Fix WooCommerce product CSV import errors
WooCommerce's product importer needs a UTF-8, comma-separated CSV with unique SKUs, variations that point to their parent, and comma-separated image and category lists. Drop your file below to find every problem with its row and column before you import.
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Sample files with typical import errors, loaded in your browser. Fixing and downloading them is free.
Why it happens
WooCommerce imports row by row and lists the rows it skipped only at the end, under "View import log". A file that's mostly fine can still leave you with half-imported variable products: a variation whose parent was skipped has nothing to attach to.
The messages on this page are quoted from WooCommerce's importer source code, so they match what you see in the import log.
How to fix it manually
Before you import
- Start from WooCommerce's sample CSV or an export from your own store.
- Save as "CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited)".
- Put parent products above their variations. A variation names its parent in the Parent column, by SKU or as id:123.
- Separate multiple images and categories with commas, and subcategories with > (Clothing > Hats).
Fix it automatically
- Detects the encoding and separator and writes UTF-8 with commas.
- Checks Name, Type, Published, prices, SKUs, parents, image lists and categories.
- Finds duplicate SKUs and variations without a SKU, with their rows.
- Converts XLSX files to CSV.
- Keeps columns it doesn't know, such as Meta: fields from plugins, exactly as they are.
Checking and the preview are free. Downloads are free up to 50 rows; a larger file costs 1 credit.
Choose a fileThe file is read and repaired inside your browser. Nothing is uploaded: only the row count and the platform are ever sent to us, so supplier prices and customer data stay private.
Other errors and how to fix them
The file is empty or using a different encoding than UTF-8
Exact error message
- The file is empty or using a different encoding than UTF-8, please try again with a new file.
WooCommerce shows this when it can't read the file as UTF-8 text. The file usually comes from Excel's plain "CSV" option, which saves in your Windows code page, or it's an Excel file renamed to .csv.
The tool detects the real encoding (Windows-1250, Windows-1252, UTF-16 and others) and writes the file as UTF-8, with every character intact.
Check my file for thisA new variation cannot be created without a SKU
Exact error message
- A new variation cannot be created without a SKU or a GTIN, UPC, EAN, or ISBN.
To create a new variation, WooCommerce needs something to identify it: a SKU, or a GTIN, UPC, EAN, or ISBN. A variation row with both empty is skipped.
The tool lists these rows and can generate SKUs from the parent's SKU and the variation's attributes (BEANIE-RED-M). Check the result before you import.
Check my file for this