Use the built-in WooCommerce importer and exporter safely: key CSV columns, how ID and SKU matching works, variable products, images, UTF-8 and Arabic text, large files and a backup-first workflow.
WooCommerce can import products from a CSV file with its built-in importer, and export them again for editing in a spreadsheet. Open Products > All Products, click Import, choose the file, check the column mapping and run the importer. To avoid duplicates, give every product a SKU and tick Update existing products when you are updating. Checked against the WooCommerce documentation in October 2026 (WooCommerce 11.2).
In short
Parent set and a unique SKU.The official sample files, such as sample_products.csv, are in the sample-data folder of the WooCommerce repository. A CSV exported from your own store is a better template.
The full schema is on the WooCommerce documentation page. These columns do most of the work.
| Column | What it holds | Notes |
|---|---|---|
ID | The ID of an existing product | Empty for new products: you cannot choose a new product's ID |
Type | simple, variable, variation, grouped, external | Also virtual, downloadable |
SKU | The stock keeping unit | Used for matching. Never generated for blank cells |
Name, Published | The name (required). 1 published, 0 private, -1 draft | 2 is pending review |
Regular price, Sale price | Numbers such as 24.99 | Sale dates have their own columns |
Stock, In stock? | A number turns stock management on, blank turns it off | parent on a variation inherits the parent's settings |
Categories, Tags | Comma-separated lists | Use > for levels |
Images | Comma-separated URLs | The first is the featured image |
Parent | A variation's parent | A SKU, or an ID written as id:100 |
Attribute 1 name, Attribute 1 value(s), Attribute 1 visible, Attribute 1 global, Attribute 1 default | One numbered set per attribute | Attribute 2 name and so on |
Booleans use 1 and 0, and a value that contains a comma goes in double quotation marks. Custom fields use a meta: prefix, such as meta:product_depth.
A variable product needs one parent row and one row per variation. This example comes from the documentation.
| Row | Type | SKU | Parent | Attribute 1 name | Attribute 1 value(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | variable | tshirt | empty | Size | S, M |
| Variation | variation | tshirt-s | tshirt | Size | S |
| Variation | variation | tshirt-m | tshirt | Size | M |
The parent row lists every value, each variation row gives only its own, and the spelling must match. Leave ID empty on variation rows and give each a unique SKU. Set Attribute 1 global to 1 only for a global attribute that already exists. As of WooCommerce 11.1, one import can do it all if the parent row comes first, Update existing products is ticked and SKU is mapped. On earlier versions, import the parent row, then the variations. The product side is in our variable products guide.
ID empty and give a unique SKU.ID or SKU, and an ID that matches nothing is skipped. From WooCommerce 11.2, a mapped GTIN, UPC, EAN, or ISBN column can match, but only when ID and SKU are both blank.The usual route to duplicates is a row with no ID and no SKU. It has nothing to match, so with the box unticked it becomes a new product every time you import the file. Names are never used for matching. Give every product a SKU, then prove it: import two rows, import them again with Update existing products ticked, and confirm the product count did not change. To change a SKU, keep the ID in that row and test one row first.
Put image URLs in the Images column, separated by commas. WooCommerce imports each image it can download into the Media Library, but some hosts block these downloads. Then upload the images first. The core importer cannot set image alt text: see the WooCommerce SEO guide.
Categories use > between levels, and a comma inside a name is escaped with a backslash, as in Places\, People\, Cities. In the plugin's source code, missing categories and tags are created, so a misspelt category becomes a new one: compare the list afterwards.
The documentation says to save the file as UTF-8, the encoding Arabic needs, and to check the saved file, because spreadsheet apps can change formatting or encoding. In Excel look for the save option named CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited); in Google Sheets download as comma-separated values. Then open the CSV in a plain text editor and confirm the Arabic is readable.
The advanced options hold a Character encoding of the file dropdown, set to Autodetect, and a CSV Delimiter field. Some regional settings make spreadsheets save semicolons instead of commas, so check it. Keep prices and stock in digits 0 to 9 with a dot decimal, as in the documentation's examples. The importer does not manage translations: for a multilingual store read your plugin's import documentation and our Arabic WordPress website guide.
On a live store, stock numbers in a file overwrite live stock, so orders placed since your export are lost from the count.
The documentation says large imports depend on server memory, upload limits and processing time, and advises splitting the CSV into smaller files. It gives no row count, so start small. Your host sets the Maximum size on the upload screen. In the plugin's source code the importer works in batches of 30 rows and stops a request after about 20 seconds, then resumes, so keep the page open. If WordPress rejects the file, upload it to the uploads folder over SFTP and use the server path option.
| Problem | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| "Sorry, this file type is not permitted for security reasons." | Not a clean CSV, or the host restricts types | Re-save as CSV, or use SFTP and the server path |
| Variations missing | Duplicate SKUs, wrong Parent, or values that differ from the parent | Fix and re-import the variation rows |
| Strange Arabic characters | The file is not UTF-8 | Re-save as UTF-8 and set the encoding |
Go to Products > All Products and click Export. Choose Export all columns or specific ones, pick types and categories, tick Yes, export all custom meta if needed, and click Generate CSV. To export a few products, select them and click Export X selected.
For a bulk edit, change the file in a spreadsheet, keep ID or SKU, and re-import with Update existing products ticked. Map only the columns you changed, set the rest to Do not import, and check one row first.
To move products to another store, import the export there. IDs do not carry over, so rely on SKUs, and image URLs must be reachable from the new store. Create global attributes first. The CSV carries product fields only, not orders, customers or reviews: to move a whole site, see moving a WordPress site to a new host.
Simple products, yes, but they cannot be matched later, so importing again can create duplicates. A new variation needs a SKU or a GTIN.
Prepare a file with ID or SKU and the price columns, tick Update existing products, and set the other columns to Do not import.
The documentation describes only adding and updating. You remove products from the product list.
The built-in importer is manual. Recurring feeds need an extension or custom code: check its HPOS support, as our best WooCommerce plugins guide explains.
Prepare your product data with the variable products guide, then follow the safe workflow above. Afterwards, browse WooCommerce plugins on DevMarket for the extras you need.
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