PrestaShop change text: the label stays the same or the translation will not save
When changing text in PrestaShop does not work, check the cache, where you made the change and the template. The page may show an old cached copy. The translation may have gone to the theme while the label comes from a module. Or the label is hard-coded in the template, and then you change it in a file, ideally a template copy in the theme.
Author: The TellMyShop team. A guide for PrestaShop store owners: the cause, the manual fix and the same work in a chat conversation.
Last updated: · 5 min read
Why does the label in the store not change?
Because PrestaShop keeps text in several places, and the page takes it from only one. Thursday, 19:50. For the third time you change “Add to cart” to “Add to basket”, save and refresh the store. Still the old label. You go back to translations, and your version is saved there.
That is a typical symptom. The translation saved correctly, but not where the page reads it from. Or it saved, and the page is showing a cached copy.
Symptom and cause: what to check first
Match what you see to a row in the table.
| Symptom | Most common cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Translation saved in the admin, the store shows the old text | the cache | clear it in Advanced Parameters > Performance, refresh the page bypassing the browser cache |
| The change works in one place but not another | the same text is in the theme and in a module | change it in both types of translation |
| The text is not found in the translation search | the label is hard-coded in a template | change it in the template file, in the theme |
| The text changes in the module but not in a bought theme | the theme has its own copy of the module template | change it in the template copy in the theme |
| After saving, the field goes back to the old version | an error saving the translation to the database | the error log, then a developer |
| The change disappears after a module update | someone edited the module's files | move the change to a template copy in the theme |
The case of a field that goes back to the old version was described by Pskrk. The culprit was a database entry that overwrote the translation. How the types of translation in the admin work is shown by PrestaPros and PrestaPremium (all three in Polish).
How to find and change text step by step
Start with the translations in the admin, and only go to the files when the text is not there.
- Copy the label exactly as it appears in the store. With the same capital letters and punctuation.
- Open International > Translations. Choose theme translations, your theme and the language.
- Search for the label. If it is there, change it and save. If not, check the translations of installed modules.
- Clear the cache in Advanced Parameters > Performance and check the store in a private window.
- If the text is nowhere to be found, it is in a template. Work out which module or theme file displays that element.
- Change the text in a template copy in the theme. PrestaShop uses the copy instead of the module's original. The mechanism is described in the PrestaShop documentation on overriding modules.
Do not change text in files in the modules folder. The next module update will bring the old label back.
How to change text in a store with several languages
Change it in the translations for each language separately, and be careful with files. Translations in the admin have a separate version for each store language. Changing the English label does not change the French one, so after the change switch the store to the other language and check both.
Text hard-coded in a template is different. One line in a file displays the same way in every language. If the store has a French version and you type an English sentence into the template, a customer from France will see English text. In such a store it is better to ask a developer to change the template so the label can be translated in the admin.
How to change a module's label so it survives an update
You describe which text to change and to what, and your chat (Claude or ChatGPT) with the TellMyShop module works out which module displays it. Then it copies the module template into the theme and shows the difference before saving.
You: Change the text in the newsletter box in the footer to “One email a month with what is new at Lampiarnia”. It has to survive a module update.
Your chat: The box is displayed by the newsletter module. The text is hard-coded in its template, so translations in the admin will not change it. I will copy the template into the theme and change the text in the copy. Preview:
The store also has a French version. The text in the template copy will be in English in both versions. Change it?
You: Yes, we are switching the French version off anyway.
Your chat: Saved, cache cleared. The module's original is untouched, so an update will not bring back the old text.
Card status: waiting for your “yes”old version: Sign up for our newsletter to receive news about new products.
new version: One email a month with what is new at Lampiarnia.
Fixing a label is one request and a preview of the changed template line. This work requires TellMyShop Pro and the Theme switch. It is off after installation, and you turn it on in the module panel for 24 hours, when the store has a database backup from the same day. Before every save the module makes a copy of the file, and going back to it undoes the change. Two similar tasks are described in the use cases changing fixed text in a module box and changing a module's look so it survives an update. You can read about TellMyShop Pro on the pricing page.
The chat does not edit the International > Translations screen. It translates the names of features, values and attributes, such as colours and sizes, in TellMyShop Pro right after you activate the licence, without a switch. We describe translating a whole store in the post how to translate a PrestaShop store. If the store still shows the old text after the change, read what to do when changes are not visible in PrestaShop.
Questions and answers
Where do I change the Add to cart label in PrestaShop?
In International > Translations. Choose theme translations, your theme and the language, then type the current label into the search. Change it, save and clear the cache in Advanced Parameters > Performance. If the label comes from a module, look for it in the module translations instead of the theme.
Why does a translation change not show in the store?
Usually for one of three reasons. The store shows the old text from the cache. You changed the translation in a different place from the one the page uses, for example in a module instead of the theme. Or the theme has its own copy of the module template with the text hard-coded, which translations in the admin do not cover.
Will my text change disappear after a module update?
A change in the admin translations usually stays. A change typed directly into the module's files disappears when it is updated, because the new version overwrites the files. So text that cannot be changed in translations is changed in a copy of the module template in the theme. That copy survives module updates.
What do I do with text that is not in the translations?
That text is hard-coded in the theme or module template. You change it in the template file, ideally in a child theme or in a copy of the module template in the theme. In a store with several languages, remember that hard-coded text will be the same in every language version.
Will the chat change translations in the admin?
No. The chat does not edit the International > Translations screen. In TellMyShop Pro, with the Theme switch, it changes text in a copy of a module template or in a theme file, with a preview of the differences and a backup. It translates feature and attribute names, such as colours and sizes, separately, without a switch.
PrestaShop is a registered trademark of PrestaShop SA. Claude is a trademark of Anthropic PBC. ChatGPT and OpenAI are trademarks of OpenAI. TellMyShop is not affiliated with these companies.