WooCommerce guide
A safer WooCommerce product CSV checklist
Check product types, identifiers, categories, pricing, and variation relationships before running a WooCommerce import.
01
Identify product types first
Simple, variable, grouped, and external products do not share exactly the same expectations. Validate each row against its declared product type instead of applying one generic rule to the entire file.
Variation rows should point to a stable parent and use attributes that agree with the parent definition. Orphaned variations are easier to prevent before import than to untangle afterward.
02
Protect SKUs and existing IDs
Decide whether the import should create products, update products, or do both. Existing database IDs and SKUs can change how WooCommerce matches rows. Duplicate SKUs and spreadsheet-formatted scientific notation are common blockers.
- Keep SKUs as text.
- Check uniqueness after trimming whitespace.
- Do not reuse a parent SKU for a variation.
- Confirm whether blank values mean ignore, clear, or default.
03
Check commerce values as a set
Regular and sale prices should be numeric and internally consistent. Stock status, stock quantity, backorder settings, tax status, and visibility values should use the destination vocabulary exactly.
Categories and tags often contain delimiters of their own. Correct CSV quoting prevents those delimiters from becoming new columns.
04
Stage the import
Run a small representative sample first, verify the resulting products in a staging environment, and only then process the full catalogue. Keep the validated export and its rule summary alongside the import record.