WooCommerce powers shops that vary from one product to 1000’s. However irrespective of the dimensions of your retailer, it’s possible you’ll end up needing to import and export merchandise and orders. Copying data manually, one merchandise at a time, could be tedious. The power to import and export this knowledge in bulk could make retailer administration extra environment friendly and fewer irritating.
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When ought to I import or export merchandise?
Undecided should you want import and export performance in your retailer? There are fairly a number of eventualities the place importing and exporting merchandise in bulk can be helpful to only about any on-line store. It’s possible you’ll want to do that if:
You’ve gotten a lot of merchandise that should be transferred or up to date
For those who’re establishing your retailer for the primary time and you’ve got a big catalog of merchandise, are importing a brand new batch of stock into an present retailer, or are updating product data in bulk, you may profit from a bulk import/export.
You want to ship product knowledge to warehouses
For those who’re establishing a relationship with a warehouse for the primary time, they’ll need data on all of your merchandise — together with product identify, description, SKU, delivery technique, and fees. For those who don’t have already got a spreadsheet with this knowledge, you’ll need to have the ability to export that data instantly out of your WooCommerce retailer.
You want to export your product catalog to a market like Amazon
For those who’ve primarily run your retailer on WooCommerce and at the moment are starting to department out to Amazon, Etsy, Fb/Instagram, and different marketplaces, it’s possible you’ll discover it helpful to easily bulk export your merchandise out of your WooCommerce retailer right into a CSV or XML file. You’ll be able to then add this file to {the marketplace} you’d prefer to work with.
For those who solely have 4 or 5 merchandise, you possibly can in all probability add them manually, however should you’ve acquired a catalog of lots of or 1000’s, you undoubtedly don’t wish to spend days or even weeks making an attempt so as to add these one-by-one.
You want to import merchandise from one other eCommerce platform to WooCommerce
For those who’re transferring from BigCommerce, Shopify, Magento, or another eCommerce platform, with the ability to import your product catalog in bulk is a large time saver.
You want to replace product data in bulk
For those who embody the identical data in each product description and out of the blue discover that this modifications, you’ll both must replace every product individually or discover a approach to change all of them without delay.
Let’s say your retailer gives 200 t-shirt designs and each one has a shade possibility of blue, black, and pink. You obtain a notification that your producer will not provide pink shirts. Now it’s a must to replace 200 merchandise to mirror this transformation. As a substitute of going into every one individually and eradicating the pink variation, you possibly can bulk export your merchandise, delete the pink possibility, after which import the revised data again into WooCommerce.
You wish to create a printed product catalog
Prior to now, firms led with printed catalogs and ultimately got here round to creating eCommerce shops. However as of late, the price of creating a web-based store is exponentially extra reasonably priced than designing, printing, and mailing catalogs. It’s more likely {that a} store would begin with eCommerce after which later resolve to create a printed catalog. If so in your retailer, with the ability to export all of your product knowledge instantly out of your on-line store may help expedite your catalog design course of.
When ought to I import and export orders?
Importing and exporting orders is important for environment friendly administration of medium to giant eCommerce shops. However even smaller shops may want import/export performance for WooCommerce on occasion. Under are some instance eventualities:
You’re sending orders in batches through a CSV file to your warehouse
For those who don’t have a direct integration between your WooCommerce retailer and your warehouse, you’ll have to ship orders in a CSV or Excel file. When you might transcribe order data manually into your CSV file, it might be fairly time consuming and liable to errors. As a substitute, you possibly can do a day by day export of orders that you simply ship to your warehouse, which might prevent time and cut back the opportunity of typos and missed orders.
You want particular knowledge to run experiences
Whereas WooCommerce has a number of totally different reporting capabilities, it’s possible you’ll wish to generate experiences distinctive to your organization. As an illustration, if you’d like one which exhibits what number of of a selected product is offered in a selected nation, state, or province per yr, you’ll must create this your self. Exporting full product gross sales and order knowledge offers your analyst the info they should make this occur.
You’re importing orders in bulk that have been positioned manually via e-mail, over the telephone, or in particular person
For those who take a lot of orders via channels aside from your web site, you don’t wish to spend hours including every one individually to your retailer. For those who can centralize your offline orders to a single CSV file that’s uploaded in bulk, you’ll save a number of time.
You wish to retailer order historical past off-site
For those who delete order knowledge periodically in WooCommerce, you may wish to again up historic orders in a CSV file someplace in case you have to entry them sooner or later.
How you can import and export merchandise and orders
There are a number of methods to import and export merchandise and orders relying on the kind of data you want:
- Constructed-in product import and export instruments: Nice for importing and exporting product knowledge for easy and variable product varieties
- The built-in analytics software, WooCommerce Analytics: A superb possibility for exporting some forms of fundamental product and order knowledge
- The WordPress native Import and Export software: Nice for importing and exporting extra detailed knowledge. Nonetheless, the outcomes will likely be in an XML file they usually look a bit messy. In addition they don’t export or import full order knowledge.
- An import/export extension: The quickest and easiest technique right here. That is additionally nice for customizing the knowledge you wish to import/export and dealing with detailed knowledge.
- Database guide import and export: Good for coping with full or detailed product and order knowledge. Nonetheless, this requires some growth expertise.
Maintain studying for detailed directions.
Importing and exporting merchandise with the built-in Product Import/Export software
WooCommerce comes with the power to bulk import a number of several types of merchandise, together with:
- Easy
- Variable
- Subscription merchandise
- Product bundles
- Composite merchandise
NOTE: If you have to import or export WooCommerce Bookings, WooCommerce Manufacturers, or different customized product varieties, you’ll want to make use of a premium extension like those we talk about under.
Importing merchandise
Earlier than importing your merchandise, you’ll want a CSV file with all of your product data, formatted in order that WooCommerce can correctly interpret the info. One of the best ways to generate that is to obtain the pattern CSV file on Github. From there, you’ll be able to change the pattern knowledge with your personal.
You may as well create a CSV file from scratch utilizing the Product CSV Import Schema. If you wish to import merchandise from an present WooCommerce retailer, you’ll be able to export them from the prevailing retailer and alter any mandatory data earlier than importing it into the brand new one.
Which CSV editor ought to I take advantage of?
Google Sheets, Open Workplace’s Calc program, and LibreOffice’s Calc program are all nice software program for enhancing your CSV recordsdata. For those who’re on a Mac, you can too use Numbers. Keep away from Microsoft Excel resulting from formatting and character encoding points.
How ought to I format my CSV file?
There are a number of formatting and data-related belongings you’ll want to concentrate to in your CSV file. For those who don’t observe these guidelines, you may find yourself with a failed import or incorrect data in your retailer.
- CSV recordsdata needs to be in UTF-8 format.
- Use your retailer’s native timezone for dates.
- For true/false values, use 1 for true and 0 for false.
- A number of values in a area needs to be separated with commas.
- Wrapping values in quotes permits you to insert a comma.
- Prefix the id with id: if referencing an present product ID. No prefix is required if referencing a SKU. For instance: id:100, SKU101
- Customized meta is supported however solely plain textual content. There’s no assist for JSON or serialized knowledge.
- Taxonomy time period hierarchy is denoted with > (e.g. T-shirts>Youth>Licensed Cartoon Tees). Phrases are separated with commas (e.g. short-sleeved,long-sleeved,cap-sleeved).
- Merchandise which are in draft standing aren’t exported, solely printed and privately printed merchandise. Nonetheless, you’ll be able to import a product with a draft standing.
- It’s not attainable to assign a selected submit ID to a product on import. Merchandise will all the time use the subsequent out there ID, whatever the ID included within the imported CSV.
- Photographs must already be uploaded to your web site or out there via a publicly accessible exterior hyperlink to be imported to your retailer. Some cloud storage companies use redirect scripts that stop the picture file from being imported, so guarantee that your picture is out there on the precise hyperlink you specify.
- If the product picture already exists within the Media Library, you’ll be able to merely enter the file identify as an alternative of your entire file path.
Import new merchandise or replace present merchandise
You should utilize the Import characteristic to import new merchandise or replace present ones.
1. In your WordPress dashboard, go to WooCommerce → Merchandise.
2. Choose Import on the prime of the Merchandise web page. You’ll be taken to a multi-step web page, step one of which is Add CSV File.
3. Choose Browse to decide on the CSV you wish to use.
4. For those who’re updating present merchandise, verify the Replace present merchandise field.
5. CSV delimiter: Typically CSV components are separated by a comma. If you’re utilizing a special delimiter in your file, you’ll be able to set it right here.
6. Column mapping preferences: For those who’ve set column mapping preferences prior to now and wish to use them, you’ll be able to verify this field.
7. Click on Proceed. This can take you to the Column mapping display screen.
WooCommerce will robotically try to map the Column Identify out of your CSV to Fields.
8. If there are any fields you don’t wish to import, you should utilize the dropdown menus beneath Map to area to point ‘Don’t import.’ You may as well choose the sphere you need your column identify mapped to. Any unrecognized columns or unmapped fields won’t be imported by default.
9. When you’ve mapped all of your fields, click on Run the Importer.
10. You’ll see a display screen that claims “Importing. Your merchandise at the moment are being imported.” Wait till the Importer is completed. Don’t refresh your browser whereas it’s in progress. When your import is full, you’ll be taken to the Finished! display screen and from there you’ll be able to click on View Merchandise to assessment them and ensure that they have been imported appropriately.
Exporting merchandise
If you have to export merchandise out of your retailer, the method is pretty easy.
1. In your WordPress dashboard, go to WooCommerce → Merchandise and click on Export on the prime of your display screen.
You’ll be taken to Export merchandise to a CSV file. From right here, you’ll be able to choose which columns, what product varieties, and what product class you wish to export.
2. Make your picks, then click on Generate CSV.
3. Wait in your export to complete and obtain your file.
WooCommerce Product Import & Export
For extra detailed data on importing and exporting merchandise with the default WooCommerce Product Import and Export instruments, learn the WooCommerce Getting Began Documentation.
Exporting product and order knowledge with WooCommerce Analytics
WooCommerce Analytics offers reporting particulars about your retailer’s gross sales, merchandise, and orders. Exporting this knowledge is beneficial if you wish to assessment greatest promoting merchandise, examine income for various time intervals, get an outline in your inventory ranges, or determine your most loyal prospects. When you can’t import exterior knowledge on to WooCommerce Analytics, should you’re utilizing a model of WooCommerce older than 4.0 and are upgrading to 4.0 or above, you’ll be able to import historic knowledge out of your earlier model of WooCommerce.
Remember the fact that WooCommerce Analytics is restricted to pretty high-level knowledge and doesn’t import/export full product or order data. For those who want detailed data like what number of gross sales have been made in a selected nation over a sure time frame or need to bulk edit product descriptions in your retailer, you’ll must export that knowledge instantly out of your database or utilizing an extension like Import Export Suite for WooCommerce.
Exporting product analytics
In your Product Analytics view, you’ll be able to select a date or date vary after which view all merchandise, see a single product, or select a product comparability view.
Product experiences can embody:
- Product title
- SKU
- Variety of gadgets offered
- Web gross sales
- Variety of orders
- Classes
- Variety of variations
- Inventory Standing (In Inventory, Low Inventory, Out of Inventory, N/A)
- Inventory Amount
To filter your outcomes for particular knowledge columns, click on on the vertical ellipsis on the prime proper of your product outcomes view.
You’ll be able to toggle on or off the SKU, Orders, Class, Variations, Standing, and Inventory columns. When your report displays the knowledge you want, click on the Obtain button on the prime proper of your product outcomes view. Your knowledge will likely be downloaded as a CSV file.
Exporting order analytics
In your Order Analytics view, you’ll be able to select a date or date vary after which view all orders or select from some superior filters like:
- Order Standing
- Merchandise
- Variations
- Coupon Codes
- Buyer Kind
- Refunds
- Tax Price
- Attributes
Order experiences can embody:
- Date
- Order quantity
- Standing
- Buyer identify
- Buyer kind
- Product(s) bought
- Variety of gadgets offered
- Coupon(s) used
- Web gross sales
To filter your outcomes for particular knowledge columns, click on on the vertical ellipsis on the prime proper of your product outcomes view.
You’ll be able to toggle on or off the Standing, Buyer, Buyer kind, Product(s), Gadgets offered, and Coupon(s) columns. When your report displays the knowledge you want, click on the Obtain button on the prime proper of your product outcomes view. Your knowledge will likely be downloaded as a CSV file.
WooCommerce Analytics
WooCommerce Analytics is a reporting and knowledge evaluation software that comes with model 5.3 and above of WooCommerce. The suite consists of superior filtering and segmenting instruments in your experiences, report downloads in CSV format, and a customizable dashboard to watch key metrics of your retailer. Be taught extra
Exporting product and order knowledge with WordPress’ Export software
WordPress natively permits you to export totally different submit varieties as XML recordsdata. This characteristic is positioned in Instruments → Export in your WordPress dashboard.
WordPress’ Export software can export customized submit varieties like:
- Merchandise
- Variations
- Orders
- Refunds
- Coupons
Word: Select Merchandise or Orders as an alternative of Product or Order when exporting.
Remember the fact that for order exports, the outcomes are considerably restricted in that it does not embody the names of the merchandise or the amount offered in every order.
The WordPress Export software’s formatting is probably not ultimate in your functions, both. The information will likely be exported as an XML file, so except you intend on importing this knowledge instantly into one other WooCommerce web site, you’ll in all probability wish to view the outcomes as a CSV file. To do that you’ll both must convert it to a CSV file utilizing Notepad++ (Home windows) or a free on-line conversion software. The ensuing formatting is just not fairly and generally is a bit messy to type via. For those who want order particulars like which merchandise have been ordered and what number of, you’ll nonetheless must export that data instantly from the database or use a plugin to deal with your exports.
Importing product and order knowledge with the WordPress Import software
To import product or order knowledge utilizing the WordPress Import software, you’ll must guarantee that your file is formatted similar to the export file for whichever submit kind you’re importing. Exporting a submit kind first can provide you a template for how you can arrange your import file.
This exported file will even outline what forms of knowledge could be imported. That is particularly necessary in terms of order data for the reason that Orders submit kind doesn’t embody full order data.
When you can edit your file as a CSV, as soon as your file is configured it’s best to be sure to reserve it as an XML file.
When your file is prepared and saved in XML format, open your WordPress dashboard and go to Instruments → Import.
Scroll to the underside of the subsequent display screen till you discover the WordPress possibility, then click on Run Importer.
Choose your XML file utilizing the Select File button, then click on Add file and import.
Utilizing WooCommerce extensions to import and export merchandise and orders
The quickest and least error-prone approach to import and export WooCommerce merchandise and orders is to make use of an extension. This protects time and reduces the potential for errors. Relying on the info you want, there are a number of nice options to select from — Import Export Suite for WooCommerce, Product CSV Import Suite, Buyer/Order/Coupon CSV Import Suite, and WooCommerce Buyer/Order/Coupon Export.
Import Export Suite for WooCommerce
With Import Export Suite for WooCommerce, you’ll be able to import, export, migrate, and replace all of your WooCommerce knowledge in bulk utilizing both a CSV or XML file. All WooCommerce product varieties are supported, together with:
- easy
- grouped
- exterior
- variable
You may as well import and export orders, product critiques, coupons, subscriptions, and prospects.
Import Export Suite for WooCommerce consists of a number of different helpful options, like:
- Scheduled imports and exports. You’ll be able to automate your imports and exports on a schedule you select. These processes run within the background so you’ll be able to proceed to work on different areas of your web site.
- Import/export historical past. The suite shops your whole import and export historical past and consists of the choice to re-run the identical import/export once more.
- Knowledge and debug logs. You’ll be able to view all the info associated to your import/export processes and verify debug logs if a course of fails and you have to troubleshoot the difficulty.
- Import and export customized fields and hidden metadata.
- Create customized exports utilizing filters. You’ll be able to specify the whole variety of merchandise to export, skip first n exports, embody or exclude merchandise by class, and specify particular merchandise to export by product identify.
Product CSV Import Suite
Product CSV Import Suite is particularly geared towards importing and exporting merchandise. Along with with the ability to import and export the identical product varieties that WooCommerce does by default, it’s additionally set as much as deal with data from WooCommerce Bookings, Product Distributors, WooCommerce Manufacturers, Google Product Feed, and WooCommerce Images.
Product CSV Import Suite is ready to seize customized area and taxonomy data you could embody in your imports and exports. It would additionally import customized knowledge from extensions like Product Add-Ons and Dynamic Pricing.
With Product CSV Import Suite, you will have extra granular management of what product knowledge you export out of your retailer. You may as well export merchandise in draft mode.
Buyer/Order/Coupon CSV Import Suite
Buyer/Order/Coupon CSV Import Suite is barely an importer. It doesn’t create exports. You’ll must buy its companion plugin WooCommerce Buyer/Order/Coupon Export or one other order export plugin if you wish to export order data.
The importer can deal with a number of totally different import codecs, and columns could be mapped to the suitable WooCommerce fields to merge or create orders. Your knowledge could be imported as a file, copy and pasted, or added through a URL.
Along with importing and merging orders, you’ll be able to import and merge prospects and coupons. This extension additionally permits you to import customized fields and taxonomies related to orders, prospects, and coupons.
A number of delivery strategies per order are supported and order knowledge imports within the background so to import giant knowledge units with out risking timeouts.
WooCommerce Buyer/Order/Coupon Export
WooCommerce Buyer/Order/Coupon Export is an export software solely that outputs recordsdata in CSV and XML format. If you have to import buyer, order, or coupon knowledge, you should utilize its companion extension, Buyer/Order/Coupon CSV Import Suite.
With this extension you’ll be able to export particular person orders, prospects, or coupons and automate your exports with knowledge transfers through FTP, HTTP POST, or e-mail. The export course of runs asynchronously within the background in your web site so you’ll be able to proceed working in different areas of your retailer whereas your export completes.
Different useful options embody:
- Customized codecs that embody buyer and order meta. You may as well customise exports to fit your CRM or order success system — rearrange and add new fields and embody customized meta knowledge and static values.
Which resolution is best for you?
There’s no one-size-fits-all resolution for each import and export requirement. It’s possible you’ll have already got what you want from the built-in WooCommerce Import and Export instruments and WooCommerce Analytics. When you’ve got a extra distinctive state of affairs, a premium extension like Import Export Suite for WooCommerce is perhaps the best choice.
Take the time to think about what import and/or export knowledge you have to effectively and successfully run your retailer and select the answer that greatest helps your objectives.
