How do I change or set the language in the widget on my website?

Question How do I manually set the language of my Web Widget (Classic)? Answer The widget language is set automatically by default based on the customer's browser. To manually set the language of the widget, follow the directions below for the widget you have on your account.
Tip: To determine which widget you have with your account, see Which widget do I have with my account? If you use the Web Widget (Classic) with a Support account To customize the Web Widget (Classic) so that it appears in a specific language no matter your customer's browser language, use the setLocale command: zE('webWidget', 'setLocale', 'LANGUAGE_CODE');

zE('webWidget', 'setLocale', 'LANGUAGE_CODE');
For more information, see the developer documentation for the setLocale settings. For a complete set of instructions, see Advanced customization of the Web Widget (Classic).
Note: When no help center articles match the widget's locale, the widget attempts to match the search results in the default language of the help center first. For example, when the language of the widget is set to Dutch and the help center doesn't contain any Dutch content, the widget tries to match results in English if the default language of the help center is English. If there are no results, the search extends to articles that don't have an English translation to match the keywords used across all help center languages. If you use a chat-only Web Widget (Classic) account
Legacy feature notice:
The Chat-only widget uses the Classic SDK, which is in maintenance mode:


Status: Supported but doesn't receive new features

Timeline: No end-of-life date announced

Impact: Existing implementations continue to work

For new implementations, use Web Widget (Classic) or Web Widget for messaging.
Set language in Chat-only widget For existing Chat-only widget implementations, use custom code to set the language. See Change the widget language for chat-only accounts in the developer portal for more information. Modern alternatives For new deployments:

Web widget (Classic) supports Chat and Support
Uses setLocale() method
Better fallback language methods
More customization options



Web widget (Messaging) for a modern messaging experience
Supports more than 40 languages
Automatic locale detection
Preferred for new implementations


For more information, see: Compare widget versions. Need help to decide?

New website: Web Widget (Messaging)

Existing Chat-only widget: Stable and can continue to use

Need support and chat: Web Widget (Classic)

Modern messaging experience: Web Widget (Messaging)
Contact your account representative for questions about widget options.