Both platforms import products from a CSV file, but they name, order and fill the columns differently, and the price columns even mean the opposite. This page puts the two formats next to each other: what each column is called, which values it takes, how variants and photos are laid out, the errors that stop an import, and two templates you can download.
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For a new product, Shopify requires only Title and WooCommerce only Name; the rest is optional or filled in for you. A file that imports cleanly and looks right in the store usually has these:
Exact column names as each platform writes them in its own export.
| What | Shopify column | WooCommerce column | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Title | Name | Required on both. |
| Product address | URL handle | None (made from the name) | Shopify: letters, numbers and dashes, no spaces. Rows with the same handle are one product. |
| Description | Description | Description, Short description | Both accept HTML. |
| Brand or supplier | Vendor | None built in | In WooCommerce use an attribute or a tag. |
| Category | Type (free text), Product category (Shopify's taxonomy) | Categories | WooCommerce: a comma between categories, > for a subcategory: Clothing > T-shirts. |
| Tags | Tags | Tags | Comma-separated on both. Shopify allows 250 per product. |
| Draft or live | Status: active, draft or archived; Published on online store: true or false | Published: 1 live, 0 private, -1 draft | Import as drafts, check, then publish. |
| SKU | SKU (one per variant) | SKU | WooCommerce makes one when it is blank; a variation points to its parent's SKU. |
| Selling price | Price | Sale price when discounted, otherwise Regular price | Numbers only: 499.00, not ₹499. |
| Original price | Compare-at price | Regular price | The two platforms reverse these; see the next section. |
| Stock | Inventory tracker, Inventory quantity | In stock? (1 or 0), Stock (a number) | Shopify's quantity column works for single-location stores. |
| Photos | Product image URL and Image position, one row per photo | Images: every URL in one cell, comma-separated | Public https addresses; both platforms download the files. |
| Options | Option1 name, Option1 value, up to Option3 | Attribute 1 name, Attribute 1 value(s), and so on | Shopify allows three options per product. |
| Variant photo | Variant image URL | Images on the variation row | One photo per variant. |
| Weight | Weight value (grams) | Weight (kg), with your store's unit in brackets | Shopify wants whole grams: 5.125 kg is 5125. |
| Search snippet | SEO title (70 characters), SEO description (320) | None built in | In WooCommerce this comes from an SEO plugin. |
In Shopify, Price is what the customer pays and Compare-at price is the old, crossed-out one. In WooCommerce, Regular price is the old one and Sale price is what the customer pays. Moving a file from one to the other without swapping them turns every discount upside down.
| Product on sale for 499, was 599 | Shopify | WooCommerce |
|---|---|---|
| What the customer pays | Price: 499.00 | Sale price: 499 |
| The crossed-out price | Compare-at price: 599.00 | Regular price: 599 |
| No discount, sold at 499 | Price: 499.00, Compare-at price empty | Regular price: 499, Sale price empty |
The product's own fields go on the first row only; every row repeats the URL handle. A product without options still needs Option1 name Title and Option1 value Default Title.
| Row | Title | URL handle | Option1 name | Option1 value | SKU | Price | Product image URL | Image position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cotton T-shirt | cotton-t-shirt | Size | S | TS-S | 499.00 | https://…/front.jpg | 1 |
| 2 | cotton-t-shirt | M | TS-M | 499.00 | https://…/back.jpg | 2 | ||
| 3 | cotton-t-shirt | https://…/detail.jpg | 3 |
The variable row lists every value of the attribute; each variation row has one value and names its parent in Parent. Keep the parent row above its variations. Set Attribute 1 visible to 1, and Attribute 1 global to 0 for a size list used only by this product.
| Row | Type | SKU | Parent | Name | Attribute 1 name | Attribute 1 value(s) | Regular price | Sale price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | variable | TS | Cotton T-shirt | Size | S, M | |||
| 2 | variation | TS-S | TS | Cotton T-shirt - S | Size | S | 599 | 499 |
| 3 | variation | TS-M | TS | Cotton T-shirt - M | Size | M | 599 | 499 |
One row per photo, each with the URL handle, the Product image URL and an Image position from 1 up, to 250 photos. The address must be public https; Shopify downloads the file. Avoid thumbnail files whose names end in _thumb, _small or _medium.
Every photo in one Images cell, separated by commas; the first becomes the main image. The files must be online or already in the media library. Large galleries make the import slower.
Shopify has an Image alt text column, up to 512 characters, 125 or fewer recommended. WooCommerce takes alt text from the media library after the import.
Most failed imports come down to the same few causes.
The file was not saved as UTF-8. In Excel choose Save As, CSV UTF-8; a CSV downloaded from Google Sheets is already UTF-8.
Excel in some regions saves with semicolons. Both importers expect commas: change the list separator, or export from Google Sheets.
Excel turned them into numbers, dropping leading zeros or writing 1.23E+12. Format those columns as Text before pasting, or edit the file in Google Sheets.
Remove currency symbols and thousands separators: 1499.00, not ₹1,499. Shopify sets an empty Price to 0.00.
A file without Option1 name and Option1 value makes Shopify create one default variant and delete the existing ones when it overwrites a product.
Packed product length, width, height and dimension unit go together: fill all four or none.
Each address must open in a browser without signing in, over https. An address that no longer works, such as a photo deleted from the store, can make the import fail.
WooCommerce splits categories at commas. Remove the comma from the category name and use > for a subcategory.
WooCommerce: Parent must match the parent row's SKU (or id:123), the parent row must have Type variable, and each variation takes one attribute value.
Import as drafts: Status draft in Shopify, Published -1 in WooCommerce. Publish after checking a few.
The same two products in each format: a mug without options and a T-shirt in two sizes on sale, both as drafts, from a made-up shop. Keep the header row, replace the products, add your photo addresses, and import one product first.
When the products are already on a website, such as a supplier's shop or your own old store, Web Product Scraper writes these files for you. Open a category or collection page, choose Shop import in step 4 and pick Shopify or WooCommerce. Products go in as drafts at your price when a markup is set, the list price becomes the compare-at or regular price only when it is higher, sizes and colours become variants, and the photo addresses follow each platform's layout.
Only import products you have the right to sell, with photos you are allowed to use.
Checked against the official documentation on 13 October 2026. Both platforms add columns from time to time; their own pages win when they differ from this one.
A header row and a Title for each product. Shopify makes the URL handle from the title, sets the price to 0.00 and the status to active, so in practice add Price, Status and at least one Product image URL.
Not as it is. The column names differ, the photos are laid out differently, and the price columns are reversed. Rename the columns as in the table on this page, swap the prices, and use the column-mapping screen of WooCommerce's importer for the rest.
Shopify: Price is the sale price and Compare-at price the original. WooCommerce: Sale price is the sale price and Regular price the original.
No. Both platforms download photos from the addresses in the file, as long as each address is public. WooCommerce can also use images already in its media library.
Shopify allows three options per product, such as size, colour and material. WooCommerce takes as many attributes as you add columns for.
