Selling on Shopify in Germany from one multilingual store
Customers in Germany search and buy in German, even when your own team works in English. We build a German language version into your Shopify store, with its own URLs, German keyword research and VAT set up per country, and you work with us in English from Amsterdam.
Last updated
Building your German store from Amsterdam
You can sell to Germany from the Shopify store you already have. It needs a German language version with its own URLs and VAT set up per country, and we build that from Amsterdam, in English and in the same time zone as Germany (CET).
- Amsterdam
- Language
- You work with us in English, and we build German and French language versions for your store
- First meeting
- A first meeting is always online or by phone. The intro call takes 30 minutes, on weekdays between 12:00 and 17:00 Amsterdam time, which is also German time.
- On location
- Depending on the assignment, we then come to you on location, in Türkiye too.
- Invoicing
- We can invoice in euros and in Turkish lira (TL).
- Contact
- +31 20 244 77 43, info@haultagency.com
What a Shopify store needs to sell in Germany
To sell in Germany from one Shopify store, you need a German language version with its own URLs, product pages built around the words German buyers search with, and VAT set up per country through the Shopify product category. You keep the store and the catalogue you already have.
Customers who read your store in German also expect the terms and the privacy policy in German. We build those pages into the German version, as we did for Midoricha, our own brand, which has its legal pages in English, German, Dutch and French. We don't give legal advice, so have the texts themselves checked by a lawyer.
For VAT, we set the rates per country in the store, and your accountant stays in charge of registration and returns. If you sell to consumers in several EU countries, ask them whether OSS (the EU VAT scheme for cross-border sales) applies to you.
A German version that German buyers can find
German buyers use their own words when they search, so a translated product title often misses what they type. Each German language version gets its own keyword research, titles and structured data (schema), and we add hreflang, a sitemap per language and an llms.txt file, so Google and AI tools such as ChatGPT and Perplexity can read the store.
Avrupa Yöresel sells Turkish regional products from Amsterdam to the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and France. Before we added the German version, we audited its 773 products, filled in their SEO fields and brought the menu down from 20 groups to 8, so there was less to keep up to date in every language. The store now has Dutch and German language versions with their own URLs.
Read the Avrupa Yöresel case studyAfter launch, we can run a monthly cycle of SEO (search engine optimisation) and AEO (being found and cited in AI answers), which measures how the store does in Google and, with a fixed AI prompt test, in AI answers in the countries you sell to.
Working with us in English
You talk to us in English throughout the project, while your German customers read your store in German. Our working languages are English, Dutch and Turkish, and we build German and French language versions for client stores. Your team gives feedback in English, and the German version is designed and built together with the rest of the store.
Midoricha, our own brand of ceremonial matcha, runs one Shopify store in English, German, Dutch and French, with a journal in all four languages.
Read the Midoricha case studyA project usually takes 6 to 10 weeks, and you can choose strategy only, full delivery or a long-term partnership. If you want to sell in Germany from your Shopify store, request an intro call and tell us where you sell today. You'll hear from us within one working day.
See how we build Shopify storesStores with a German language version
Both stores sell to customers in Germany in German. Avrupa Yöresel added a German language version to a store that used to be entirely in Turkish, and Midoricha, our own brand of ceremonial matcha, launched in English, German, Dutch and French.
Avrupa Yöresel
Frequently asked questions
Can one Shopify store sell in Germany and the Netherlands?
Yes. One Shopify store can carry a Dutch and a German language version, each with its own URLs, and VAT can be set up per country through the Shopify product category. Customers in both countries then search and buy in their own language, while you keep one catalogue and one back office. Midoricha, our own brand, sells this way in four languages.
Do I need a German version of my Shopify store?
If you want people in Germany to find you, yes. German buyers search in German, and search engines match a search to pages in the same language. Before our work, Avrupa Yöresel ranked for 0 of 506 keywords in its customers' language, because everything was in Turkish. It now has Dutch and German language versions with their own URLs.
Do you work in German?
We work with you in English, and we also work in Dutch and Turkish. German isn't one of our working languages, but we build German and French language versions of your store as part of the project, so your German customers read and buy in German. We plan that version from the blueprint onwards, together with the rest of the store.
How do you set up VAT for customers in Germany?
We set up VAT rates per country through the Shopify product category, so each product carries the right rate for every country you sell to. Your accountant stays in charge of your VAT registration and returns, and we make sure the store's settings match their advice. We did this for Avrupa Yöresel, which sells to the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and France.
How long does it take to build a multilingual Shopify store?
A project usually takes 6 to 10 weeks. The exact time depends on the size of your catalogue, the number of languages and countries, and whether you move from another platform. A large catalogue often needs a product check first, because the VAT rate follows each product's category. After a 30-minute intro call, you'll receive a proposal with the scope, timeline and price.
Do you have an office in Germany?
No, we don't have an office in Germany. We work from Amsterdam, in English and in the same time zone as Germany. A first meeting is always online or by phone. Depending on the assignment, we then come to you on location, in Türkiye too.