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Product images are key to driving sales in eCommerce stores. However, WooCommerce’s default setup does not allow for importing product images, which is why plugins like the Product Import Export Plugin for WooCommerce are so important for store owners looking to import WooCommerce products with images seamlessly.
Product images are integral for any eCommerce store if they want their products to be sold. During online shopping, people make purchases solely based on the images and descriptions given on the website. Thus, you need to ensure that your online store displays a genuine and clear image of its products to ensure its sales.
If you are running a WooCommerce store and looking for an easier way to import products and images, you are not in much luck with the default WooCommerce system. The built-in WooCommerce system only allows you to import limited product data, excluding images. Thus, your only hope is to use a plugin.
Product Import Export Plugin for WooCommerce is a great option for importing images with products. This article will guide you through it by concentrating solely on importing images to your WooCommerce store.
Let’s look at how to use the Product Import Export plugin to import woocommerce products and their images.
Import WooCommerce Products with Images (Step-by-Step Guide)
There are a few prerequisites for the images to be imported.
- A CSV file of the products and the related data you need to import. This can be obtained by exporting the products with images using the Product Import Export Plugin for WooCommerce or preparing your own as in the sample CSV.
- Enter the URL of each product image in the CSV file’s image column.
- For importing multiple images of a product, separate the image URLs with a vertical line character ‘|.’ The first image is taken as the featured image during import, and the rest will be added to the Product gallery.
As shown in this screenshot of the product image column of the CSV.
The marked Product image and gallery image are that of a simple product (Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos).
Let’s look at how these images are imported to a WooCommerce store.
Step 1: Install WebToffee Product Import Export for WooCommerce Plugin
First, you need to purchase the plugin and download it to your system.
- From your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New Plugin.
- Click on Upload Plugin, select the zip file, and click Install Now.
- Once done, Activate the plugin.
Related Read: How to Install a Plugin in WordPress
Step 2: Select Product as Post Type for Import
Once you are done with its installation and set up
- Navigate to WebToffee Import Export (Pro) > Import from your WordPress dashboard.
- Select post type as Product.
- Proceed to select the import method.
Step 3: Choose Advanced Import Method
When importing WooCommerce products and images, you have two options: Quick Import and Advanced Import.
- Quick Import: Ideal for importing basic product fields, especially if your CSV file was exported using the same plugin.
- Advanced Import: Offers more flexibility, allowing you to filter and map columns during import.
For this guide, we will focus on the Advanced Import method.
- Now upload the CSV file, which includes the images to be imported. The plugin provides multiple options, such as choosing a file from your computer, via FTP, file URL, and existing files.
- Select a Delimiter (comma, semicolon, or tab) from the dropdown to separate the columns in your CSV file.
- Then, click on Map Import Columns to proceed to the next step.
Step 4: Mapping Product Columns for Import
At this step, you can customize the information you want to import and its organization. You can rearrange product fields, rename columns, or select specific fields to include in the export file.
However, since we are importing all products and their images, you can bypass these and move on to the next step.
The mapping window looks as shown in the below figure.
However, if you want to import only product images from the input file, simply uncheck all other product fields and select only the Images/Gallery field. It’s that easy!
Proceed to the next step.
Step 5: Import WooCommerce Products with Images
In the final step of the import process, you will find various advanced options to customize the import to your needs:
- Skip import of new products: Choose if you want to leave out new products from the input file.
- Match products by: Opt for either ID or SKU to recognize existing products.
- If products exist in the store: Decide whether to refresh existing products with the data from the input file.
- Import in batches of: Specify the number of records the server will handle per batch during the timeout period.
- Enable whether to use SKU to connect up-sells, cross-sells, and grouped products.
- Delete non-matching products from store: Remove any products not included in the input file.
After you have set these options, click the Import button, which will start the import of products along with their images.
You can also set up the import to occur later using either WordPress or Server cron jobs.
Here is a successful import screen.
Now, go to the products page of the imported products, and you can see the imported product images.
Conclusion
Importing WooCommerce products into your store along with their images is a vital task that should not be ignored. For larger shops, this frequently entails handling a considerable amount of images, such as gallery and variation images.
Relying on a trustworthy plugin is the best way to navigate this complexity, ensuring a smooth and stress-free process that you will be glad you chose.
Related Read: How to Import Products in WooCommerce
