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Import and Export WooCommerce Product Custom Field/Data from Third-Party Plugins

Last updated on November 3, 2023

There may be additional third-party plugins related to shipping services, dealer information, etc. associated with the products in your store. You may require to have these additional details also to get imported or exported while importing or exporting products. The Product Import Export Plugin For WooCommerce has the capability to handle these custom or additional fields generally termed as metadata of external third-party plugins. In this article, we will have a quick look at:

  1. Adding custom values for products. 
  2. Export custom field/data from third-party plugins.
  3. Import custom field data/metadata from third-party plugins.

Add custom values for products 

Once the third party plugin is active in your site, you can add the custom value for the product you want to export. Here, we have installed and activated the third party plugin: Cost of Goods. As a result, on editing the product page, we will be getting this additional field: Cost of Goods ($) in the General tab.

In this custom field, specify the value and save the changes. Now, you have to export the product with this custom data and download the output file.

Export custom field/data from third-party plugins

From the WordPress admin panel, navigate to the menu: WebToffee Import Export (Pro).

  1. Click on Export and specify the post type as Product.
  2. In step 2, you can choose either the Quick export method or the Advanced export method to export custom fields. 

Export custom field via Quick export method

Select the export method as: Quick export and select the Meta (custom fields) and Hidden meta box as shown.
Selecting-custom-meta-during-Quick-export-method

You can either click on Export to download the file in CSV format or proceed to step 3 for more advanced options.

Export custom field via Advanced export method

  1. Select the export method as: Advanced export and proceed to step 3 as shown.
    Exporting products via advanced export method
  1. In step 4, all the meta column names will be mapped under Meta(custom fields) and Hidden meta.
    The custom data added to our product is mapped under the column: meta:_wc_cog_cost. Select the meta as shown to export the same.  
    mapping of custom hidden meta during export of products
  2. Proceed to step 5 for more advanced options and click on Export to finish.

Refer to How to Export Products for detailed export steps.


Custom fields in a CSV file

On successful export, a CSV file will be downloaded into your system containing all additional metadata fields from your site. 

The meta fields are appended at the latter end column preceding the default WooCommerce fields. These custom fields can be identified easily with the keyword meta followed by necessary meta keywords as it is in the database depending upon the nature of the third party plugin used.

Sample view of meta column in CSV file

Import custom field data/metadata from third-party plugins

It is to be noted that the system accepts metadata only in the same formats as it is stored in the database. So the best practice would be to export the data first and then use the exported spreadsheet for importing products. This method will help in reducing the compatibility issues considerably.

Once exported, a CSV file in the required format and headers will be generated with custom meta fields. Enter the product details into the CSV file and import them to your store.
Refer to How to import products for more details.