Cardiff checklist for a bilingual Welsh and English storefront on common platforms

What to take away

WooCommerce gives the tightest control of Welsh URLs and strings, Shopify is fastest with the free Translate & Adapt app, and BigCommerce suits separate Welsh and English storefronts.
Welsh language standards under the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 bind public bodies such as Cardiff Council, not ordinary shops.
Product copy can start as machine translation. Checkout, returns, delivery and privacy text needs a human translator and a second reader.
Pair cy and en-GB hreflang tags, add a self-referencing canonical, and test the Welsh checkout with a Cardiff postcode.

Which online store builder handles Welsh content best

None of the three ships with Welsh as a storefront language, so you add it.

Welsh route

Shopify: Translate & Adapt plus Markets
WooCommerce: WPML or Polylang
BigCommerce: Multi-storefront or translations

Limit to plan for

Shopify: Goes stale after English edits
WooCommerce: You own URLs and updates
BigCommerce: Duplicates catalogue work

Cost to budget

Shopify: App free, Markets costs extra
WooCommerce: Polylang free tier, paid Pro; WPML tiers by site
BigCommerce: Pricing rises with sales volume

Shopify suits a small catalogue and a fixed launch date, while WooCommerce suits a Cardiff retailer with a developer on retainer. BigCommerce serves GBP and Irish orders from a single account.

Our guide to Shopify against WooCommerce for UK small business compares fees, VAT features and support.

Welsh language standards that matter in Cardiff

The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 created the standards regime and the Welsh Language Commissioner, who can issue compliance notices.

Those notices name the bodies that must comply. They include Welsh Ministers, all 22 local authorities such as Cardiff Council, health boards such as Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, and sponsored bodies such as Amgueddfa Cymru.

A private shop is covered only when it delivers services for a public body under contract.

Advertising carries the same accuracy duty in both languages. The Advertising Standards Authority codes cover bilingual promotions and price claims, so a Welsh banner must match its English twin.

Hreflang and URL structure for Welsh and English pages

Hreflang tells search engines which language version to show. Tag it wrongly and Google may index only one.

Put Welsh under /cy/ and English under /en-gb/.
Keep the slug in the page language, so /cy/ffurflen-gyswllt pairs with /en-gb/contact-form.
Add hreflang tags in the head of both pages, each pointing at the other.
Point a canonical on each page at itself.
Submit both URLs in one sitemap in Google Search Console.

Use cy for Welsh and en-GB for English, never en alone for a UK storefront.

What to test in a bilingual checkout before launch

A polished Welsh homepage with an English-only checkout is the standard failure. Translate the payment step, emails and delivery labels.

Bilingual Checkout Test Checklist

Complete full order in Welsh to Cardiff postcode
Order confirmation email arrives in Welsh
VAT shown in GBP with valid number
Returns window matches English page
Language switcher mid-checkout keeps basket
Invoice and packing slip language settings
Screen reader test on Welsh checkout

Complete an order in Welsh to a Cardiff postcode.
Confirm order and dispatch emails arrive in Welsh.
Check VAT shows in GBP with your VAT number.
Match returns and delivery wording to the English page.
Switch language mid-basket and confirm the basket survives.
Check invoice and packing slip settings.
Run a screen reader over the Welsh checkout.

The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 set the pre-contract information and cancellation rights due before payment. Our review of UK platform payment gateway integrations compares native checkouts.

What Welsh translation costs

Welsh translation is quoted per word. Legal, checkout and returns text costs more than product copy because it needs a second reader.

Illustrative figures, not a market quote: at £0.10 per Welsh word, a 500-word returns policy is about £50, and a 12,000-word catalogue is about £1,200 before review.

Example: a Cardiff gift retailer bidding for a council contract

A Cardiff card and gift retailer tendering to supply Cardiff Council is often asked how the service will be delivered in Welsh. An English-only site gives it nothing to point at, while Welsh product, policy and order confirmation pages answer the question.

Compliance: VAT, data and product rules

VAT registration starts once taxable turnover passes £90,000 in a rolling 12 months, and prices show in GBP with tax stated. Pay.UK and Faster Payments clear UK card and bank payments, and the Office for Product Safety and Standards covers the goods you stock.

A Welsh privacy notice must be a real translation. The ICO guidance on the UK GDPR sets what a notice must say.

Before you commit to a platform, our entry checklist covering seller identity and data handling lists the questions to put to any vendor.

Common questions

Which platform is best for a Welsh storefront?

WooCommerce for control of Welsh URLs and strings, Shopify for speed with the free Translate & Adapt app, BigCommerce for separate storefronts.

How much does Welsh translation cost, and can I use machine translation?

Quotes are per word, and legal and checkout text costs more than product copy. Machine translation is fine for product copy you can spot-check, not for checkout, returns, delivery or privacy text.

Do I legally have to offer Welsh on a Cardiff shop?

Usually not. The standards bind public bodies and contractors delivering services for them, so private retailers add Welsh for customers and procurement advantage.

Does a bilingual storefront change UK VAT?

No. Thresholds, rates and GBP pricing stay the same, and you register once turnover passes £90,000.