How to Import Variable Products into WooCommerce?

As an eCommerce store owner, you may have various reasons to migrate variable products from your WooCommerce store. Having landed on this page means you need help importing variable products into WooCommerce. This article will show you how to import variable products into WooCommerce.

As your store expands and the number of variable products rises, you might need to upgrade to a more robust hosting service or platform to efficiently manage traffic and the complexity of your product offerings. Migrating variable products allows for a smooth transition if you are optimizing your product data or want to implement a new categorization structure.

A plugin can significantly simplify the migration process. Rather than managing it manually, which can be both time-consuming and labor-intensive, data migration plugins make it easier to import and export products and their related information. These plugins are designed to handle structured data for variable products, ensuring that all attributes, variations, and options are transferred accurately.

In this guide, we will use the WooCommerce Product Import Export plugin by WebToffee, focusing on the premium version, to export variable products into a CSV or XML file. Now, let’s go through the step-by-step process of importing variable products into WooCommerce.

Before we start, you must have an import file with all the variable products exported. It is recommended that you use the same plugin to export variable products from your WooCommerce store.

That being said, let’s dive in.

Step 1: Install & Activate WooCommerce Product Import Export Plugin

After purchasing the plugin,

• Go to My Accounts > Downloads.
• Download the plugin file, upload it to the WordPress plugin directory, and Activate.

Step 2: Select Product as Post Type to Export

Once the plugin is installed and activated, navigate to your WordPress dashboard, and from there,

• Go to WebToffee Import Export (Pro) > Export.
• Choose Product as the post type to start the export.

Then, proceed to the next step. 

Step 3: Select Advanced Export Method

There are two methods for exporting products: quick export and Advanced export. Since we need filtering options to export variable data specifically, we will choose the Advanced export option here.

Step 4: Filter Variable Products for Export 

In this step, you need to filter data since we only want variable products to be exported. For this,

• In the Export products by their type dropdown, select Variable product as the Product type.
• Proceed to the next step. 

Step 5: Map & Reorder Columns for Export 

Here, you can rename and reorder the columns as you want to be exported. 

Proceed to the next step. 

Step 6: Configure Advanced Product Export Options

Here, you can customize the export file’s name, format, and advanced options like scheduling, batch exports, and additional features.

• Enter a file name for the export file. 
• Select an export file format (supports CSV, XML, TSV, XLS, XLSX).
• Click Export and download the exported file.

Now, let’s see how to import these exported variable products using the same plugin. 

The following steps will guide you on how to import WooCommerce variable products. 

Step 1: Select Product as Post Type for Import

• Go to WebToffee Import Export (Pro) > Export.
• Select Product as the post type to import.

Step 2: Select Advanced Import Method

• Choose the Advanced Import option.
• Select Local to import variable products from CSV stored in your local storage (there are also options to import from URL and FTP). 

You can download a sample CSV of variable products for reference from here.

• Upload the import file.

Step 3: Map Product Import Columns

Here, you can map the columns in your CSV file against the corresponding WooCommerce product fields.

If the CSV is exported by this plugin, you can skip this step, as the columns will be mapped automatically.

Step 4: Set Advanced Import Options

Here are some advanced options that let you update existing products, set batch import count, or schedule an import.

You also have the option to save these settings (as templates) for future imports, in case of requirements arise.

Since you are only importing variable products, you don’t have to bother with these options. Simply scroll to the end of the screen and select Import on the Import/Schedule button.

But if you don’t want to import now and schedule the import for another time, you can do it by selecting Schedule from the Import/Schedule button.

You can see an import progress log with the number of successful and failed imports (if any).

Now, let’s preview imported variable products in our WooCommerce store. This lets you see how the products will look on the storefront after a successful import, making sure that all variations like size, color, or other features are shown accurately.

It’s an excellent method for confirming product details such as pricing, inventory, and descriptions before they are available to customers, helping you prevent inconsistencies or mistakes.

For this, go to Products > All Products.

You can find the newly imported variable products in your WooCommerce store. Each product will show its variations, like different sizes, colors, or other attributes, making sure they’re arranged exactly as you set them up.

The thing is that you can import as many products as you want using this method, whether it’s just a few items or a whole inventory. This approach simplifies bulk imports, saving you time and keeping your store current with your latest offerings.

The product import export plugin we discussed in this article has a free version available in the WordPress plugin library with basic functionalities. It lets you import products on WooCommerce from CSV or XML files. 

The free version does not support importing or exporting variable products. You may need to purchase the premium version to import variable products to your store site.

We believe this article has helped you import variable products into WooCommerce.

If you have any questions or feedback, let us know in the comments, and we will be happy to assist you.