How to prepare your products for an e-shop import
A short checklist for product data before it goes into a new e-shop: columns, names, prices, photos and variants. Clean data saves days of fixing.
Moving hundreds of products into a new e-shop is quick when the data is tidy and slow when it is not. Most delays I see come from the spreadsheet, not from the code. Here is what to prepare.
One table, one row per product
Keep everything in a single spreadsheet. Each product, or each variant of a product, is one row. Use the same column names for all rows and do not merge cells.
The columns you will usually need
- SKU, a unique code for every product and variant.
- Name and a description in each language you sell in.
- Price, and say whether it includes VAT. Use one format for decimals.
- Stock, if the shop should show availability.
- Category, written the same way every time.
- Photos, as file names or links, one main image and the rest in order.
- Weight and dimensions, if delivery prices depend on them.
Variants
If a product comes in sizes or colours, decide how to describe them before the import: one parent product with variants underneath, each with its own SKU. Mixing the two styles is the most common source of broken listings.
Photos
Name files so they match the SKU, keep them reasonably sized and avoid text baked into the image. Large uncompressed photos slow the shop down, which I describe in what slows a website down.
Check before sending
- No duplicate SKUs.
- No empty required cells.
- Special characters such as č, š, ž and ľ display correctly when the file is opened.
- Ten sample rows look right after a test import.
I usually import a small batch first and review it with you before loading everything. If you want help preparing the data or moving from an old shop, write to me or see e-shop development.