How to Import/Export Products in a WooCommerce Store?

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.