How to replace text?

Summary

Text replacements let you automatically replace specific words or phrases across your cloned website. This is useful for brand terms, legal wording, or phrases that should never be translated literally. Instead of fixing the same thing over and over, you define a rule once and Clonable applies it everywhere.

FAQ

What are text replacements used for?

They are used to automatically replace specific text fragments with your preferred alternative.

Are text replacements language-specific?

Yes. You can define replacements per language.

Do text replacements affect the original website?

No. They only apply to the cloned website.

⏱️ Reading time: 5–7 minutes

What are text replacements?

Text replacements are substitution rules that scan translated content and replace matching text with a predefined value. This happens automatically during translation and page rendering.

Typical use cases include:

Legal terms that require exact wording
Product names that should not be translated
Consistent phrasing across the entire site

Where to find text replacements

You can manage text replacements in the Clonable dashboard:

Clone → Substitution rules → Text replacements

This is where all replacement rules are created, edited, and managed.

How text replacements work

Each rule consists of two main parts:

The original text in the original language to match
The replacement text that should be shown instead

When Clonable encounters the original text in translated content, it swaps it with the replacement automatically.

Text replacements are applied after translation, so they override the translated output.

Creating a text replacement

To create a new text replacement:

Go to Clone → Substitution rules → Text replacements
Enter the text you want to replace
Enter the replacement text
Save the rule by clinking "Add"

The change takes effect immediately on the Clone.

Case sensitivity and exact matching

Text replacements work with exact text matching. This means:

Capitalization matters
Extra spaces matter
Punctuation matters

Tip: If you need multiple variations, create multiple replacement rules.

Language-specific replacements

Each replacement rule is tied to a specific language. This allows you to:

Use different terminology per language
Apply local legal wording
Adjust tone or branding per market

Example:

English: “Terms and Conditions”
German: “Allgemeine Geschäftsbedingungen”

Common use cases

Text replacements are often used for:

Trademarked product names
Fixed slogans or taglines
Legal disclaimers
Payment or shipping terminology

Limitations to keep in mind

Text replacements are powerful, but not magical.

Replacements only work on text content. They do not apply to images, PDFs, or external scripts.

Also keep in mind:

Overlapping rules can cause unexpected results
Very generic replacements may affect more text than intended

Best practices

To avoid surprises:

Keep replacement phrases as specific as possible
Avoid replacing very common words
Test changes on a few pages first
Use multiple small rules instead of one broad rule

Tip: If you need structural or layout changes, text replacements are not the right tool. Use the Clone Editor or HTML exclusions instead.