WooCommerce CSV import finished? Four things to check
“Import complete!” means the importer reached the end of the file, not that every row made it into the shop. A skipped row, one broken image link or a column mapped to the wrong field each cost you products, and nothing on the screen turns red.
The built-in importer opens from the Import button at the top of the product list, and walks through four steps: Upload CSV file, Column mapping, Import and Done! It is a good tool, and its last screen is honest — it just says the important part in small print. The four checks below take a few minutes after every import and work on any WooCommerce store, with nothing to install. Everything on this page was checked on WooCommerce 11.1 with a real import.
1. Read the last screen, then the import log
The Done! step reads like this:
Import complete! 8 products imported. 2 products were skipped. Failed to import 1 product. View import log.
The first number is the one people read. The other two are products that are not in your shop. View import log opens a table with each of them and the Reason for failure:
- Skipped — “A product with this SKU already exists.” The row did not go in, and it did not change the product that already had that SKU either. That is the default: Update existing products is unticked on the first screen. A SKU that appears twice in the same file ends the same way — the first row creates the product, the second is skipped. If you meant to update existing products, import those rows again with the box ticked.
- Failed — “Error getting remote image … A valid URL was not provided.” One bad image address fails the whole product, not just its photo. The importer downloads images before it saves the product, so the product is never created. Fix the address, or leave the image cell empty, and import that row again.
Open the log straight away, while the numbers on the screen still tell you what to look for.
2. Drafts: imported, but not in the shop
The product list shows the newest products first, so the import sits at the top. A product with ”— Draft” next to its name exists, and customers cannot see it.
Usually the file said so. The Published column takes 1 for published, 0 for private, -1
for draft and 2 for pending review — a supplier file or an old export with -1 in that column
imports everything as a draft. With a long file, use the Drafts link above the list instead
of scrolling. A product that is published and still missing from the shop is covered in
WooCommerce product not showing on the shop page.
3. A dash in the Price column: no price, no Add to cart
In the Price column, a dash means the product has no price. WooCommerce does not show an Add to cart button for such a product, so it can be found, opened and read, but not bought.
One or two of them is a gap in the file. Half the list without a price means the price column was mapped to the wrong field on the Column mapping screen, or the file had the price under a header the importer did not recognise. Fix the mapping and import again with Update existing products ticked. More in WooCommerce Add to cart button not showing?
4. Uncategorized: outside your category menu
A product without a category in the file is saved in the default category, Uncategorized. It still appears on the shop page and in search, but nobody reaches it from your category menu. To list them, choose Uncategorized in Select a category above the product list and click Filter. The same finding in the full audit: a product nobody can browse to.
Faster: the whole catalogue at once
- Storefront Scan reads the public catalogue of your shop — the same one every visitor sees — and shows products with no price, missing photos and repeated SKUs. No install, no account.
- Merchlint, a free plugin that only reads, works from the inside: products outside every category, products with no GTIN, hidden products that used to sell, and the rest of what it checks.
Both say what they found and stop there. Nothing is changed in your shop.