Running a WooCommerce store means constantly managing products—adding new ones, updating details, and sometimes even migrating data. If you’re dealing with a handful of products, doing it manually might work. But what if you have hundreds or thousands of products? That’s where importing and exporting products in WooCommerce becomes essential.
Imagine needing to bulk update prices, shift your
store to a new platform, or create a backup of all your product data. Instead
of editing each product individually, you can export all the data into a file,
make necessary changes, and import it back in seconds. WooCommerce offers
built-in options for this, and there are also advanced plugins that provide
even more flexibility and automation.
In this guide, we’ll break down the process step
by step, ensuring you can efficiently move, edit, and manage your WooCommerce
products without any technical headaches.
Let’s get started!
How to Export Products from
WooCommerce?
To import and export products in WooCommerce, we
will be using the free Product Import Export Plugin.
First, let’s see how to export products from
WooCommerce:
Step
1: Install & Activate the Plugin
Before you can export products, you’ll need to
install the Product Import Export for
WooCommerce plugin.
●
Go to your WordPress Dashboard and navigate to Plugins > Add New.
●
In the search box, type “Product Import Export for WooCommerce”.
●
Click Install and then Activate
the plugin.
Once activated, you’ll see a new menu option
called WebToffee Import Export (Basic)—this
is where all the magic happens!
Step
2: Choose Product as the Post Type for Export
Now that the plugin is set up, it’s time to start
the export process.
●
Head to WebToffee Import Export (Basic) > Export from your dashboard.
●
Select Product as the type of data you want to export.
●
Proceed to the next step.
Step
3: Select Advanced Export Method
The plugin offers quick and advanced export
options, but if you want more control over the data you’re exporting, go with
the Advanced export option.
●
This method allows you to apply
filters and customize columns before exporting.
●
Proceed to the next step.
Step
4: Filter Product Data for Export (Optional)
Need to export specific products instead of the entire inventory? This step lets
you refine your selection.
Here’s how you can customize your export:
●
Total
Products to Export – Set a specific number of products to
export or leave it as Unlimited to
export all products.
●
Skip
First ‘n’ Products – Define how many products to skip from the
beginning of your product list before exporting.
●
Select
Specific Products – Enter product names to export only those
items instead of the entire catalog.
●
Filter
by Stock Status – Choose to export products that are in stock, out of stock, or back ordered.
●
Exclude
Certain Products – Specify products you don’t want to include
in the export.
●
Filter
by Categories – Select one or multiple product categories to
export only relevant items.
●
Filter
by Tags – Enter specific product tags to refine the
exported product list.
●
Filter
by Product Status – Choose between published, draft, pending, or private products for export.
Once you've applied the necessary filters, proceed
to the next step to map and reorder export columns.
Step 5: Map & Reorder
Product Export Columns
This step allows you to organize how your exported data appears in the CSV file.
●
Drag and drop columns to rearrange product details in the order
you prefer.
●
Rename CSV headers for better
clarity when importing the file later.
●
Exclude unnecessary fields to keep the exported file clean and relevant.
●
After finalizing the column
structure, proceed to the next step.
Step 6: Configure Export
Settings & Finalize
Before hitting export, fine-tune a few settings
for the best results:
●
Enter a file name for the export
file.
●
Define the number of products the
plugin should process per batch to prevent server timeouts. If your store has
thousands of products, keeping this number low ensures smooth processing.
●
Choose how data columns will be
separated in the file (comma, semicolon, tab, etc.).
●
Once everything looks good, hit
the Export button to generate your
file.
A Download File pop-up will appear—click the
button to save your CSV file to your computer.
Now that you’ve successfully exported your
WooCommerce products, you’re ready for the next step—importing them when needed! 🚀
How to Import Products to
WooCommerce?
Now that you’ve successfully exported your
WooCommerce products let’s move on to the import process. Whether you’re adding
new products, migrating data from another store, or bulk updating product
details, importing products via a CSV file is the most efficient method.
Since we’re using the Product Import Export for
WooCommerce plugin, the process will be quick and seamless. Here’s how to do it
step by step.
Step
1: Select Product as the Post Type
●
Navigate to WebToffee Import Export (Basic) > Import.
●
Choose Product as the post type.
●
Proceed to the next step.
Step
2: Choose the Import Method & Upload Your CSV File
Now that you've selected Product as the post type,
the next step is to choose an import
method and upload your product CSV file. The plugin offers three different
import options:
●
Quick
Import – Ideal if your CSV file was previously exported
using the same plugin.
●
Pre-Saved
Template – Uses saved configurations from a past import,
making it faster to re-import products with the same settings.
●
Advanced
Import (Recommended) – Provides full control over column
mapping, filtering, and advanced settings for a more customized import process.
For this guide, we’ll use the Advanced
Import method.
●
Drag and drop your CSV file into the upload section, or
click to browse and upload manually.
●
Under the Delimiter option, select the correct character used to separate
columns in your CSV file (comma,
semicolon, or tab). The default setting is comma (,).
●
Once your file is uploaded
successfully, click Step 3: Map Import
Columns to continue.
Step
3: Map & Reorder Product Data
Before importing, it’s important to match your CSV
column headers with WooCommerce product fields to ensure all data is imported
correctly.
If the column names in your CSV match
WooCommerce’s default fields, they’ll be mapped automatically. If they don’t match, you can manually assign
the correct WooCommerce fields from the drop-down list. Use the drag-and-drop
feature to reorder columns if necessary.
●
Once everything looks good, click
Advanced Options/Batch Import to
proceed.
Step
4: Configure Advanced Import Options
Before finalizing the import, you can fine-tune
advanced settings to ensure that your product data is imported correctly and
efficiently. This step allows you to decide how new and existing products are
handled, set batch limits, and save your import template for future use.
Here’s what you can configure:
Skip
Import of New Products – Choose whether to import new
products from the file. Selecting "Yes" will prevent new products
from being added, while "No" ensures all products in the CSV file are
imported.
Match
Products by ID or SKU – Decide how the plugin should
identify existing products in your store. You can match them by:
●
ID
(Recommended for accuracy)
●
SKU
(Useful if you manage products with unique SKUs)
Update or
Skip Existing Products – If a product already exists in
your store, you can:
●
Skip
– The existing product will not be modified.
●
Update
– The product details will be updated based on the imported file.
Batch
Import Limit – Set the number of products to be processed per
batch. The default is 10, but you
can adjust this based on your server capacity. If the import times out,
reducing this number can help.
Once you have configured these settings, click Save Template if you want to reuse
these settings for future imports, or click Import to start importing your WooCommerce products.
That’s it! 🎉 Your products will now be
imported based on the selected settings. After the process is complete, a
summary screen will display the number of successful and failed imports.
Once the import is complete, a summary pop-up will display:
●
✅
Successful imports
– The number of products imported successfully.
●
❌
Failed imports
– Any errors encountered during the process.
If any issues arise, double-check your CSV file formatting and column mapping,
make corrections, and reattempt the import.
That’s it! 🎉 Your WooCommerce products have
been imported successfully, saving
you time and effort. Now, your store is fully stocked and ready for customers! 🚀
Conclusion
Efficiently managing product data is essential for
any WooCommerce store, and the ability to import and export products saves you
from hours of manual work. Whether you're backing up your inventory, migrating
to a new store, updating product details in bulk, or adding new products, using
the WooCommerce Product Import Export plugin makes
the entire process smooth and hassle-free.
By following the steps outlined in this guide, you
can export your product data, make necessary adjustments, and import it back
without any technical difficulties. The plugin's advanced features, such as
column mapping, filtering options, batch processing, and update settings,
ensure that you have full control over how your data is handled. WebToffee also
has other plugins like WooCommerce Order Export import and WordPress Users Import Export, which simplify
the transfer of orders and user data.
With the right tools, managing your WooCommerce store becomes more efficient, allowing you to focus on what truly matters—growing your business and enhancing the customer experience.
If you have any doubt related this post, let me know