Import guide

WooCommerce Product CSV Import Checklist

Validate WooCommerce product CSV fields, SKUs, prices and image URLs before import.

Recommended first tool

Start with WooCommerce CSV Validator

Validate WooCommerce product CSV files for required fields, duplicate SKUs and import problems.

Open WooCommerce CSV Validator

What this guide covers

Check product identity and required headers
Validate controlled values
Fix prices, dates and image URLs
Run a final CSV quality pass

Check product identity and required headers

WooCommerce imports depend on stable product identity. Product Name, Type, SKU, Regular price, Stock status and Published values should be present and mapped clearly before you upload the file.

Duplicate SKUs are the first serious risk to inspect. They can update existing products, collide with variants, or create confusing inventory records. Decide whether duplicates are intentional updates before import.

Validate controlled values

Product Type, Stock status and Published are controlled fields. Values such as `available`, `yes` or free-form labels may look readable to a person but fail importer expectations.

Normalize Type to values such as `simple` or `variable`, Stock status to values such as `instock`, `outofstock` or `onbackorder`, and Published to the expected numeric draft/published indicator.

Fix prices, dates and image URLs

Regular price and Sale price should be plain numbers. Currency symbols, text labels and placeholder words should be removed before upload. Date sale price fields should use a consistent date format when present.

Image fields should contain valid URLs, especially when multiple images are separated in one cell. Bad image URLs can create products without images or row-level import failures.

Run a final CSV quality pass

WooCommerce-specific validation should be followed by generic CSV quality checks. Empty columns, whitespace-only values, duplicate rows and mixed types can still cause import or mapping issues.

Keep a separate cleaned import file. If product counts or updates are unexpected, the source export and issue report help explain what changed.

Example WooCommerce preflight

Load the WooCommerce sample in WooCommerce CSV Validator. Review duplicate SKU, invalid price, invalid controlled value and image URL warnings. Then run CSV Cleaner only after deciding which duplicate SKU rows should remain.

FAQ

Are duplicate WooCommerce SKUs always invalid?

Duplicate SKUs are usually risky. They may be intentional update rows, but they should be reviewed before importing products or variants.

Can WooCommerce import products without image URLs?

Yes, but bad image URL values can still cause broken media or row warnings. Blank image fields are different from malformed URLs.

Related guides

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