SEO Recommendation · Prepared by SearchFlex
Which URL structure the German site should launch on, and how the options compare for organic performance and scalability.
We suggest launching German as a folder on the main domain, varley.com/de/. This section sets out why, and how it compares with the subdomain route.
varley.com/de/, a folder on the main domain, built with locale-prefixed routes in Hydrogen and linked to the existing sites with hreflang. We refer to this as Option A.eu.varley.com/de-de/ is a sound way to get live quickly and works with hreflang. The difference is mainly in how much of the main domain's authority German pages benefit from, and how easily the structure extends later./de/ on the main domain in time. We would like to settle this on the call.Both options are workable. They differ in how many steps German sits from the main domain: one for Option A (a folder), two for Option B (a subdomain, then a folder).
A separate subdomain, currently serving English content in euros.
A folder inside the regional site.
The main domain, where existing content and links already sit.
A folder on the main domain, alongside the other content.
A shorter path to the main domain generally means less to configure, and keeps the structure consistent as further markets are added.
Shopify recommends subfolders for most stores because they share domain authority with the primary domain. It notes that subdomains can be treated as separate sites that build their own.
Google does not publish a ranking preference between the two, so this is an advantage to take rather than a guarantee. For a new language section, starting on the main domain gives it the strongest foundation.
One pattern on the main domain (/de/, with other markets added the same way) extends to new markets without restructuring.
If URLs do need to change later, Google's site move guidance applies: change one thing at a time, redirect each old URL directly with a permanent redirect, and keep the redirects for at least a year. Rankings can fluctuate for weeks or longer. Starting on the main domain avoids that process.
Hreflang, canonicals, XML sitemaps, internal links and analytics are configured once, on one domain.
German performance can be tracked by folder from day one, with continuous history if the structure later grows.
At the time of writing, eu.varley.com serves English content in euros under a "European Union" store label, with no language folders visible.
German can be added there and linked with hreflang. A language folder on the main domain gives search engines a self-contained German section that is straightforward to read and maintain.
What the data and documentation support, and where they stop.
Ahrefs reports Domain Rating at root-domain level (67 for varley.com in its public lookup, 14 Oct 2026), so eu.varley.com returns the same figure. It therefore cannot show a difference between the hosts, and the authority point rests on Shopify's guidance rather than this number.
| Option Avarley.com/de/ | Option Beu.varley.com/de-de/ | |
|---|---|---|
| Domain authority | Shares the main domain with existing content and links | Sits on a subdomain, which can build its own authority |
| Adding markets later | Same pattern, no restructuring | May need restructuring to match |
| If URLs need to change | Unlikely: German already sits on the main domain | If German later moves to the main domain: 301 redirects, kept for at least a year |
| Hreflang and canonicals | Set up once | Set up, then updated if German moves |
| Reporting | By folder from day one, with continuous history | History splits if German later moves |
| Launch effort | To confirm: depends on how the storefront routes requests on the main domain | Quick to set up, as the team has outlined |
Hydrogen supports locale-prefixed URL paths through an optional locale segment in its routes, and passes country and language to the Storefront API for the right currency and content. Shopify recommends subfolders for most stores and generates hreflang for markets that use one.
We prefer /de/ (language only) to /de-de/. The format should follow one rule for every market, whichever format is chosen.
x-default. Shopify generates these for markets, but its documentation does not cover headless builds, so please confirm the Hydrogen storefront renders them.<link rel="alternate" hreflang="de" href="https://varley.com/de/" /> <link rel="alternate" hreflang="en" href="https://varley.com/" /> <link rel="alternate" hreflang="x-default" href="https://varley.com/" /> <link rel="canonical" href="https://varley.com/de/" />
Example only. A real implementation will also include the regional English sites, and the final set depends on how they are addressed.
Option B can work well as a first step if the following are agreed up front:
eu.varley.com/de/… to varley.com/de/…), so the move is one host-level redirect rule. Note this uses /de/ rather than /de-de/, so the path is identical before and after the move./de/ on varley.com, and what would that need (routing, proxying, domain settings)?Not yet checked on our side: the live page source of the existing sites (hreflang and canonicals), and German search demand. We can bring both to the call if useful.