Import Products

Complete guide to importing products into WooCommerce using PrimeLink

Overview

Product imports are the most common use case for PrimeLink. You can import simple products, variable products, grouped products, and external products with all their details including prices, inventory, images, categories, and more.

PrimeLink supports importing all product types and handles complex data structures like variations, attributes, and custom fields.

Supported Product Types

  • Simple Products: Standard products with fixed price and inventory
  • Variable Products: Products with variations (size, color, etc.)
  • Grouped Products: Collections of related products
  • External/Affiliate Products: Products sold on external sites
  • Downloadable Products: Digital products with downloadable files
  • Virtual Products: Products without shipping requirements

Product Fields Overview

Basic Information

  • Product Title: Product name
  • Description: Full product description
  • Short Description: Brief product summary
  • SKU: Stock Keeping Unit (unique identifier)
  • Product Type: Simple, Variable, Grouped, External
  • Status: Published, Draft, Pending, Private

Pricing

  • Regular Price: Standard product price
  • Sale Price: Discounted price (optional)
  • Tax Status: Taxable, Shipping only, None
  • Tax Class: Standard, Reduced rate, Zero rate, etc.

Inventory

  • Stock Quantity: Number of items in stock
  • Stock Status: In stock, Out of stock, On backorder
  • Manage Stock: Enable/disable stock management
  • Backorders: Allow, Notify, Do not allow
  • Low Stock Threshold: Alert when stock is low

Shipping

  • Weight: Product weight
  • Length: Product length
  • Width: Product width
  • Height: Product height
  • Shipping Class: Shipping category

Images

  • Featured Image: Main product image
  • Gallery Images: Additional product images
  • Supports URLs or file paths
  • Multiple images can be imported

Taxonomies

  • Product Categories: Product categorization
  • Product Tags: Product tags for organization
  • Product Attributes: Custom attributes (Color, Size, etc.)

Advanced

  • Custom Fields: Additional metadata
  • Featured Product: Mark as featured
  • Menu Order: Display order
  • Purchase Note: Note sent to customers
  • Downloadable Files: For digital products
  • Linked Products: Upsells, Cross-sells, Grouped products

Import Process

Step 1: Welcome

Start the product import wizard from PrimeLink → Imports → New Import → Products

Step 2: Select Data Source

Choose where your product data is coming from:

  • Upload from computer
  • Use existing file
  • Import from URL
  • FTP/SFTP
  • Cloud storage (Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive)
  • Platform connectors (Shopify, Magento, BigCommerce)

Step 3: Import Strategy

Choose how to handle existing products:

  • Create & Update: Create new products and update existing ones
  • Create Only: Only create new products, skip existing
  • Update Only: Only update existing products, skip new ones

Step 4: Filters & Preview

Filter your data and preview results:

  • Apply XPath filters for XML files
  • Add row filters (price, stock, category, etc.)
  • Preview filtered data
  • Verify data structure

Step 5: Field Mapping

Map source fields to WooCommerce product fields:

  • Drag and drop fields from source to target
  • Configure field transformations
  • Set default values
  • Map images, categories, tags, and attributes

Step 6: Options & Scheduling

Configure import options:

  • Matching criteria (SKU, ID, Title, etc.)
  • Update options (what to update on existing products)
  • Incremental import settings
  • Scheduling (automatic recurring imports)
  • Notifications

Step 7: Review

Review your import configuration before running

Step 8: Run Import

Start the import and monitor progress

Matching Products

Matching Criteria

When updating existing products, PrimeLink needs to match them. Available matching options:

  • SKU: Match by Stock Keeping Unit (recommended)
  • Product ID: Match by WooCommerce product ID
  • Title: Match by product title
  • Custom Field: Match by custom field value

Best Practices

  • Use SKU for matching when possible (most reliable)
  • Ensure SKUs are unique in your store
  • Use Product ID if importing from another WooCommerce store
  • Title matching is less reliable (duplicates possible)

Product Images

Featured Image

The main product image:

  • Map to "Featured Image" field
  • Supports URLs or file paths
  • Images are downloaded and attached to products

Gallery Images

Additional product images:

  • Map to "Gallery Images" field
  • Multiple images separated by comma, semicolon, or pipe
  • Example: image1.jpg,image2.jpg,image3.jpg
  • All images are downloaded and added to gallery

Categories and Tags

Product Categories

Importing product categories:

  • Map to "Product Categories" field
  • Multiple categories separated by comma
  • Categories are created if they don't exist
  • Supports hierarchical categories (Parent > Child)
  • Example: Electronics > Phones > Smartphones

Product Tags

Importing product tags:

  • Map to "Product Tags" field
  • Multiple tags separated by comma
  • Tags are created if they don't exist
  • Example: new, featured, bestseller

Product Attributes

Creating Attributes

Product attributes (Color, Size, Material, etc.):

  • Map to "Product Attributes" section
  • Attributes are created if they don't exist
  • Attribute values are added automatically
  • Supports multiple attributes per product

Attribute Format

Attributes can be imported in various formats:

  • Simple: Color: Red
  • Multiple values: Color: Red, Blue, Green
  • Multiple attributes: Color: Red | Size: Large
💡 Tip: For variable products, attributes are used to create variations. See Variable Products for more details.

Best Practices

  • Use SKU for matching: Most reliable way to match products
  • Test with sample data: Run a test import with a few products first
  • Clean your data: Ensure data is properly formatted before import
  • Use templates: Save mapping configurations for reuse
  • Backup first: Always backup your store before large imports
  • Use incremental imports: For scheduled imports, enable incremental mode
  • Verify images: Ensure image URLs are accessible
  • Check required fields: Title, price (for non-free products), and SKU are typically required

Common Issues and Solutions

Products Not Created

  • Check required fields are mapped (Title, Price, SKU)
  • Verify data format is correct
  • Check import logs for specific errors
  • Ensure products don't already exist (if using "Update Only" mode)

Images Not Imported

  • Verify image URLs are accessible
  • Check image file formats are supported
  • Ensure sufficient server permissions for image uploads
  • Check server disk space

Categories Not Created

  • Verify category names are correct
  • Check category separator is correct (comma, semicolon, etc.)
  • Ensure category field is properly mapped

Price Issues

  • Verify price format (numbers only, no currency symbols)
  • Check decimal separator (use period, not comma)
  • Ensure sale price is less than regular price

Next Steps

🔄 Variable Products

Learn how to import products with variations

Learn More →
🗺️ Field Mapping

Detailed guide to field mapping

Learn More →
📥 Creating Imports

Complete import process guide

Learn More →