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What product information do we need before a WooCommerce import?
A fictional work jacket comes in two sizes and two colours. Before importing it, someone needs to decide which combinations are sold and which price, stock record and image belong to each option.
That product decision comes before the spreadsheet formatting. Otherwise an importer can move the supplied values correctly while leaving the shop with the wrong choices.
Define the product and its sellable options
Separate simple products from products with variations. For the jacket, list the combinations that actually exist and decide which details belong to the parent product and which belong to a particular variation.
WooCommerce supports variation-specific details including price, stock and images. Its guidance says variations without prices do not appear in the store, so an empty price is a practical problem to catch before the full import.
Stock can be managed at the parent product level, at variation level or with a mixed setup. Agree which stock record each option uses before importing it; individual variation stock is not compulsory for every variable product.
| Illustrative field | What to establish |
|---|---|
| Product and variation references | Unique identities and the parent relationship |
| Size and colour | The options and combinations actually sold |
| Price and stock | The values and which source keeps them current |
| Image | The correct product view and permission to use it |
Source: WooCommerce: variable products
Map the file to this store’s fields
Use the importer’s documented schema and review the column mapping. WooCommerce’s core CSV tool does not automatically import every unrecognised column, and extension-specific data may need another route.
Decide whether this run creates products or updates existing ones. Keep the matching identifiers and the rules for the installed version clear; do not assume the importer will infer the right existing product from a familiar name.
Review the saved CSV as well as the spreadsheet. Formatting, encoding and values containing separators can change how a file is read. A controlled sample is easier to inspect than a whole catalogue after the wrong mapping has been applied.
Prepare images and the content around them
Check that the intended images are available to the import process and that the business has permission to use them. A link opening a web page or requiring a login may not provide a downloadable product image.
Plan descriptive text and image alternatives as part of the product work. WooCommerce notes that its core CSV importer does not add, edit or update image alt text, so that needs an explicit route rather than an assumption.
Inspect a representative sample before the full run
Use an isolated staging shop and include ordinary products, variations and awkward records in the sample. Review failed or skipped rows and inspect the product pages, option choices, images and prices against the intended data.
Record the agreed mapping and any corrections before the larger run. Keep the import report afterwards and reconcile missing items. The number of imported rows does not tell you whether a customer sees the right product options.
Sources
Checked on 23 October 2026.
- WooCommerce: variable products
Parent/variation structure, price requirements and product-level, variation-level or mixed inventory management.
- WooCommerce: product CSV import and export
Documented schema/mapping, identifier and version-dependent updates, image limitations and representative staging imports.