Import/export Ecommerce products and variants
Use a CSV file to import products and variants or export your Ecommerce products to a CSV file.
You can import all of your products —along with their variants and categories — from any other ecommerce platform or inventory management software that lets you export your product list in comma separated values (CSV) format. Unlike standard Collection item import, which requires manual mapping of Collection fields, Webflow’s Ecommerce product import is automatic and maps fields for you.
You can also export your products, variants, and categories to a CSV file (for instance, to migrate them to a new Webflow site, or save a backup of your products).
Note: You can only import/export products and variants from within the Designer.
In this lesson, you’ll learn:
- How to import products and variants from a CSV file
- How to export products and variants to a CSV file
How to import products and variants from a CSV file
There are a few things you’ll want to know when importing products and items from a CSV file. We’ll cover:
- Understanding product types
- How to create your CSV file
- How to structure your CSV file
- How to upload your CSV file
- How to troubleshoot common product import issues
Note: The number of Ecommerce products and variants you can import depends on your Ecommerce plan type. The header row in your CSV file won’t count as a product or count against this limit. Visit our pricing page for information about limits and pricing.
Understanding product types
There are 5 product types to choose from:
- Physical — shipped to the customer (e.g., merchandise, apparel)
- Digital — immediately downloadable by the customer and doesn’t require shipping at checkout (e.g., audio files, ebooks)
- Service — doesn’t require shipping at checkout (e.g., classes, consultations)
- Membership — paid access group for users with accounts on your site
- Advanced — provides all available customizable options
Note: You’ll only have the option to create Membership products if your site has User Accounts enabled.
Depending on the product type you assign to your products, shipping and download fields will automatically show or hide. Shipping information is or is not collected depending on the value of the Shipping required field. Learn more about configuring orders that don’t require shipping.
Shipping fields include:
- Shipping required
- Width
- Weight
- Height
- Length
The default visibility settings for shipping and download fields for each product type are as follows:
How to create your CSV file
There are a number of ways to create your CSV file:
- Export data from another ecommerce platform
- Export data from an inventory management system
- Export data from a spreadsheet interface
- Create a product list with our products CSV template
Export data from another ecommerce platform
If you’re migrating from another ecommerce platform, follow your platform’s guide on exporting products to get your CSV file:
- Exporting products from BigCommerce
- Exporting products from Ecwid
- Exporting products from Adobe Commerce (previously Magento)
- Exporting products from Shopify
- Exporting products from Squarespace
- Exporting products from Weebly
- Exporting products from Wix
- Exporting products from WooCommerce
Export data from an inventory management system
If you’re exporting from a point of sale (POS) or other inventory management tool, follow your software’s documentation for exporting your products to a CSV file.
Export data from a spreadsheet interface
If your product list exists in an Excel file, Google Sheet, Numbers file, or any other spreadsheet program, you can export and save that file as a CSV file by following your software or app’s documentation:
- Save an MS Excel file as CSV (comma delimited)
- Download a Google Sheet as comma-separated values .csv
- Export a Numbers spreadsheet to CSV
- Download Airtable records in a view to CSV
Create a product list with our products CSV template
If you can’t export your product list in CSV format or if you want to manually create a database of your products, you can do so either directly in the Webflow Ecommerce panel or by using a spreadsheet interface like Google Sheets, MS Excel, Numbers, or Airtable. If you choose the latter option, you can create a spreadsheet with the columns representing the Products Collection fields and rows representing the products and their values.
To create a new spreadsheet and export it as a CSV file, you can begin with our CSV template and structure the file to be compatible with Webflow Ecommerce requirements:
- Go to Ecommerce panel > Products
- Click Import
- Click “Our CSV template”
Then, you can begin adding your product list to the template.
Note: When saving a CSV file in Excel, be sure to select the CSV type “Comma Separated Values.” Other CSV extensions may not render correctly when uploaded to Webflow. To ensure CSVs with only 1 column of data import correctly, add a comma directly after the header column label (e.g., “Name,”).
How to structure your CSV file
To ensure you don’t run into any errors during the import process, you’ll need to make your CSV Webflow-friendly by establishing the correct format so your product data can be mapped to the correct Products Collection fields.
Important: Column headers and entries must match the standard formatting in the template file.
Note: Mapping to custom fields is not currently supported.
Follow these guidelines for each field when creating your product spreadsheet:
Product handle (required)
The product handle, or slug, is a unique text string for each product. It’s usually the same as the product name with dashes substituted for spaces.
Type: slug
Example: stacys-pink-donuts
Resulting URL: mywebsite.com/product/stacys-pink-donuts
Maps to field: Slug
To pass validation, the value in this field must:
- not be empty
- be unique for each product
- be 256 characters or less
- only contain letters, numbers, and dashes
- not contain any spaces or other special characters
- be in English characters — non-English characters will be converted to Latin characters
Any capital letters used in the product handle are converted to lowercase during import.
Important: If a product with the same handle already exists in your Products Collection, the new product from your CSV won’t be imported.
Product name (required)
The product name is the name of the product in plain text.
Type: plain text
Example: Stacy’s pink donuts
Maps to field: Name
To pass validation, the value in this field must:
- not be empty
- be unique for each product
- be 256 characters or less
Product description
The product description is a short description of the product without any special formatting.
Type: Plain text
Example: You must try Stacy’s pink donuts! These delectable donuts are filled with decadent raspberry jam, delivering a burst of fruity sweetness with every bite. Made with care using only the most delicious raspberries, Stacy’s pink donuts are a perfect harmony of fluffy, pillowy dough, and a generous filling of tangy raspberry jam. The beautiful pink color adds a touch of elegance and playfulness to your snacking experience, making them a perfect treat for any occasion.
Maps to field: Description
Product categories
Product categories are the categories to which the product belongs.
Type: Text string separated by semicolons
Example: glazed donuts; filled donuts; fruit donuts
Maps to field: Categories
Creates: A new category if the given category doesn’t already exist
Product taxable/product tax class
The product tax class specifies whether the product is or is not taxable.
Type: true or false switch
Example: false
Maps to field: Charge sales tax on this product
To pass validation, the value in this field must be left blank, or be any of the following:
- true
- yes
- taxable-standard
- false
- no
- exempt
- standard-taxable
- standard-exempt
- books
- books-religious
- books-textbook
- clothing
- clothing-swimwear
- digital-goods
- digital-service
- drugs-non-prescription
- drugs-prescription
- food-bottled-water
- food-candy
- food-groceries
- food-prepared
- food-soda
- food-supplements
- magazine-individual
- magazine-subscription
- service-admission
- service-advertising
- service-dry-cleaning
- service-hairdressing
- service-installation
- service-miscellaneous
- service-parking
- service-printing
- service-professional
- service-repair
- service-training
Need to know: The product’s tax category defaults to taxable if the product tax class is left blank.
Variant price (required)
The variant price is the current price of the product or variant.
Type: number
Example: 49.99
Creates: new variant
To pass validation, the value of this field must:
- be only an integer or decimal number
- not contain a currency unit or symbol (e.g., $, €, etc.)
Compare-at price
The compare-at price is the old price of the product before it went on sale.
Type: number
Example: 58
Creates: new variant
To pass validation, the value of this field must:
- be only an integer or decimal number
- not contain a currency unit or symbol (e.g., $, €, etc.)
Variant inventory
The variant inventory is the stock quantity. It also enables inventory tracking.
Type: number
Example: 100
Creates: new variant
To pass validation, the value of this field must:
- be only an integer
- not contain a currency unit or symbol (e.g., $, €, etc.)
Option1 name
If a product has more than one option set (e.g., color, size, etc.), enter the name of that option set.
Type: plain text
Example: Size
Creates: variant
Option1 value
If a product has a first option (e.g., “size”), enter its value.
Type: plain text
Example: XXL
Creates: variant
Option2 name
If a product has a second option set, enter the name of that option set.
Type: plain text
Example: Topping
Creates: variant
Option2 value
If a product has a second option (e.g., “topping”), enter its value.
Type: plain text
Example: Sugar sprinkles
Creates: variant
Option3 name
If a product has a third option set, enter the name of that option set.
Type: plain text
Example: Filling
Creates: variant
Option3 value
If a product has a third option (e.g., “filling”), enter its value.
Type: plain text
Example: Raspberry jam
Creates: variant
Main variant image
The main variant image is the main image that will be displayed for your product. Webflow downloads the images from the URLs you enter here during the import and uploads them to your store.
Type: URL
Example: https://assets-global.website-files.com/5c5c66ea0a3f27bc39bf5e24/5c63f4869b9111bfde2e5b0b_800.jpg
To pass validation, this field must:
- be a direct URL (link) that ends in a supported file extension
Need to know: Only supported image file types are imported to the Products Collection. Images are uploaded and hosted by Webflow and are not variant-specific. Variant images should be specified in the specific variant images field/column in the CSV file. Additionally, you can’t change the image file name after that image has been uploaded to your store. Don’t upload images that have _thumb, _small, or _medium suffixes in their file names.
Variant SKU
The SKU of the product or variant.
Example: 001789-DONUT-PINK
Variant weight
The weight of the product or variant without units. You must use accurate weights if you intend to offer weight-based shipping.
Type: number
Example: 38
Important: Don’t include weight units in this field/CSV column. You can specify the units you want to use in Settings panel > Ecommerce > General > Other.
Variant length
The length of the product or variant.
Type: number
Example: 5
Important: Don’t include measurement units in this field/CSV column. You can specify the units you want to use in Settings panel > Ecommerce > General > Other.
Variant width
The width of the product or variant.
Type: number
Example: 3
Important: Don’t include measurement units in this field/CSV column. You can specify the units you want to use in Settings panel > Ecommerce > General > Other.
Variant height
The height of the product or variant.
Type: number
Example: 1
Important: Don’t include measurement units in this field/CSV column. You can specify the units you want to use in Settings panel > Ecommerce > General > Other.
How to upload your CSV file
To upload your CSV file to a designated Collection in Webflow:
- Go to Ecommerce panel > Products
- Click Import
- Drag in your CSV file, or browse your computer for the file
Note: You can upload a CSV file with a maximum size of 4MB.
How to troubleshoot common product import issues
If there are any issues during the import, you’ll receive a notification letting you know how many products and variants were imported and which products were not imported with a link to a downloadable summary of the import errors. You can download this log of import errors to review and fix the issues with your CSV file.
Important: If any row in the CSV has an issue, the entire product and its variants are skipped. For example, if a variant has a non-numeric price, the entire product and its variants will not be imported.
How to export products and variants to a CSV file
To export your products, variants, and categories —including archived items — to a CSV file:
- Go to Ecommerce panel > Products
- Click Export
The CSV file is structured with the same product schema required for importing products to Webflow, so you can use this file to migrate your products to a new Webflow site.
Important: Image field and file field URLs are associated with the site from which you’ve exported the Collection. This means that if you delete this original site, those assets will also be deleted, and the links in your CSV file will break. The same is true for images in rich text fields. Unless you’re migrating your Collection to a new Webflow site, make sure to keep your original site as a backup or download each of your images and files manually.