How to reset the primary language for preorders and back-in-stock alerts
STOQ lets you set a primary language that controls the default text for your preorder button, back-in-stock "Notify me" button, signup popup, and all email and SMS alert templates. If you need to switch your store's primary language — for example, from English to French — you can reset it from the Settings page. STOQ overwrites all default text with the built-in translations for the new language so everything matches right away.
What resetting the primary language does
When you change the primary language, STOQ updates two things at once:
- Storefront text — the "Notify me" button label, preorder button text, signup popup header, description, form placeholders, error messages, success message, opt-in email text, and collection-page button text are all replaced with the new language's defaults.
- Notification templates — the email subject, pre-header, header, description, footer, button text, unsubscribe text, and SMS body for every notification step (automatic alert, reminder, and preorder templates) are overwritten with the new language's defaults.
The change is immediate. STOQ shows a confirmation dialog before proceeding because the action overwrites all existing content in the primary language.
Prerequisites
Before you reset the primary language, confirm the following:
- STOQ is installed and active on your Shopify store.
- You are on a paid STOQ plan. Language settings are only editable on paid plans.
- The language you want to switch to is available in STOQ's translation library. STOQ provides built-in defaults for many common languages. If your target language is not listed in the dropdown, it is not currently supported as a primary language.
Step 1 - Open the Languages settings page
Navigate to the page where the primary language selector lives.
- Open STOQ from your Shopify admin.
- Go to back in stock > delivery settings > manage languages
- Click Languages.
You will see the Languages section at the top of the page with two settings:
- Language for preorders & back in stock alerts — this is the primary language that controls all storefront text and notification templates.
- Use STOQ in — this is a separate setting that controls the STOQ dashboard language (admin interface only). Changing this does not affect what your customers see.
Step 2 - Select the new primary language
Choose the language you want to switch to from the popover menu.
- Find the Language for preorders & back in stock alerts row.
- Click the language button next to it (it shows your current primary language, for example English).
- A popover opens with a list of available languages as radio buttons.
- Select the language you want to switch to (for example, French, German, or Spanish).
Step 3 - Confirm the reset
STOQ asks you to confirm before making changes because the action overwrites all existing text.
- After selecting a language, a confirmation dialog appears: "Are you sure? This will overwrite all content including button text, popup text and alerts."
- Click OK to confirm.
- STOQ updates the primary language and replaces all default-language text with the built-in translations for the new language.
- A "Language saved" toast notification appears at the bottom of the screen to confirm the change.
If you click Cancel, the primary language stays unchanged and no text is overwritten.
What gets overwritten
The following fields are replaced with the new language's built-in defaults when you reset the primary language.
Storefront fields
Field | Example (English default) |
|---|---|
Notify me button text | Notify me when available |
Collection page button text | Notify me |
Preorder button (out of stock) | Pre-order |
Preorder button (add to cart) | Pre-order now |
Popup header | Product title |
Popup description | Register to receive a notification when this item comes back in stock. |
Popup button text | Notify me |
Success message | You're in! We'll let you know when it's back. |
Email placeholder | Enter your email |
Phone placeholder | Enter your phone number |
Error messages | Various validation messages (empty field, duplicate signup, invalid email, etc.) |
Mixed cart error | Mixed cart warning message |
Opt-in email subject | Confirm your subscription |
Opt-in email body | Confirmation email text |
Opt-in success text | Subscription confirmed message |
Resubscribe text | Resubscribe prompt |
Notification template fields (per notification step)
Field | Example (English default) |
|---|---|
Email subject | Product is back in stock! Grab yours before it's too late |
Email pre-header | Product is available now! |
Email header | Product is available now! |
Email description | Limited stock only. Click 'Buy now' & grab yours before it goes out of stock again! |
Email footer | You're receiving this email because you subscribed... |
Button text | Buy now |
Unsubscribe text | Unsubscribe |
SMS body | Product is back in stock at Store! Buy yours now - link |
Push title | Product is back in stock |
Push body | Push notification body |
Push button text | Buy now |
Step 4 - Review and customize the updated text (optional)
After the primary language is reset, review the text across your store and make any adjustments.
Review storefront text
- Go to Settings > Languages > Multi-language section.
- Click Edit translations under Button & form.
- Check the button label, popup header, description, and form messages. Edit any fields you want to customize.
Review notification templates
- Go to Settings > Languages > Multi-language section.
- Click Edit translations under Notification templates.
- Review the email subject, header, description, and SMS body for each notification step.
Review preorder offers
- Go to Settings > Languages > Multi-language section.
- Click Edit translations under Preorder offers.
- Check the preorder selling plan names and descriptions.
Primary language vs. dashboard language
STOQ has two separate language settings. They control different things:
Setting | What it controls | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|
Language for preorders & back in stock alerts | All customer-facing text: buttons, popups, forms, email/SMS templates, preorder button | Settings > Languages > Languages section |
Use STOQ in | The STOQ admin dashboard language (menus, labels, tooltips) | Settings > Languages > Languages section |
Changing the dashboard language does not affect what your customers see. Changing the primary language does not affect the STOQ admin interface.
Known limitations
- Resetting the primary language overwrites all default-language text immediately. There is no undo. Custom wording in buttons, popups, and templates is lost.
- Only languages in STOQ's built-in translation library are available. If your target language is not listed in the popover, it cannot be set as the primary language.
- Multi-language translations for other languages are not affected. Only the primary (default) language text is overwritten. Translations you have saved for other languages remain intact.
- Custom HTML email templates are not overwritten. If you use a custom HTML template, only the standard text fields are replaced — the custom HTML content stays as-is.
- The dashboard language is separate. Changing the primary language does not change the STOQ admin interface language. Use the Use STOQ in dropdown to change the dashboard language independently.
- Preorder selling plan translations must be reviewed separately. The primary language reset updates notification templates and storefront text but does not automatically update selling plan names and descriptions.
Troubleshooting
Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
Language popover does not open | You are on the free plan | Upgrade to a paid STOQ plan to access language settings |
Target language is not listed in the popover | STOQ does not have built-in translations for that language | Contact STOQ support to request the language, or enter translations manually using the multi-language translator |
Button and popup text did not change after reset | Browser cache is showing old text | Hard-refresh your storefront (Ctrl+Shift+R) or clear the Shopify theme cache |
Email templates still show old language | You may be looking at a multi-language translation, not the primary language | Switch to the default language in the template translator to see the updated primary-language text |
Confirmation dialog did not appear | JavaScript may be blocked in the browser | Ensure pop-ups and JavaScript are enabled in your browser settings |
Dashboard language changed but customer-facing text did not | You changed the Use STOQ in setting instead of the primary language | Change the Language for preorders & back in stock alerts setting — this is the one that affects customer-facing text |
Custom text was lost after resetting | The reset overwrites all default-language text by design | Re-enter your custom wording in the relevant translator pages (Button & form, Notification templates) |
Preorder button still shows old language | Theme cache or Shopify CDN delay | Wait a few minutes, then hard-refresh the product page. If the issue persists, re-publish your Shopify theme |
FAQs
Q: Does resetting the primary language affect my multi-language translations?
A: No. Resetting the primary language only overwrites the default-language text. Any translations you have saved for other languages (for example, French, German, or Spanish translations in the multi-language translator) remain exactly as they are.
Q: Can I undo a primary language reset?
A: Not directly. Once you confirm the reset, all default-language text is overwritten with the new language's built-in defaults. To go back, you can reset the primary language again to the original language — but any custom wording you had will be replaced with STOQ's standard defaults, not your previous customizations.
Q: What is the difference between "Language for preorders & back in stock alerts" and "Use STOQ in"?
A: Language for preorders & back in stock alerts controls all customer-facing text — buttons, popups, forms, and notification templates. Use STOQ in controls the STOQ admin dashboard language (menus, labels, settings page). They are independent and can be set to different languages.
Q: Do I need multi-language support enabled to reset the primary language?
A: No. The primary language setting is in the Languages section at the top of the Settings page. It works independently of the Multi-language support toggle. You can reset the primary language even if multi-language support is disabled.
Q: Will my email templates be overwritten too?
A: Yes. Resetting the primary language overwrites the email subject, pre-header, header, description, footer, button text, unsubscribe text, and SMS body for every notification step — including the automatic alert, reminder, and preorder templates. Custom HTML email templates are not affected.
Q: Does the reset affect preorder selling plan names?
A: No. The primary language reset updates storefront text (buttons, popups, form messages) and notification templates. Preorder selling plan names and descriptions are managed separately under Settings > Languages > Preorder offers > Edit translations.
Q: Can I set different primary languages for preorders and back-in-stock alerts?
A: No. The primary language setting applies to both preorders and back-in-stock alerts at the same time. There is no way to set a different primary language for each feature independently.
Q: What happens if I change the primary language and then enable multi-language support?
A: When you enable multi-language support, STOQ automatically loads built-in default translations for all published languages that do not already have translations saved. Your primary language text is not affected — only the additional translation languages are populated with defaults.
Updated on: 23/04/2026
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