Schedule Import And Export Of WooCommerce Products using Cron Jobs

The Product Import and Export plugin for WooCommerce enables seamless automation of product imports and exports by allowing users to schedule the process at predefined intervals. By setting the start time and frequency, you can automate the import-export of products directly from an FTP server, eliminating manual effort and ensuring your store’s product data stays up to date. This functionality is handy for businesses managing large inventories, syncing product updates from suppliers, or integrating with third-party platforms.

In this article, we’ll take an in-depth look at cron jobs, how to efficiently schedule product imports and exports, and how to configure the process using an FTP server for a smooth, automated workflow.

The software utility Cron is a time-based job scheduler in Unix-like computer operating system. It is most suitable for scheduling repetitive tasks. Scheduling onetime tasks is often easier to accomplish using this utility. Other functionalities include :

• Automating system maintenance and administration.
• Setting up and maintaining the software environments to schedule jobs (commands or shell script) and run periodically at fixed times, dates, or intervals.
• Downloading files from the Internet and downloading emails regularly because of its general-purpose nature.

• The uploaded CSV file on the FTP server (you can use FileZilla) is as shown below:

• Click on WebToffee Import /Export (Pro) > Import from the WordPress admin panel’s menu.
• Select the post type as Product.click on Step 2: Select an import method.
• Select either the Quick or Advanced import method.
• Select FTP under Import from and enter the following FTP details:
  • Select an FTP profile.
  • Choose the Import file path between Default and Custom.
  • Specify the Import file name.
  • After import, delete the import file if needed.
• Choose the delimiter and select the Date format.
• Click on step 3: Map import columns. Here, map the required columns.
  

Click on Step 4: Advanced option/Batch import/ Scheduling. In step 4, automate all your imports via FTP profiles and schedules. To schedule the import:

• Click on Import/Schedule button.
  
• Hit the Schedule option, and the cron schedule window will appear as shown below:

The plugin supports two different schedule types:

1. WordPress Cron: Upon a visit, WordPress Cron will check to see if the time/date is later than the scheduled events, and if it is–it will fire those events.
   • schedules your job at the specified time. 
   • depends on your website visitors.
2. Server Cron: You may need to trigger the URL every minute depending on the volume of data to be processed.You can use this option :
   • to generate a unique URL to add to your system in order to trigger the events. 
   • if you have a separate system to trigger the scheduled events.

Also, we can schedule the import on a daily, weekly, monthly, custom basis. One can also configure the time at which the import has to be scheduled. Click on Schedule now to finish.

On successful import, the products will get added to your online store as shown below.

Follow the steps explained below to cron import multiple CSV files all at once:

• From the WordPress admin panel, click on WebToffee Import/Export (Pro) > Import.
• Select the post type as Product.
• In step 2, select the Import from location as FTP:
  • Select the FTP profile.
  • Choose the Import file path.
  • Specify the Import path if the file path is set as custom.
  • Now, leave the field Import file empty. This will import products from multiple CSV files.

• Move to the third step of import.
• In step 3, map the import columns as required.
• In step 4, use the advanced import options and click on Import/Schedule.
• Click on the Schedule button to schedule the cron and click on Schedule Now to finish.

To export the following products as listed on the Product page.

• From the WordPress admin panel’s menu, click on WebToffee Import /Export (Pro) > Export.
• Select the post type as Product.
• Select the required export method and move to the next of Advanced options or Filter data as required.
• After data filtration, proceed further by mapping and reordering the columns.
• On reaching step 5, select FTP for the option Download the file into and fill up the details:
  • Select the FTP profile.
  • Select the Export file path.

Automate all your exports via FTP profiles and schedules. To schedule the export:

• In step 5: Click on Export/Schedule button.
  
• Hit the Schedule option, and the cron schedule window will appear as shown below:
  

• Specify a filename for the exported file (this will overwrite the contents of this file for every export). If left blank, the system generates a default name (a new filename is generated for every export).
• Schedule the time you want the automatic export to occur,, provide other necessary information for the export, and then click on Schedule Now.
• Click on Export to finish.
• The CSV file gets exported to the FTP root folder on the server(you can use FileZilla), and it is as shown below: