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Translations

Change your help center's default language

Change the primary language for your help center. This sets the default language for your content and determines which language is used when visitors first arrive.

Changing the primary language won't translate your existing content. You'll need to rewrite articles in the new language or use translations.

What the primary language controls

Your primary language determines:

  • Default content language - The language you write articles in

  • Visitor default - What language visitors see when they first visit your help center

  • URL structure - Your primary language appears at the root URL (e.g., yoursite.com/help)

  • Interface elements - Search prompts, navigation labels, buttons, and system messages.

Change your primary language

1

Open the translations dashboard

Go to Help Center > Translate.

2

Open the primary language selector

Click the Primary language section.

3

Select your language

Select your language from the dropdown.

Modal popup showing primary language selector with dropdown menu and save button
4

Save your changes

Click Save changes.

Your existing articles won't be translated automatically. They'll remain in their original language until you rewrite or translate them.

Available languages

You can set your primary language to any of these: English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch, Portuguese, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, or Turkish.

After changing the primary language

Once you change your primary language:

  • New articles you create will use the new language

  • Interface elements (search, navigation, buttons) appear in the new language

  • Visitors see the new language by default when they arrive

Primary language vs translations

Your help center has one primary language and can have multiple translation languages:

  • Primary language - The main language you write content in. Shows at your root URL.

  • Translations - Additional languages created from your primary content using AI. Visitors switch to these using the language picker.

Troubleshooting

Changes not appearing on help center

Clear your browser cache or try an incognito window. The primary language change is immediate but cached pages may show the old language.

Articles still in wrong language

Changing the primary language doesn't translate existing content. You need to manually rewrite articles or add translations.

Visitors can't find old language content

Add your previous primary language as a translation so visitors can switch to it using the language picker.

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