A Custom Four-Language Shopify Theme for Antic Jewelry

Antic came to us with a design they loved from a TemplateMonster theme and a requirement most template installs can't meet cleanly: the jewelry store had to serve customers in four languages, managed by the client from a single dashboard. We built a custom Liquid theme to the reference design and chose a multilingual approach that stays maintainable — the technical decision that made or broke the project.

From template to a real custom theme

We didn't copy-paste the TemplateMonster markup. We rebuilt the design from the ground up in Shopify's Liquid, which buys three things a lifted template doesn't: speed, security, and updatability. Critically, we built it with customizable sections so Antic can change content — banners, featured collections, copy — without a developer. A pixel-perfect theme that still requires code changes for every edit is a liability; sections make it a turn-key asset.

The multilingual decision was the whole project

Four languages on Shopify comes down to a choice with long consequences. We wrote a detailed technical spec from the client's Google Doc first — so everyone agreed before any code — and weighed the two paths available at the time:

• Separate stores per language — full control, but multiplied ops: four catalogs, four inventories, four admins to keep in sync. Overkill for one jewelry brand.
• A single store with a translation layer (we used Langify) — all four languages managed from one Shopify store and one catalog, which is simpler and far more cost-effective to run.

We chose the single-store approach because it matched how the client actually wanted to work: one dashboard, one source of truth, four languages.

What multilingual done right has to cover

A translation layer is more than swapping strings. For it to work for customers and for search, the build has to handle:

• Language routing — a clear switcher and per-language URLs so each language is a distinct, linkable experience.
• hreflang signals — so Google serves the right language version to the right audience instead of treating them as duplicates.
• Translated content, not just UI — product copy, collections, and metafields, so a shopper never falls back to a language they don't read.

Note on doing this today: Shopify's native Translate & Adapt and Markets have since made single-store multilingual a first-party capability — for a build starting now we'd evaluate native translation before a third-party app, for the same "one store, many languages" outcome with less dependency.

Multilingual isn't a plugin you switch on — it's a decision about how many sources of truth you're willing to maintain. One store with a translation layer wins for almost every brand; separate stores only earn their keep when the catalogs genuinely differ.WS24 — how we scope multilingual builds

We delivered Antic a pixel-perfect custom theme that matched their reference, running four languages seamlessly from one Shopify dashboard, plus initial payment and shipping setup — a turn-key store they could run from day one. The design got the attention, but the multilingual architecture is what made it maintainable.