Updating products through CSV (legacy)

You can update multiple products at once using export and import. All you need to do is export the products you want to change, edit them in a spreadsheet, and then re-upload them to your store using the import tool. Updating products through CSV is helpful if you want to make changes to many products in your store and like working in a spreadsheet.

Step 1. Export the products to a CSV file

1. From your Ecwid admin, go to Catalog → Products.
2. Select products that need to be updated. You can use search filters to find the products.
3. Click Export all selected or Export all depending on whether you want to edit all your products or only some of them.
4. In the export products popup, mark 'Product name' and 'SKU' columns and the ones you want to edit (e.g., price, product subtitle).
5. Click Download CSV file and save the resulting file on your device.

Step 2. Edit the CSV file

Next, you need to open the CSV file in a spreadsheet editor (e.g., Excel or Google Sheets) to make changes to the attributes that you want to update. You can also use a plain text editor if you like.

Here are some tips to follow while editing:

• Use shortcuts to quickly edit columns in your spreadsheet editor.
  For example, in Google Sheets you can enter the value to the cell and drag it to the whole column. You can also apply a formula to change the value in the cell and then drag it so that all values in other cells are changed accordingly. For example, you can add a 10% price markup to all the products — just multiply the whole 'price' column by 1.1.
  
  You can check out editing tips for your spreadsheet program on YouTube or refer to your spreadsheet program's documentation for further details on using formulas.
• Make sure the SKU column in your editor has the 'text' type. Sometimes, spreadsheet editors recognize numeric SKUs as integer numbers and set the 'numeric' format for the SKU column, which results in changing their values. For instance, '0005' becomes '5' when considered a number. This may cause some issues during import, e.g., duplicating of store products. The SKUs in the CSV file must be imported by the spreadsheet editor exactly as you see them in your Ecwid admin.
• When saving the updated file, you may be prompted to change the format of the file. Proceed with saving to the CSV format, not to the Excel document or Open Document.

Step 3. Import the edited CSV file back to Ecwid

1. From your Ecwid admin, go to Catalog → Products.
2. Click Import products at the top.
3. In the import settings popup, open the CSV file with the Choose file button.
4. Select the same delimiter that was used in the exported CSV file.
5. In the Import columns list, tick the columns that are present in your CSV file.
   
   The column order must be the same as in the CSV file. Re-arrange them if needed (in order to do it, you should drag-and-drop the list items).
6. Make sure that the Delete all products/categories before import checkbox at the bottom of the pop-up is unchecked.

Note that you cannot change the SKU for your products using import (it is a key attribute in your catalog), but you can export, edit and then import back all the other attributes/columns. It's better to export only those columns that you want to edit (plus SKU or 'Product name' to identify the product). This way, you will avoid dealing with extra data.

For example, you can export 'Product name', 'SKU', and 'Price' columns and make changes in the 'Product name' and 'Price' fields. After you import back the CSV file with these three columns, the changes will be made only to the name and price of your product. The rest of the product details will remain unchanged.

Example. Updating product quantity

The Quantity column in the CSV file can be used for updating your store inventory.

To update the number of your products:

1. Export your products (three columns will be enough: Product name, SKU, Quantity)
2. Modify the CSV file in your spreadsheet editor (change the product quantities)
3. Import the file back to your Ecwid store.

The number in the Quantity column will be used to update the quantity of the product with the corresponding SKU or product name. If there is no value in the Quantity column, the Unlimited quantity option will be enabled for the product. Example of a CSV file:

name;sku;quantity
cherry;item132;2
cucumber;item7;
apple;item7635;15

See detailed instructions on importing different product details →

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