Easy methods to Import and Export Merchandise and Orders in WooCommerce

WooCommerce powers shops that vary from one product to 1000’s. However irrespective of the dimensions of your retailer, chances are you’ll end up needing to import and export merchandise and orders. Copying info 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. 

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When ought to I import or export merchandise?

Undecided if you happen to want import and export performance to your retailer? There are fairly a number of situations the place importing and exporting merchandise in bulk could be helpful to simply about any on-line store. You might want to do that if:

You could have numerous merchandise that must be transferred or up to date 

If you happen to’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 current retailer, or are updating product info in bulk, you may profit from a bulk import/export. 

It’s good to ship product knowledge to warehouses

If you happen to’re establishing a relationship with a warehouse for the primary time, they’ll need info on all of your merchandise — together with product title, description, SKU, transport methodology, and expenses. If you happen to don’t have already got a spreadsheet with this knowledge, you’ll need to have the ability to export that info straight out of your WooCommerce retailer.

It’s good to export your product catalog to a market like Amazon

If you happen to’ve primarily run your retailer on WooCommerce and are actually starting to department out to Amazon, Etsy, Fb/Instagram, and different marketplaces, chances are you’ll discover it useful to easily bulk export your merchandise out of your WooCommerce retailer right into a CSV or XML file. You may then add this file to {the marketplace} you’d prefer to work with. 

If you happen to solely have 4 or 5 merchandise, you can in all probability add them manually, however if you happen to’ve obtained a catalog of a whole bunch or 1000’s, you positively don’t wish to spend days or even weeks attempting so as to add these one-by-one.

It’s good to import merchandise from one other eCommerce platform to WooCommerce

If you happen to’re transferring from BigCommerce, Shopify, Magento, or another eCommerce platform, having the ability to import your product catalog in bulk is a big time saver. 

It’s good to replace product info in bulk

If you happen to embody the identical info in each product description and abruptly discover that this adjustments, you’ll both should replace every product individually or discover a option to change all of them directly. 

Let’s say your retailer presents 200 t-shirt designs and each one has a shade possibility of blue, black, and purple. You obtain a notification that your producer will now not provide purple shirts. Now you need to replace 200 merchandise to mirror this alteration. As a substitute of going into each individually and eradicating the purple variation, you can bulk export your merchandise, delete the purple possibility, after which import the revised info again into WooCommerce.

You wish to create a printed product catalog

Previously, firms led with printed catalogs and finally got here round to creating eCommerce shops. However today, the price of creating a web based store is exponentially extra inexpensive 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 to your retailer, having the ability to export all of your product knowledge straight out of your on-line store can assist 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 occasionally. Beneath are some instance situations:

You’re sending orders in batches through a CSV file to your warehouse

If you happen to don’t have a direct integration between your WooCommerce retailer and your warehouse, you might have to ship orders in a CSV or Excel file. Whilst you may transcribe order info manually into your CSV file, it could be fairly time consuming and vulnerable to errors. As a substitute, you can do a day by day export of orders that you just ship to your warehouse, which might prevent time and scale back the potential for typos and missed orders.

You want particular knowledge to run stories 

Whereas WooCommerce has a variety of totally different reporting capabilities, chances are you’ll wish to generate stories distinctive to your organization. As an illustration, if you would like one which reveals what number of of a selected product is offered in a specific nation, state, or province per 12 months, you’ll must create this your self. Exporting full product gross sales and order knowledge offers your analyst the information they should make this occur.

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

If you happen to take numerous orders by way of channels apart from your web site, you don’t wish to spend hours including each individually to your retailer. If you happen to can centralize your offline orders to a single CSV file that’s uploaded in bulk, you’ll save a variety of time.

You wish to retailer order historical past off-site

If you happen to delete order knowledge periodically in WooCommerce, you may wish to again up historic orders in a CSV file someplace in case you could entry them sooner or later.

Easy methods to import and export merchandise and orders

There are a number of methods to import and export merchandise and orders relying on the kind of info you want:

• Constructed-in product import and export instruments: Nice for importing and exporting product knowledge for easy and variable product sorts 
• The built-in analytics instrument, WooCommerce Analytics: A superb possibility for exporting some kinds of primary product and order knowledge 
• The WordPress native Import and Export instrument: Nice for importing and exporting extra detailed knowledge. Nevertheless, the outcomes shall be in an XML file and so they look a bit messy. In addition 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 data 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. Nevertheless, this requires some growth expertise.

Hold studying for detailed directions.

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

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 could import or export WooCommerce Bookings, WooCommerce Manufacturers, or different customized product sorts, 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 info, formatted in order that WooCommerce can correctly interpret the information. One of the simplest ways to generate that is to obtain the pattern CSV file on Github. From there, you may change the pattern knowledge with your personal. 

You can even create a CSV file from scratch utilizing the Product CSV Import Schema. If you wish to import merchandise from an current WooCommerce retailer, you may export them from the prevailing retailer and alter any mandatory info 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 modifying your CSV recordsdata. If you happen to’re on a Mac, you too can 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. If you happen to don’t comply with these guidelines, you may find yourself with a failed import or incorrect info in your retailer.

• CSV recordsdata ought 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 subject ought to be separated with commas.
• Wrapping values in quotes lets you 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 help 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 may import a product with a draft standing.
• It’s not attainable to assign a selected publish ID to a product on import. Merchandise will at all times use the following obtainable ID, whatever the ID included within the imported CSV. 
• Pictures must already be uploaded to your web site or obtainable by way of a publicly accessible exterior hyperlink to be imported to your retailer. Some cloud storage providers use redirect scripts that forestall the picture file from being imported, so ensure that your picture is obtainable on the precise hyperlink you specify.
• If the product picture already exists within the Media Library, you may merely enter the file title as an alternative of your entire file path.

Import new merchandise or replace current merchandise

You need to use the Import function 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. If you happen to’re updating current merchandise, test the Replace current merchandise field.

5. CSV delimiter: Usually CSV parts are separated by a comma. In case you are utilizing a unique delimiter in your file, you may set it right here. 

6. Column mapping preferences: If you happen to’ve set column mapping preferences up to now and wish to use them, you may test this field.

7. Click on Proceed. It will take you to the Column mapping display.

WooCommerce will routinely 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 need to use the dropdown menus underneath Map to subject to point ‘Don’t import.’ You can even 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 that claims “Importing. Your merchandise are actually 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 Carried out! display and from there you may click on View Merchandise to overview them and ensure that they had been imported accurately.

Exporting merchandise

If you could export merchandise out of your retailer, the method is pretty simple. 

1. In your WordPress dashboard, go to WooCommerce → Merchandise and click on Export on the high of your display. 

You’ll be taken to Export merchandise to a CSV file. From right here, you may choose which columns, what product sorts, and what product class you wish to export.

2. Make your choices, then click on Generate CSV.

3. Wait to your export to complete and obtain your file.

WooCommerce Product Import & Export

For extra detailed info 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 overview finest promoting merchandise, evaluate 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, if you happen to’re utilizing a model of WooCommerce older than 4.0 and are upgrading to 4.0 or above, you may import historic knowledge out of your earlier model of WooCommerce. 

Remember that WooCommerce Analytics is proscribed to pretty high-level knowledge and doesn’t import/export full product or order info. If you happen to want detailed info like what number of gross sales had been made in a selected nation over a sure time period or need to bulk edit product descriptions in your retailer, you’ll must 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 may select a date or date vary after which view all merchandise, see a single product, or select a product comparability view.

Product stories can embody:

• Product title
• SKU
• Variety of objects offered
• Internet 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 may toggle on or off the SKU, Orders, Class, Variations, Standing, and Inventory columns. When your report displays the data you want, click on the Obtain button on the high proper of your product outcomes view. Your knowledge shall be downloaded as a CSV file.

Exporting order analytics

In your Order Analytics view, you may 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 Sort
• Refunds
• Tax Charge
• Attributes

Order stories can embody:

• Date
• Order quantity
• Standing
• Buyer title
• Buyer kind
• Product(s) bought
• Variety of objects offered
• Coupon(s) used
• Internet 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 may toggle on or off the Standing, Buyer, Buyer kind, Product(s), Gadgets offered, and Coupon(s) columns. When your report displays the data you want, click on the Obtain button on the high proper of your product outcomes view. Your knowledge shall be downloaded as a CSV file.

WooCommerce Analytics

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

Exporting product and order knowledge with WordPress’ Export instrument

WordPress natively lets you export totally different publish sorts as XML recordsdata. This function is situated in Instruments → Export in your WordPress dashboard. 

WordPress’ Export instrument can export customized publish sorts like:

• Merchandise
• Variations
• Orders 
• Refunds
• Coupons

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

Remember 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 instrument’s formatting will not be ultimate to your functions, both. The info shall be exported as an XML file, so until you intend 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 must convert it to a CSV file utilizing Notepad++ (Home windows) or a free on-line conversion instrument. The ensuing formatting just isn’t fairly and generally is a bit messy to kind by way of. If you happen to want order particulars like which merchandise had been ordered and what number of, you’ll nonetheless should export that info straight from the database or use a plugin to deal with your exports.

Importing product and order knowledge with the WordPress Import instrument

To import product or order knowledge utilizing the WordPress Import instrument, you’ll must ensure that your file is formatted identical to the export file for whichever publish kind you’re importing. Exporting a publish kind first may give you a template for tips on how to arrange your import file. 

This exported file will even outline what kinds of knowledge might be imported. That is particularly vital relating to order info for the reason that Orders publish kind doesn’t embody full order info. 

Whilst you can edit your file as a CSV, as soon as your file is configured it is best to be sure to put it aside 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 following display 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 option 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 information 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 may import, export, migrate, and replace all of your WooCommerce knowledge in bulk utilizing both a CSV or XML file. All WooCommerce product sorts are supported, together with: 

• easy
• grouped
• exterior
• variable

You can even 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 may automate your imports and exports on a schedule you select. These processes run within the background so you may 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.
• Information and debug logs. You may view all the information associated to your import/export processes and test debug logs if a course of fails and you could troubleshoot the difficulty.
• Import and export customized fields and hidden metadata.
• Create customized exports utilizing filters. You may specify the entire 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 having the ability to import and export the identical product sorts that WooCommerce does by default, it’s additionally set as much as deal with info from WooCommerce Bookings, Product Distributors, WooCommerce Manufacturers, Google Product Feed, and WooCommerce Images.

Product CSV Import Suite is ready to seize customized subject and taxonomy info which you can embody in your imports and exports. It’ll 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 can even 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 info. 

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 through a URL.

Along with importing and merging orders, you may import and merge prospects and coupons. This extension additionally lets you import customized fields and taxonomies related to orders, prospects, and coupons. 

A number of transport strategies per order are supported and order knowledge imports within the background with the intention to import massive knowledge units with out risking timeouts.

WooCommerce Buyer/Order/Coupon Export

WooCommerce Buyer/Order/Coupon Export is an export instrument solely that outputs recordsdata in CSV and XML format. If you could import buyer, order, or coupon knowledge, you need to use its companion extension, Buyer/Order/Coupon CSV Import Suite. 

With this extension you may 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 may 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 can even 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. You might have already got what you want from the built-in WooCommerce Import and Export instruments and WooCommerce Analytics. When you have a extra distinctive scenario, a premium extension like Import Export Suite for WooCommerce may be your only option. 

Take the time to think about what import and/or export knowledge you could effectively and successfully run your retailer and select the answer that finest helps your targets.