Running a WooCommerce store means keeping your product catalog updated, organized, and accurate at all times. Whether you’re adding new products, making bulk updates to prices and descriptions, or migrating your store to a new platform, managing your product data efficiently is crucial.
However, manually making these updates can be time-consuming and prone to mistakes, especially with an extensive product inventory. This is where specialized tools like import-export plugins become invaluable to import export woocommerce products.
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Exporting WooCommerce Products
The free Product Import Export plugin lets you export your WooCommerce store products to a CSV file.
Let’s go through the step-by-step process for exporting WooCommerce products using the Product Import Export for WooCommerce plugin.
Step 1: Install WebToffee Product Import Export Plugin
The first step in exporting WooCommerce products using the plugin is to install and activate the plugin. Product Import and Export for WooCommerce is a free and easy-to-use plugin available in the WordPress plugin directory.
For this, login to your WordPress dashboard and navigate to:
- Plugins > Add New Plugin.
- Search for “Product Import Export for WooCommerce” plugin.
- Then Install and Activate the plugin.
Step 2: Choose Product as Post Type
Once the plugin is installed,
- Go to WebToffee Import Export (Basic) > Export.
- Choose the post type to export as Product.
- Click the Select an export method button to proceed to the next step.
Step 3: Select an Export Method
Two export methods are available to export products: Quick export and Advanced export.
The Quick Export feature makes it easy to export all your products and essential fields. This option enables you to finish the export process with just one click.
On the other hand, if you require more control over your export, the Advanced Export feature is perfect. It lets you choose specific products or fields to include or exclude from your export file. With various filtering options, column selection, and advanced settings, you can customize your export to suit your particular requirements.
- Let’s select Advanced export and proceed to the next step.
Step 3: Filter Export Data
In this step, you can use the filter options to filter out the data that needs to be exported.
Several options exist, such as limiting the number of products, excluding the first n products, or exporting specific products based on their categories and tags.
Once you have selected your required configuration, proceed to the next step.
Step 4: Map & Reorder Columns
In this section,
- Choose which product data columns you want to export.
- Specify the names of these columns in the CSV file.
- Rearrange the column positions using the drag-and-drop icons.
Once selected, you can proceed to the next step.
Step 5: Export Products
This is the final step in exporting your WooCommerce products. Here,
- Select a batch size. This determines how many records the server will process in each iteration during the specified timeout period. This setting helps manage the number of products exported at a time.
- Next, choose a delimiter from the dropdown menu. This separator helps distinguish between columns in the CSV file.
- Click Export.
When you export, a CSV file will be downloaded to your system. It will contain all the columns and products that satisfy the selected criteria.
Importing WooCommerce Products
You can use the same plugin to import your products back to the same or another store.
Note that your input CSV file should be encoded in UTF-8 format for flawless and accurate import of your products.
Follow the below steps to import products to WooCommerce using the free WooCommerce product import export plugin.
Step 1: Select Post Type
From the WordPress dashboard,
- Go to – WebToffee Import Export (Basic) > Import.
- Select Product as post type.
- Click Select import method.
Step 2: Choose Import Method
Next, select an import method for importing your products. There are two options: Quick import and Advanced import.
You can use the Quick import option if you have used the same plugin to export the input file.
With Quick import, you can simply upload the exported file and click Import to transfer WooCommerce products to your store.
Let’s see how the Advanced import method works, which has advanced options for more control over the import process.
- Upload the input CSV file.
- Select a delimiter to separate columns in the CSV file from the drop-down.
- Click the Map import columns button to proceed.
Step 3: Reorder Columns of Products CSV File
Next, you must map the import column headers from your CSV file to the corresponding WooCommerce product fields.
The plugin automatically matches columns if it finds a header name in the CSV file that matches WooCommerce fields. However, if the header names don’t match exactly or if you want to change any of the mappings, you can do so by:
- Clicking the file columns and choosing a header name from the drop-down.
- Once done, click on Advanced options/Batch import.
It’s important to accurately map the different product fields and ensure they are in the right format. Make sure to double-check that all required fields are correctly mapped to avoid any errors or issues during the import process.
Proceed to the next step.
Step 4: Configure Advanced Import Options
Next, there are several advanced options for deciding the course of the import.
- Choose whether to skip or proceed with the import of new products.
- Select ID or SKU to match products.
- Skip or Update the existing products in your store.
- Set the number of products to import in a single batch.
Once done, click Import to import your WooCommerce products from a CSV file.
That’s it. After the import is completed, a pop-up will appear showing the import status, such as the number of successful imports and any failed imports.
Upgrading to the premium version of the WooCommerce Product Import Export plugin unlocks advanced features that significantly improve your product data export capabilities over the free version.
Although the steps for the import process stay the same, the premium version provides enhanced control with features like:
- Support for variable and subscription products
- Ability to import custom fields and data from third-party plugins
- Excel, CSV, XML, and TSV file format compatibility
- Advanced filtering options,
- FTP/SFTP import support
- Schedule automatic imports using WordPress or server cron.
Conclusion
When moving to a new platform, bringing in your products and their details can feel overwhelming and take a lot of time, especially if you have an extensive catalog. This is where the right plugin can help.
Our Product Import Export Plugin for WooCommerce is designed to simplify this process, ensuring that your product import and export goes smoothly and efficiently. That’s not all. WebToffee also offers a variety of other plugins, such as WooCommerce Order Import Export and WordPress Users Import Export, which make it easy to transfer orders and users to and from your store effortlessly.
We hope this article has clarified the steps for importing and exporting your products. Please share your feedback as comments below and join the discussion.