The Best Way to Import Customers to WooCommerce

Importing customers into your WooCommerce store is crucial, especially during a store migration. This article will guide you through one of the most effective methods to import customers into your WooCommerce store without a hitch.

What’s the perfect approach to importing customers into your WooCommerce store? Whether it’s a few customers or thousands, manual methods often fall short, costing you valuable time and resources. Automating the import process can simplify customer data, ensuring a smooth and efficient import for any purpose.

Data migration plugins are built for this. They simplify the transfer of customer data, making the process straightforward and stress-free. Dedicated plugins like the Export and Import Users and Customers plugin developed by WebToffee is well suited for this.

This article will explore how to import your customers to WooCommerce using the customer import export plugin.

The Import Export WooCommerce Customers plugin provides a robust set of features to make customer imports into your WooCommerce store easier. Here’s how it simplifies the process:

• No Database Access Needed: You can import or export customer data without interacting with your website’s database, which minimizes the chance of errors and makes it easier for non-tech-savvy users.
• Easy Configuration: The plugin’s user-friendly settings let you tailor the import process to fit your specific requirements, whether that means mapping fields or tweaking parameters.
• Automated Data Management: The plugin handles all the hard work, overseeing the entire import/export process so you can concentrate on managing your store.
• Bulk Import Functionality: Quickly import large amounts of customer data simultaneously, saving you time and effort compared to manually entering it.
• Support for Various Data Formats: The plugin accommodates multiple data formats, such as CSV, making it adaptable and compatible with different input files.
• Smooth WooCommerce Integration: Specifically designed for WooCommerce, it guarantees seamless operation without interfering with your store’s activities.
• Password Retention: You can keep user passwords intact while importing and exporting WordPress user data, which helps maintain user trust and ensure a smooth transition without requiring users to reset their passwords.
• User Notification: With the plugin, you can send email notifications to users after their data is imported to a new website, keeping them informed and reassuring them about the transition.

Now, let’s look into the stepwise process of importing your customers to WooCommerce using the WooCommerce Customers Import Export plugin.

First, you must keep the CSV file you are importing ready with all the users and their data.

Note: The CSV Import file must be in UTF-8 format. For more information about UTF-8 encoding, refer to this documentation.

You can create one using any spreadsheet program, such as Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets.

You can export the users to get the CSV if the data is within an existing WordPress site.

Now, let’s go through importing customers using this plugin.

Step 1: Install WebToffee WooCommerce Customer Import Export Plugin

From your WordPress dashboard,

• Go to Plugins > Add New Plugin.
• Search ‘WordPress users and WooCommerce customers import export’ plugin by WebToffee.
• Install and Activate the plugin.

Step 2: Select User/Customer as Post Type to Import

• Go to WebToffee Import Export (Basic) and select the Import submenu.
• Choose the post type as ‘User/Customer‘.

Step 3: Select Advanced Import Method

You can choose from two options – Quick and Advanced import.

If you are using the plugin for the first time and need all user fields imported, I recommend the Advanced import method.

Next, upload the CSV file for importing.

Step 4: Map & Reorder Columns for Import

To ensure that the right data is imported into the right user fields, you must map the column headers of the CSV to match the WooCommerce user data fields. This is especially useful when migrating from a different platform like Magento, Shopify, etc.

Step 5: Import Customers

This is the final step in the import process. Here, you have the options to merge the user details in the CSV file with the existing data by choosing update, retaining the existing user passwords, configuring the import batch count, etc.

Once you have configured the options, click the Import button to start importing user data.

Now, all the users in the CSV file will be imported to your WooCommerce store and reflected on the WordPress Users’ page.

If you want more features out of the plugin, such as automated scheduled import, XML file type support (in addition to CSV), custom fields (metadata) import, etc., you can get the plugin’s premium version.

The premium version of the WooCommerce Customers Import Export plugin is designed to make customer data migration easier with a range of advanced features, such as:

• Support for additional file formats like XML, TSV, and Excel.
• Advanced filtering options to export specific customer data.
• Ability to make bulk edits or updates during import.
• Capability to export customer metadata.
• Automated exports through FTP/SFTP scheduling.
• Export options for guest customers and more.

Whether handling large imports, automating exports, or focusing on specific customer data, this plugin is one of the best solutions for quickly and efficiently importing customers into your WooCommerce store.

Importing users can seem overwhelming, particularly when faced with large amounts of data. Fortunately, the plugin solution mentioned earlier simplifies this process by automating essential tasks, minimizing errors, and providing advanced customization options.

This plugin saves you considerable time and effort, allowing you to concentrate on other critical aspects of managing your WooCommerce store while ensuring a smooth and secure data migration.

Hope this article provided you with a clear understanding of how to import customers using this plugin. If you have any questions or feedback, feel free to leave a comment below and we will be happy to assist!