How Do You Import Products Into WooCommerce From a CSV File?

You can import products into WooCommerce from a CSV file using the free importer that is already built in. Export or prepare your spreadsheet, save it as a CSV, then go to Products, choose Import, upload the file and match your columns to WooCommerce fields. It takes minutes once your spreadsheet is tidy, and it saves hours of typing products in one by one.

When a CSV import makes sense

A CSV (comma-separated values) file is just a spreadsheet saved in a plain format. Importing is a good idea when you are launching a new store with dozens or hundreds of products, moving from another platform, or updating prices and stock in bulk. For a handful of products, adding them by hand is usually quicker.

Start with a sample file from WooCommerce

The easiest way to get your columns right is to add one or two products by hand, then export them. In your dashboard go to Products, click Export, and download the CSV. Open it in Excel or Google Sheets and you will see exactly how WooCommerce expects the data to look. Use that file as your template and add your other products underneath.

The columns that matter most

• Name: the product title as customers will see it.
• SKU: a unique code for each product. This is how WooCommerce recognises a product when you update it later.
• Regular price: numbers only, with no dollar signs or commas.
• Stock and In stock?: your quantity, and whether the product is available.
• Categories: use the same names as your store categories. Separate several with a comma, and use a greater-than sign for sub-categories, such as Homewares > Cushions.
• Images: full web addresses of the pictures, separated by commas. The first one becomes the main image.
• Description and Short description: your product copy.

Because images are pulled in from web addresses, upload your photos to the Media Library first (or to a folder on your hosting) and copy the links into the spreadsheet. Compress them beforehand so your store stays quick.

How to run the import

1. Back up your site first, or work on a staging copy.
2. Go to Products, then Import, and choose your CSV file.
3. Tick "Update existing products" only if you are changing products that are already in the store.
4. On the mapping screen, check that each column matches the right field. WooCommerce guesses well when you start from its own export.
5. Click Run the importer and wait for the confirmation.

Test with a small batch first

Before you load 500 products, import five. Open them on the front of your site and check the price, images, category and description. It is much easier to fix a column problem now than to clean up hundreds of products afterwards. Large files can also time out on basic hosting, so splitting them into batches of a few hundred rows is a sensible habit.

Common problems and quick fixes

Strange symbols usually mean the file was not saved as UTF-8, so choose "CSV UTF-8" when you save. Missing images are normally a mistyped web address. Duplicate products appear when SKUs are blank or repeated. If a variable product, such as a shirt in several sizes, looks wrong, remember that each variation needs its own row linked to the parent product. Variations are fiddly, so it is worth reading our guide on setting up product variations before you prepare that file.

Keep it tidy after the import

Once your products are in, spot-check a few categories, confirm your GST settings and make sure stock levels are right. If you plan to import regularly, for example from a supplier feed or an inventory system, a custom connection is often more reliable than uploading spreadsheets by hand. That is something our WooCommerce development service handles. For wider plugin and theme needs, see our custom WordPress themes and plugins. If you also keep your accounts and stock tidy with a tool like Store Auditor, you will catch pricing slips before customers do.

Need a hand moving your products across? Call us on 02 9834 4119 or get in touch through our contact page, and we will help you get your store loaded cleanly.