The simple guide to export Woocommerce products

With any ecommerce websites, exporting products is one of the most essential activities. With this reason, Arrowtheme will lead you through the full process of swiftly and efficiently exporting WooCommerce products. This post will show you how to use two effective approaches to export your WooCommerce products. What are you waiting for without referring to this article right now?

What is a CSV file?

CSV file (short for Comma Separated Values) is  a simple text file that contains a list of data. Simply speaking, these files are used to transfer information between apps. Typically, CSV files are supported by applications with large databases. Hence, you can export data from one program to a CSV file, which you can then import into another CSV file. Moreover, the comma character is frequently used to split data in these files. As a result, this is the main reason the name “Comma Separated Values (CSV) file” was born.

In addition, as soon as you export it, you are able to open a CSV file in a text editor of your choosing, such as Notepad. However, due to the large amount of data in a CSV file and the lack of text wrap, viewing the file, let alone editing it, will be challenging. Hence, we highly recommend you use a spreadsheet to open the file. Best of all, you might use Microsoft Excel or even Google Sheets if you post the material online. 

How to create a CSV file?

You will need a CSV containing your product information to import new products or change current ones. Let’s follow the guide below:

• First and foremost, export a CSV of products from an active store.
• Secondly, replace the sample data with a CSV file downloaded from GitHub.
• Thirdly, make your own CSV file. Any information you want to provide should adhere to the Product CSV Import Schema’s formatting and columns. 

Besides, when you use the WooCommerce Product CSV Importer and Exporter to export a CSV, it already conforms to the schema and is ready to use. Furthermore, if you use the blank and structured CSV file, it will also follow the template. Following that, you just need to be sure to fill in the information as directed on the Product CSV Import Schema page.

>>> Read more: How to set up Apple pay in Woocommerce for your ecommerce site

The simple guide to export Woocommerce products

How to export woocommerce products using the default WooCommerce tool?

The first way is to use the WooCommerce default tool, which has a built-in product CSV importer and exporter. With a single CSV file, you can import, export, and even change the products in your WooCommerce store. In particular, this tool works with all product types, including Simple, Group, External/Affiliate, and Variable.

Let’s assume that you have WooCommerce installed on your WordPress website. As you can see, you will have numerous sample products in your store after successfully installing WooCommerce and your beginning template.

Then, in order to export these items, you must go to the top of the page and select the “Export” option. 

After that, you may now select which columns, product types, and product categories to export. Then, you are able to get a drop-down menu by clicking on any field. 

In case you want to export all of the fields and data, regardless of whether or not they include data, you just need to simply leave everything as is and click on “Generate CSV”. Besides, if you only have data in a few fields, you can choose to export only those alternatives.  

Then, let’s assume your woocommerce store only contains information on the “Cactus” product category. Plus, you only have data in the “Stock” and “Categories” sections because the product type is “Simple product”. 

In this case, we would choose only these fields. Besides, you might also check the “Export custom meta?” field if you have installed a plugin to provide additional information for your items via any meta plugin. After finishing these steps, let’s click “Generate CSV”.

After that, your CSV file will be downloaded after the export is complete. In particular, the date may be included in the file name of the CSV file. Moreover, changing the file name is entirely possible, but it gets a little tricky. For more details, you will need to go into your website control panel and update the “abstract-wc-csv-exporter.php” file under “woocommerce >> includes >> export”. 

Furthermore, you can use the API documentation from WooCommerce to make any custom adjustments. 

How to export woocommerce products by using a Plugin?

Coming to the second method to export woocommerce products you should know is to utilize a plugin. In reality, you can export your WooCommerce products using a variety of plugins. “Product Import Export for WooCommerce” is a popular and worth-using plugin that allows you to import and export products from your WooCommerce store. There is a free version as well as a paid one with additional features and perks. However, you can only import as well as export simple products in the free version. On the other hand, you should consider the pro version if your product has variations. In the pro version, import and export of all types of items that includes simple, group, external, and variation products, as well as exporting products by category or importing and exporting product reviews are outstanding features. Let’s look for the plugin, install it and then, activate it.

What’s more, in WooCommerce, you will notice a new menu option under Products after installing it. Then, under “Products”, let’s select “Product Im-Ex”. 

After that, you will find “Offset” and “Limit” under the default “Product Export” tab, as well as various fields under Columns. More crucially, in case you set the “Limit” to 100 and the “Offset” to 200, you will be able to export products from 200 to 300 to your CSV. In addition, the Columns are the following set of fields.

Additionally, checkboxes can be used to select the various fields you want to export. Plus, you can also change how your column header appears in your CSV file by personalizing it. Alternatively, after making your selections, you need to click “Export Products”, and a CSV file will be downloaded. What’s more, you can export “Variable Products too” in case you upgrade to the premium edition of this plugin. 

Furthermore, you also have some other options, such as exporting and importing Product Reviews, Batch Export, and more plugin settings aside from “Variable Products”. Best of all, when you have a large number of items and want to limit the amount of products exported per batch, the Batch Export tab comes in handy. 

Thus, setting a “Batch count” restriction in WordPress can help overcome memory constraints or a short timeout interval. Then, after making your selections, you have to click “Start Export” to get your CSV file.

Common plugins to export Woocommerce products 

All Woocommerce plugins we mention below will allow you to get the best features and capabilities. The WooCommerce built-in import and export feature should suffice if you only need basic export and import functionality. However, bear in mind that only the premium versions have features like exporting and importing product variants, bulk products, product reviews, etc. 

#1. WooCommerce Product CSV Import Suite

When it comes to awesome woocommerce export products plugins, we highly recommend Woocommerce Product CSV Import Suite. This plugin allows you to try out before making a decision to purchase it. Below the buy now button, you should click the “Try before you buy” button. 

#2. WP All Import plugin

In case you are seeking for an outstanding plugin to export Woocommerce products, you should take a look at WP All Import plugin. It allows you to quickly import and export your products. For a limited time, you may try the “WP All Import” plugin for free. Then, you can generate a sandbox (demo site) on the “WP All Import” product page and try it out. 

#3. WooEXIM

Coming to the next plugin you need to know is WooEXIM – a perfect choice for you to import and export WooCommerce products. In addition, you can also import and export data such as customers, orders, coupons and so much more. 

#4. Product Import Export Plugin for WooCommerce

Last but not least is the Product Import Export Plugin for WooCommerce, which is one of the best plugins to export Woocommerce products. This plugin may be found on the WordPress plugin repository for free. However, as you know, the free plugin has restricted features. Therefore, you should consider upgrading to the premium version to get access to more features. 

In conclusion

To sum up, if you are running a Woocommerce store, exporting products is quite important and necessary. You may need to export product data for inventory accounting purposes in addition to maintaining backups, updating your product information, or even relocating to a new website. Above all, Arrowtheme hopes you can know how to export WooCommerce products exactly through this article.

In addition, we provide Woocommerce packages that are ideal for every type of ecommerce business, especially startups and small businesses searching for a perfect website solution at an affordable price. In particular, you will have an amazing chance to get a rare deal of discount upto 30% off for all of our Woocommerce services. Hurry up and grab this opportunity by connecting with us through our CONTACT FORM right now!