How to add a Ukrainian language version to your OpenCart site

In this article we will explain how to add a Ukrainian language version to an OpenCart site. Since July 16, 2022, under the Law of Ukraine "On Ensuring the Functioning of the Ukrainian Language as the State Language", any site that operates for citizens of Ukraine must have a Ukrainian localization. Moreover, the Ukrainian version of the site must open by default.

In Ukraine, many online stores still operate in Russian without a Ukrainian version available. Even the largest Ukrainian online store did not have a Ukrainian translation until recently. Although, according to sociological polls reported by Radio Liberty, 78% of Ukraine's residents consider Ukrainian their native language. And this poll was conducted in 2021, before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia. A paradox, isn't it?

So, the time has come to add the Ukrainian language to OpenCart.

Installing the Ukrainian localization

You need to download and install the localization on the site — that is, the files containing translations of all phrases used in the CMS. For other versions you can also easily find translations via a search query. Usually, the localization page or the downloaded archive contains installation instructions. We will give an example of how to add the Ukrainian language to the system:

1. Sign in to your site's Admin panel and go to System > Localization > Languages, then click the "+" button on this page to add a new language.
2. Enter the following data and save the form:
   Name: Ukrainian
   Code: uk-ua
   Locale: uk,ua,uk_UA,ukrainian
   Status: Enabled
   Sort Order: 1
3. To set Ukrainian as the default language, go to System > Settings > Edit.
4. On the "Localization" tab, select "Ukrainian" in the "Language" and "Administration Language" fields.

After this, a language switcher should appear in the header of the storefront. However, sometimes when switching languages, not all parts of the site are translated and instead remain in English. This happens if you have installed third-party modules that do not have Ukrainian localization — in this case you need to contact the module's author for support or order a translation from us.

All content in products, categories, manufacturers, on pages, and in the blog will need to be translated manually, or you can use modules for automatic page content translation.

Choosing a module for generating multilingual links with language prefixes

One of the most popular modules for generating SEO-friendly URLs is SEO Pro — it is free. If your site is built on the ocStore distribution, SEO Pro is already included. If you have OpenCart, finding and installing SEO Pro is not a problem. The issue, however, is that this module does not support multilingual links with language prefixes.

• https://ocdev.pro/
  
• https://ocdev.pro/ru/
• https://ocdev.pro/en/

Additionally, with this extension you will get hreflang interlinking, which is invisible to the regular user but is essential for proper detection of localized page versions by search bots. You can find installation and configuration instructions for this extension on its page — it is actually very simple.

A proper sitemap with multilingual URL support

If you want everything on your OpenCart site done by the book, you need to make the sitemap multilingual as well, in accordance with Google's recommendations. The Multilingual sitemap fx sitemap OpenCart module will help you here — its rich feature set will help you build a sitemap that both you and search bots will love. The module allows you to add hreflang relationships to the sitemap, manage link parameters, split the sitemap into parts, and much more.

---

Need help?

Technical support & consultation

Describe your task — I will propose a solution tailored to your project.