Product infographics drive conversions but contain text Shopify can’t translate. Learn how to manage localized infographics across multiple languages.
TLDR: Ready to make your infographics work in every language? Install Product Image Translate Easy and serve localized visual content to every market.
Product infographics are conversion machines. A well-designed infographic can communicate features, benefits, and differentiators faster than paragraphs of text. Customers scan images before they read descriptions – an infographic delivers your value proposition at a glance.
But infographics are also localization nightmares. By definition, they combine visual elements with text. That text needs translation for international markets. And Shopify has no native way to swap infographic images based on customer language.
For merchants using infographics across their product catalog, managing multiple language versions without operational chaos requires the right approach and the right tools.
The shift toward image-based information reflects how customers actually shop online. Attention spans are short. Scrolling is fast. If your key selling points are buried in paragraph three of your description, most customers will never see them.
Infographics solve this by making information visual. Common infographic elements include feature callouts highlighting what the product does, comparison charts showing your product versus alternatives, benefit summaries explaining why customers should care, specification highlights displaying key technical details, and how-to graphics showing usage or assembly at a glance.
These elements work because they’re visual. But they create localization problems because they’re also text-heavy.
When your infographic says “Waterproof” and “Lightweight” and “10-Year Warranty” in English, customers in France, Germany, and Spain need those same callouts in their languages.
Standard translation approaches fail here. Shopify’s Translate & Adapt works with text content – product descriptions, theme elements, checkout. It can’t see inside your infographic JPEGs to translate the embedded text.
You’re left with three options.
First, don’t use infographics for international stores. This sacrifices a powerful conversion tool to avoid a localization problem.
Second, use text-based callouts in your descriptions instead, where translation tools work. This works but loses the visual impact that makes infographics effective.
Third, create localized infographic versions and display them to appropriate customers. This preserves the power of infographics while serving each market correctly.
The third option is what successful international merchants do. The question is how to implement it efficiently.
A single infographic localized into five languages means managing five image versions. Multiply by fifty products and you’re managing 250 infographic files.
Without a system, this becomes unmanageable. Which file is current? Which languages have been updated? When you revise the English infographic, do all translations reflect the changes?
The duplicate product approach – creating separate product listings for each language – technically allows different images but creates inventory nightmares. Your fifty products become 250 SKUs. Stock doesn’t sync. Analytics fragment. Promotions require multiple implementations.
Theme code modifications can conditionally display different images but require developer involvement for every update. Changing an infographic means code changes, not simple uploads.
Product Image Translate Easy solves this by decoupling language-specific images from your core product catalog. You maintain one product with one inventory count. The app handles displaying the right infographic to the right customer based on their language selection.
If you’re creating infographics knowing they’ll need translation, design choices up front save significant work later.
Keep text on separate layers. Your source file should have background/visual elements on one layer and text on separate, editable layers. This allows you to swap text without recreating the entire graphic.
Plan for text expansion. German and French typically run 20-30% longer than English. Finnish can be even longer. Design text areas with padding to accommodate longer translations without requiring layout changes.
Use universal icons where possible. A checkmark means “yes” globally. A lightning bolt suggests speed universally. The more meaning you convey through icons rather than words, the less translation work you need.
Standardize your infographic templates. If all your product infographics follow the same layout, creating localized versions becomes systematic rather than one-off.
Maintain version control. When you update the English infographic, you need to update translations too. A clear naming convention (product-infographic-en-v2.jpg, product-infographic-de-v2.jpg) helps track which versions are current.
Your workflow depends on your design tools and resources.
If you have layered source files, localization is manageable. Open your Figma/Photoshop/Illustrator file. Select text elements. Replace with translations. Export. The layout stays identical; only the language changes.
If you’re working with flattened images, you’ll need to recreate infographics with translatable text. This is more work initially but creates source files you can use for all future localization.
For translation itself, options range from professional translators to AI-assisted translation with native speaker review. For short phrases typical in infographics (“Fast Shipping,” “Premium Quality”), high-quality machine translation often works well. For anything complex or nuanced, human translation is worth the investment.
Establish a review process. Translated infographics should be reviewed by someone fluent in the target language. Awkward phrasing undermines the professional appearance you’re trying to achieve.
Once your localized infographics exist, you need them displayed to appropriate customers.
Product Image Translate Easy handles this through language mapping. You upload your English infographic, German infographic, French infographic, and so on for each product. You tell the app which language code each version corresponds to.
When a customer browses in German, they see German infographics. French customers see French infographics. The product listing stays unified – one SKU, one inventory count – but visual content adapts to customer language.
This approach scales efficiently. Adding a new language means creating translated infographics and uploading them to the app. No product duplicates. No code changes.
If you have extensive infographics across many products, prioritize based on impact.
Top sellers first. Products generating the most international revenue benefit most from localized infographics.
Information-heavy infographics. Some infographics contain a few words (“Fast” “Easy” “Safe”). Others contain sentences or detailed specifications. Prioritize the ones where translation adds substantial value.
High-traffic markets. If 50% of your international traffic is German, localize German infographics before Spanish ones.
Products where infographics drive decisions. For some products, infographics are nice supplements. For others – technical products, complex offerings, comparison-sensitive categories – infographics are central to purchase decisions. Prioritize the latter.
Infographic localization costs time and potentially design resources. Is it worth it?
Consider the alternative: your international customers see infographics they can’t fully read. They miss key selling points. They don’t understand differentiators. They have questions your infographic answers – but in a language they don’t speak.
These customers convert at lower rates than domestic customers. The conversion gap represents lost revenue.
Localized infographics close this gap by delivering your value proposition clearly to every market. Higher conversion rates. Better engagement metrics. Stronger performance from international advertising spend.
For brands where infographics are central to product pages, localization isn’t a nice-to-have – it’s essential for international success.
This principle applies broadly across visual content, as we explore in our pillar guide: How to Translate Product Images on Shopify (The Easy Way).
Ready to make your infographics work in every language? Install Product Image Translate Easy and serve localized visual content to every market.