How to localize your App Store & Play Store screenshots
People decide faster, and download more, when a store listing speaks their language. Localizing your screenshots — not just your app description — is one of the highest-impact App Store Optimization (ASO) moves you can make, especially in markets where English isn't the default. This guide covers why it matters and how to do it without drowning in duplicate files.
Why localize your screenshots
- Higher conversion. Shoppers scan screenshots before they read anything else.
Headlines in their own language build trust and explain value instantly.
- Better ASO. Localized listings rank and convert better in each store's regional
results.
- Reach. The App Store and Google Play together support 80+ languages. Each new locale
is a new audience your competitors may be ignoring.
Localize the message, not just the words
A literal translation often misses the point. For each market:
- Adapt the headline to the benefit that resonates locally, not a word-for-word copy.
- Check that text length still fits the layout — German and Finnish run long, while
Japanese and Chinese run short.
- Use local conventions for dates, currency, and screenshots of in-app content.
Handle right-to-left languages
Arabic, Hebrew, and other right-to-left (RTL) languages aren't just translated — the whole layout mirrors. Text aligns right, and the reading order flips. If your tool doesn't handle RTL, you end up rebuilding each screenshot by hand. Lingue handles RTL layout automatically so the mirrored version stays consistent with the rest of your set.
Keep every locale in one project
The biggest time sink is file sprawl: a separate design file per language, per device size. Change one element and you're editing dozens of files. The fix is to keep a single project where copy is localized per locale and the design stays shared, so a layout change applies everywhere at once.
A simple localization workflow
1. Design your screenshot set once, in your primary language. 2. Add each target language and translate the copy per screenshot, adapting the message. 3. Review right-to-left languages for correct mirroring and alignment. 4. Export the exact resolutions each store requires, for every device and every language.
How Lingue helps
Lingue localizes a screenshot set into every language the App Store and Google Play support, with right-to-left layouts handled for you — all inside one project. Edit copy per locale, keep the design shared, and export store-ready sets for every market without duplicating files.