Importing Products: A Quick Tutorial

If you have a list of products in a file on your computer, you can upload that file in to the system and have the products automatically added to your store. To start, you will need to have your list of products in a CSV (comma separated value) formatted file. A CSV file will contain a list of your product details in a line-by-line format, such as:

Product Name,Product Description,$9.99
Product Name 2,Product Description 2,$99.99

Move your mouse over the "Products" tab and click the "Import Products" option, as shown below:


To import products from a file, click the "Import Products" option under the "Products" tab.

This will start the "Import Products" wizard.

Step 1


Set the import settings and select the file to import from.

Import Details
  1. Category

    If you your CSV file contains the categories for your products, check "Detect category names from CSV file."

    If you'd like to manually specify a category, uncheck the checbox and select the category you wish to import the products in to.

  2. Override Existing Details?

    If you'd like to override the product information of any existing products with the same name, check "Yes, override existing records."

    If left unchecked, any products in your CSV file with an excisting matching name in the store will not be imported.

File Details
  1. Import File

    To upload a file from your computer, select "Upload a file from my computer" and click "Browse..." to locate the file on your computer.

    Note: If the file size is larger than the noted maximum size limit, you will need to upload the file file via FTP in to the admin/import/ directory.

    If this is the case, select "Use a file already on the server" and select the file you uploaded.

  2. Contains Headers?

    If this CSV file contains a row of headers at the top before the actual data starts, check this option.

    A CSV file with a row of headers will look similar to the following:

    Name,Description,Price
    Product Name,Product Description,$9.99
    Product Name 2,Product Description 2,$99.99
  3. Field Separator

    If the fields in your CSV file are not separated by a comma (,), change this field to match your field separator.

    Note: If unsure, leave this setting as the default.

  4. Field Enclosure

    If the fields in your CSV file are enclosed within a different character (by default "), change this field to match your field enclosure.

    Note: If unsure, leave this setting as the default.

Click "Next >>" when you are done.

The upload process may take a moment or two to complete and parse your CSV file.

Step 2

You will now be asked to map the fields from the imported file to fields in the system.

Simply click the drop down box next to each of the system fields to select an appropriate field from your CSV file. Here's an example for an import file that contained the "Product Name", "Product Description" and "Price" fields:


Click the drop down next to each field to map it to an appropriate field in the CSV file.

Click "Next >>" when you are done.

Step 3

Click "Start Import" to begin the import process.

Your products will be imported one by one and the popup window that appears will show you how many records have been imported and how many remain.

After the import process is complete you will see a final report which shows the status of the import as well as any incomplete or invalid records.


The final screen will show you how many products were imported. It will also tell you if the import file contained bad data.

Appendix: Product CSV Fields

The system supports numerous fields for importing products from a CSV file.

Note: The product import system does not include the ability to import product options. Any imported items are added as direct products.