Default content

Featured links

1. Shopify documentation on changing the wording in themes
2. Shopify documentation on translating themes

Helpful videos

Shopify Academy video: Customizing your store

Shopify Academy video: Customizing your store

Shopify video: Use Translate & Adapt for every market

Shopify video: Use Translate & Adapt for every market

Align default content is the built-in wording shown across your Shopify storefront, including cart labels, account messages, search hints, accessibility text, and other shared phrases. Update this copy to match your brand voice or regional phrasing without changing page-specific section content.

For Shopify-admin details, see Shopify documentation on changing the wording in themes

What default content includes

Default content is reusable storefront language that appears wherever its related feature is used. In Align, think of it as the theme’s shared phrasebook; section content is the copy and media you add page by page.

• Included content
  • Cart and checkout-adjacent labels, such as Continue shopping, Secure checkout, and item-count wording
  • Product and collection messages, including availability, pricing helpers, and media labels
  • Product, collection, and article card labels used in grids and sliders
  • Customer account sign-in, registration, and order-status wording
  • Search, filters, pagination, form feedback, accessibility helpers, social-sharing text, blog messages, gift card text, and error-page messages
• Content managed elsewhere
  • Headings, body copy, and images added within a section in the theme editor
  • Product titles, descriptions, collection names, and page content from your catalog
  • Theme settings such as colors, typography, and layout choices

Open the theme content editor

Use Shopify’s theme content editor to update default wording for your store’s primary language.

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Online Store → Themes.

2. Click … beside Align.

3. Select Edit default theme content.

4. Open the relevant category, or use Filter items to search for a word or phrase.

5. Click … to reveal additional tabs or categories when needed.

6. Edit the text, then click Save.

   Your changes apply anywhere the related phrase is used. You do not need to republish individual pages.

Find a phrase quickly

The editor organizes default content into categories. Search when you know the visible wording, or browse when you know the general storefront area.

1. Search with Filter items.

   • Search for a storefront word or phrase, such as cart, sold, or subscribe.
   • Open a matching result and edit its value.

2. Browse by category.

   • Start with the category that matches the area you are updating.
   • Expand nested groups when a category contains related labels.

Tip

Search first when a phrase appears in more than one place. Some labels are shared across cart, navigation, and account flows.

Theme content categories

Align organizes its built-in wording into the following categories. Other Shopify themes can use different category names or separate groups, such as Newsletter, Onboarding, or Localization.

Category	What you will find there
Accessibility	Close and error labels, skip links, slide controls, link-behavior notes, social alt text, and review summaries
Blogs	Article bylines, comment counts, comment form fields, moderation notices, and post-success messages
Cards	Labels on product, collection, and article cards in grids and sliders — for example Add to cart, View product, and Read more
Cart	Cart page and mini-cart copy — empty states, line-item headings, subtotals, shipping and tax notes, checkout prompts, and cart errors
Customer accounts	Sign-in, registration, password reset, addresses, order details, and order history
Date formats	How formatted dates appear on the storefront — for example January 1, 2025
General	Breadcrumbs, collection filters, country and language selectors, pagination, menu labels, and social network names
Gift cards	Gift card purchase form labels — recipient name and email, optional message, send date, and email delivery checkbox
Label	Shared control labels — currently Sort by on collection and search pages
Products	Product page and buy-box wording — add-to-cart states, stock and pickup messages, pricing, quantity, media labels, and variant helpers
Search	Search field placeholder, result headings, predictive-search prompts, recent and trending searches, and no-results messages
Sections	Shared strings tied to specific section types — cart drawer title, contact form fields, email signup button and success message, accordion CTA, and footer payment label
Templates	Page-template defaults — 404 copy, gift card balance page text, and password-page login messaging

Some Shopify admin screens can also show Checkout & system or other platform-managed wording. These fields are separate from the categories above and follow different customization rules, including limits for Shop Pay, Shop Pay Installments, and Shop Cash labels.

Customize wording for your brand

Default content helps make routine storefront interactions sound consistent with your business.

1. Match your voice.

   • Replace generic commerce terms with language that suits your brand. For example, a specialty food store might change Continue shopping to Keep browsing or Continue indulging.

2. Use familiar regional terms.

   • Change Cart to Basket or Bag when that better matches customer expectations.

3. Keep placeholders intact.

   • Some entries include dynamic placeholders for counts, names, or balances inside double curly braces.
   • Edit the surrounding words, but leave placeholders in place so quantities, prices, and names display correctly.

4. Preview in context.

   • After saving, visit the relevant cart, product, account, or search page to confirm the wording reads naturally.

Work in other languages

The theme content editor updates default wording for your primary language. For additional storefront languages, use one of these approaches:

1. Install and use a translation app such as Translate & Adapt.
2. Import or export translations with CSV files.
3. Use another compatible translation app from the app store.

For translation setup details, see Shopify documentation on translating themes. Keep translated default content aligned with the same categories and labels used for your primary language so customers receive consistent messaging in every locale.

Checkout and Shop Pay wording

Checkout wording is mostly managed outside Align’s theme content categories. If your Shopify admin includes a Checkout & system area, some customized fields can also apply to Shop Pay checkout, but not every checkout field can be changed.

Shop Pay, Shop Pay Installments, and Shop Cash labels must remain as provided to meet trademark and product guidelines. If your store offers Shop Pay, verify both standard checkout and Shop Pay checkout after making checkout-related changes, and revert any field that does not update as expected.

Example scenarios

1. Rename the cart throughout the store.

   1. Open Edit default theme content.
   2. Search for cart, or open the Cart and Sections categories.
   3. Update relevant labels, such as the empty-state message, checkout prompt, and cart drawer title.
   4. Confirm the mini-cart, cart page, and cart drawer use the new wording.

2. Adjust product card button text.

   1. Open the Cards category.
   2. Update labels such as Add to cart or View product.
   3. Preview a collection or search results page to confirm the change appears on grid and slider cards.

3. Localize customer account microcopy.

   1. Open the Customer accounts category.
   2. Adjust sign-in, registration, and order-status phrases for your market.
   3. Export or translate the same labels when you add non-English storefront languages.

4. Improve accessibility messaging.

   1. Open the Accessibility category.
   2. Review link-behavior notes, slide controls, and review-summary text.
   3. Keep helper copy concise and plain so assistive technology and keyboard users receive clear guidance.

Usage notes

1. Use the intended editor. Update shared storefront wording through Edit default theme content; routine copy changes do not require theme code edits.
2. Start with your primary language. Align ships with English defaults, so customize your primary language before exporting or translating additional languages.
3. Keep shared and section content separate. Default content controls reusable labels, while section settings control layout, visibility, and page-specific content.
4. Search before assuming a label is unavailable. A phrase may be listed under Cards or Sections rather than the feature name you expect. If it is still missing, it may belong to checkout, an app, or a section-specific field.