's language management documentation explains that publishing a language creates language-specific URLs with automatic hreflang tags.
- Google's localized page guidance requires each language version to reference itself and its alternatives.
Which market URLs receive annotations?
Shopify's international SEO guide ties generation to a market's assigned domain, subdomain, or subfolder and language. The annotations connect corresponding versions across the store's pages. Markets sharing an identical URL without a language or region distinction have no alternative URLs to reference.
A subfolder is a path beneath a domain. The international domains guide gives example.com/en-ca for English in Canada and example.com/fr-ca for French in Canada. Language-only paths such as /fr belong to the primary market; secondary-market subfolders combine language and country codes.
Publishing languages is a separate configuration step. Shopify's language guide uses example.com/fr and example.com/de as examples after French and German are published. It also allows different languages on different domains through international domains. Language settings are managed in the admin's Languages section.
How can the output be checked?
Google's HTML annotation guidance places alternate links inside the page's <head>. These lines reproduce the syntax of its return-link example:
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-GB" href="https://en-gb.example.com/index.html" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="de" href="https://de.example.com/index.html" />
These are Google's example addresses. On a store, the corresponding checks concern the actual market URLs: each version lists itself, references its alternatives, and receives a link back from those alternatives. Google requires complete URLs including the protocol and permits alternatives on different domains. Comparing the annotation sets across corresponding pages checks the relationship in both directions.
Where is automatic generation controlled?
Shopify's automatic hreflang settings are under Online Store > Preferences, in Social sharing image and SEO. Automatic hreflang tags is enabled by default. Changing the switch and selecting Save controls generation.
The same documentation instructs stores that disable generation to supply replacement annotations through their theme. Before automatic generation is reactivated, custom theme tags must be removed and apps or themes must stop adding their own tags, avoiding duplicate implementations.
Related terms
- hreflang
- How do I check reciprocal hreflang links between translations?
- How do I choose subfolders for Shopify markets?
- How do Shopify international domains affect sitemaps?
FAQ
Do you need to enter every annotation manually?
Shopify's international SEO guide describes automatic generation from market and language settings. You can leave Automatic hreflang tags enabled to use that implementation.
Does unpublishing a language leave its URLs available?
Shopify's language management documentation says unpublishing removes the language from every assigned domain and its language URLs return a 404 error. You can create redirects for those URLs.
Sources
- Shopify, "International SEO for markets", accessed 17 October 2026
- Shopify, "International domains", accessed 17 October 2026
- Shopify, "Managing your store's languages", accessed 17 October 2026
- Google Search Central, "Tell Google about localized versions of your page", updated 21 September 2026
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