The way to Import and Export Merchandise and Orders in WooCommerce

WooCommerce powers shops that vary from one product to 1000’s. However irrespective of the scale of your retailer, you could end up needing to import and export merchandise and orders. Copying data manually, one merchandise at a time, might be tedious. The power to import and export this knowledge in bulk could make retailer administration extra environment friendly and fewer irritating. 

Mentioned on this article: 

When ought to I import or export merchandise?

Undecided when you want import and export performance in your retailer? There are fairly just a few situations the place importing and exporting merchandise in bulk could be helpful to simply about any on-line store. It’s possible you’ll want to do that if:

You will have a lot of merchandise that should be transferred or up to date 

For those who’re organising 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 current retailer, or are updating product data in bulk, you may profit from a bulk import/export. 

You must ship product knowledge to warehouses

For those who’re organising a relationship with a warehouse for the primary time, they’ll need data on all of your merchandise — together with product title, description, SKU, delivery methodology, and prices. For those who don’t have already got a spreadsheet with this knowledge, you’ll need to have the ability to export that data straight out of your WooCommerce retailer.

You must 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, you could discover it useful to easily bulk export your merchandise out of your WooCommerce retailer right into a CSV or XML file. You possibly can then add this file to {the marketplace} you’d wish to work with. 

For those who solely have 4 or 5 merchandise, you might in all probability add them manually, however when you’ve acquired a catalog of lots of or 1000’s, you positively don’t wish to spend days or even weeks attempting so as to add these one-by-one.

You must import merchandise from one other eCommerce platform to WooCommerce

For those who’re shifting from BigCommerce, Shopify, Magento, or another eCommerce platform, with the ability to import your product catalog in bulk is a large time saver. 

You must replace product data in bulk

For those who embody the identical data in each product description and immediately discover that this modifications, you’ll both should 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 coloration choice of blue, black, and pink. You obtain a notification that your producer will now not provide pink shirts. Now you need to replace 200 merchandise to mirror this alteration. As an alternative of going into every one individually and eradicating the pink variation, you might bulk export your merchandise, delete the pink choice, after which import the revised data again into WooCommerce.

You wish to create a printed product catalog

Prior to now, corporations led with printed catalogs and ultimately got here round to creating eCommerce shops. However nowadays, 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 determine to create a printed catalog. If that is so in your retailer, with the ability to export all of your product knowledge straight out of your on-line store will help expedite your catalog design course of.

When ought to I import and export orders?

Importing and exporting orders is significant for environment friendly administration of medium to massive eCommerce shops. However even smaller shops may want import/export performance for WooCommerce sometimes. Beneath are some instance situations:

You’re sending orders in batches by way of a CSV file to your warehouse

For those who don’t have a direct integration between your WooCommerce retailer and your warehouse, you will have to ship orders in a CSV or Excel file. Whilst you might transcribe order data manually into your CSV file, it could be fairly time consuming and susceptible to errors. As an alternative, you might do a each day export of orders that you just ship to your warehouse, which might prevent time and cut back the opportunity of typos and missed orders.

You want particular knowledge to run studies 

Whereas WooCommerce has a whole lot of totally different reporting capabilities, you could wish to generate studies distinctive to your organization. As an example, in order for you one which reveals what number of of a selected product is offered in a specific nation, state, or province per 12 months, you’ll have to create this your self. Exporting full product gross sales and order knowledge provides your analyst the info they should make this occur.

You’re importing orders in bulk that had been positioned manually by electronic mail, over the cellphone, or in individual

For those who take a lot of orders by 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 whole lot 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 it’s essential to entry them sooner or later.

The way to import and export merchandise and orders

There are just a few 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 device, WooCommerce Analytics: A superb choice for exporting some kinds of primary product and order knowledge 
• The WordPress native Import and Export device: Nice for importing and exporting extra detailed knowledge. Nevertheless, the outcomes can be in an XML file they usually look a bit messy. Additionally they don’t export or import full order knowledge.
• An import/export extension: The quickest and easiest methodology right here. That is additionally nice for customizing the knowledge you wish to import/export and dealing with detailed knowledge.
• Database handbook import and export: Good for coping with full or detailed product and order knowledge. Nevertheless, this requires some improvement expertise.

Maintain studying for detailed directions.

Importing and exporting merchandise with the built-in Product Import/Export device

WooCommerce comes with the power to bulk import just a few several types of merchandise, together with:

• Easy
• Variable
• Subscription merchandise
• Product bundles
• Composite merchandise

NOTE: If it’s essential 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 beneath.

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 possibly can change the pattern knowledge with your individual. 

You too can create a CSV file from scratch utilizing the Product CSV Import Schema. If you wish to import merchandise from an current WooCommerce retailer, you possibly can export them from the present retailer and alter any needed 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 information. For those who’re on a Mac, you too can use Numbers. Keep away from Microsoft Excel as a result of formatting and character encoding points.

How ought to I format my CSV file?

There are just a few formatting and data-related stuff you’ll want to concentrate to in your CSV file. For those who don’t comply with these guidelines, you may find yourself with a failed import or incorrect data in your retailer.

• CSV information must 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 discipline must be separated with commas.
• Wrapping values in quotes permits you to insert a comma.
• Prefix the id with id: if referencing an current 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 can be in draft standing aren’t exported, solely revealed and privately revealed merchandise. Nevertheless, you possibly can import a product with a draft standing.
• It’s not doable to assign a selected put up ID to a product on import. Merchandise will all the time use the subsequent obtainable ID, whatever the ID included within the imported CSV. 
• Photos have to already be uploaded to your web site or obtainable by a publicly accessible exterior hyperlink to be imported to your retailer. Some cloud storage companies use redirect scripts that forestall the picture file from being imported, so guarantee that your picture is on the market on the precise hyperlink you specify.
• If the product picture already exists within the Media Library, you possibly can merely enter the file title as an alternative of all the file path.

Import new merchandise or replace current merchandise

You should utilize the Import characteristic to import new merchandise or replace current ones.

1. In your WordPress dashboard, go to WooCommerce → Merchandise.

2. Choose Import on the high 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 current merchandise, test the Replace current merchandise field.

5. CSV delimiter: Typically CSV components are separated by a comma. In case you are utilizing a unique delimiter in your file, you possibly can set it right here. 

6. Column mapping preferences: For those who’ve set column mapping preferences up to now and wish to use them, you possibly can test this field.

7. Click on Proceed. This can take you to the Column mapping display screen.

WooCommerce will routinely try to map the Column Title 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 discipline to point ‘Don’t import.’ You too can choose the sphere you need your column title 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 Achieved! display screen and from there you possibly can click on View Merchandise to evaluate them and ensure that they had been imported appropriately.

Exporting merchandise

If it’s essential 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 high of your display screen. 

You’ll be taken to Export merchandise to a CSV file. From right here, you possibly can 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 supplies reporting particulars about your retailer’s gross sales, merchandise, and orders. Exporting this knowledge is beneficial if you wish to evaluate greatest promoting merchandise, examine income for various time intervals, get an summary in your inventory ranges, or determine your most loyal prospects. Whilst you can’t import exterior knowledge on to WooCommerce Analytics, when you’re utilizing a model of WooCommerce older than 4.0 and are upgrading to 4.0 or above, you possibly can import historic knowledge out of your earlier model of WooCommerce. 

Needless to say WooCommerce Analytics is proscribed 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 had been made in a selected nation over a sure time frame or need to bulk edit product descriptions in your retailer, you’ll have to export that knowledge straight out of your database or utilizing an extension like Import Export Suite for WooCommerce.

Exporting product analytics

In your Product Analytics view, you possibly can select a date or date vary after which view all merchandise, see a single product, or select a product comparability view.

Product studies can embody:

• Product title
• SKU
• Variety of objects 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 high proper of your product outcomes view.

You possibly can 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 high proper of your product outcomes view. Your knowledge can be downloaded as a CSV file.

Exporting order analytics

In your Order Analytics view, you possibly can 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 studies can embody:

• Date
• Order quantity
• Standing
• Buyer title
• Buyer kind
• Product(s) bought
• Variety of objects offered
• Coupon(s) used
• Web gross sales

To filter your outcomes for particular knowledge columns, click on on the vertical ellipsis on the high proper of your product outcomes view.

You possibly can toggle on or off the Standing, Buyer, Buyer kind, Product(s), Objects offered, and Coupon(s) columns. When your report displays the knowledge you want, click on the Obtain button on the high proper of your product outcomes view. Your knowledge can be downloaded as a CSV file.

WooCommerce Analytics

WooCommerce Analytics is a reporting and knowledge evaluation device that comes with model 5.3 and above of WooCommerce. The suite consists of superior filtering and segmenting instruments in your studies, report downloads in CSV format, and a customizable dashboard to watch key metrics of your retailer. Study extra

Exporting product and order knowledge with WordPress’ Export device

WordPress natively permits you to export totally different put up varieties as XML information. This characteristic is positioned in Instruments → Export in your WordPress dashboard. 

WordPress’ Export device can export customized put up varieties like:

• Merchandise
• Variations
• Orders 
• Refunds
• Coupons

Word: Select Merchandise or Orders as an alternative of Product or Order when exporting. 

Needless to say 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 device’s formatting is probably not ideally suited in your functions, both. The information can be exported as an XML file, so until you propose on importing this knowledge straight 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 have to convert it to a CSV file utilizing Notepad++ (Home windows) or a free on-line conversion device. The ensuing formatting just isn’t fairly and is usually a bit messy to type by. For those who want order particulars like which merchandise had been ordered and what number of, you’ll nonetheless should export that data straight from the database or use a plugin to deal with your exports.

Importing product and order knowledge with the WordPress Import device

To import product or order knowledge utilizing the WordPress Import device, you’ll have to guarantee that your file is formatted similar to the export file for whichever put up kind you’re importing. Exporting a put up kind first can provide you a template for arrange your import file. 

This exported file can even outline what kinds of knowledge might be imported. That is particularly vital on the subject of order data for the reason that Orders put up kind doesn’t embody full order data. 

Whilst you can edit your file as a CSV, as soon as your file is configured it’s best to be sure you 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 choice, 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 just a few 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 possibly can 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 too can 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 possibly can automate your imports and exports on a schedule you select. These processes run within the background so you possibly can proceed to work on different areas of your web site. 
• Import/export historical past. The suite shops all your import and export historical past and consists of the choice to re-run the identical import/export once more.
• Knowledge and debug logs. You possibly can view all the info associated to your import/export processes and test debug logs if a course of fails and it’s essential to troubleshoot the difficulty.
• Import and export customized fields and hidden metadata.
• Create customized exports utilizing filters. You possibly can 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 title.

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 discipline 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’ve got extra granular management of what product knowledge you export out of your retailer. You too can export merchandise in draft mode.

Buyer/Order/Coupon CSV Import Suite

Buyer/Order/Coupon CSV Import Suite is just an importer. It doesn’t create exports. You’ll have to 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 might be mapped to the suitable WooCommerce fields to merge or create orders. Your knowledge might be imported as a file, copy and pasted, or added by way of a URL.

Along with importing and merging orders, you possibly can 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 in an effort to import massive knowledge units with out risking timeouts.

WooCommerce Buyer/Order/Coupon Export

WooCommerce Buyer/Order/Coupon Export is an export device solely that outputs information in CSV and XML format. If it’s essential to import buyer, order, or coupon knowledge, you should utilize its companion extension, Buyer/Order/Coupon CSV Import Suite. 

With this extension you possibly can export particular person orders, prospects, or coupons and automate your exports with knowledge transfers by way of FTP, HTTP POST, or electronic mail. The export course of runs asynchronously within the background in your web site so you possibly can proceed working in different areas of your retailer whereas your export completes.

Different helpful options embody: 

• Customized codecs that embody buyer and order meta. You too can customise exports to fit your CRM or order achievement system — rearrange and add new fields and embody customized meta knowledge and static values.

Which answer is best for you?

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer 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 scenario, a premium extension like Import Export Suite for WooCommerce is likely to be your best choice. 

Take the time to contemplate what import and/or export knowledge it’s essential to effectively and successfully run your retailer and select the answer that greatest helps your objectives.