Guide / Import errors
Shopify product CSV import errors after a WooCommerce export
Shopify rejects some product CSVs before any product is created, and it quietly misplaces others. Most failures after a WooCommerce move come from the wrong headers, images that Shopify cannot download, Excel rewriting the file, or variant rows that do not match what Shopify expects.
Start with the right file
A raw WooCommerce export is not a Shopify product CSV. The column names differ, images are packed differently, and variation rows follow a different shape. Convert the export in Convert2Content first, then import the download Shopify produces. Do not open that download in Excel and save it again. Excel can change quotes, line breaks, and decimal commas.
Unknown or invalid headers
Shopify fails the import when the first row contains a header it does not know. Convert2Content writes Shopify’s documented product export headers, such as Handle, Body (HTML), Variant SKU, Variant Compare At Price, and Status. Collection is added only when you ask for it. If you paste extra columns by hand, remove them before import.
Shopify’s own list of common failures is in common CSV import problems.
Images that do not appear
- Image values must be public http or https URLs. Filenames alone will not work.
- Shopify downloads images during import. Keep the WooCommerce site online until that finishes.
- Private, hotlink-blocked, or login-walled media URLs often fail quietly.
- Sample catalogs that point at example.com will never download. Use your real export for a real import test.
File too large
Shopify rejects product CSVs larger than 15 MB. Split the WooCommerce export into smaller batches, convert each batch, and import them one at a time. Leave overwrite off until you know the handles are unique.
Variant and option problems
- Parents and variations must be in the same file. Orphan variations can import alone and look like incomplete products.
- Shopify allows three options. Convert2Content combines extras into Option 3 and notes that in the preview.
- Duplicate option combinations get a suffix so Shopify can keep the rows. Check those variants before you publish.
- For a deeper walkthrough, read variable products and variants.
Prices, stock, and decimals
- European files that use semicolons and comma decimals are converted so 12,50 becomes 12.50. If a price looks wrong, check the Options rules and the Columns mapping.
- Blank prices import as 0.00 in Shopify. The converter warns when a product has no regular or sale price.
- Sale price becomes the current price by default, with the regular price as compare-at when it is higher.
- Out-of-stock items are tracked at zero when stock is managed, so Shopify does not keep selling them.
Products went live when you did not expect it
Convert2Content defaults every product to draft. If you switched the status rule to match WooCommerce or mark everything active, published rows can go live on import. After import, filter Shopify Products by Draft or Active and confirm before you share links.
A safe test order
- Convert a small slice of the catalog, including one simple product, one on sale, and one with variants.
- Import with overwrite off.
- Check title, description, price, compare-at, options, stock, vendor, and images in Shopify admin.
- Only then convert and import the rest.