Common errors and problems using the import system
Here are some common errors and problems that users make on the import spreadsheets:
Product description takes up more than one row
Your product description for a single product should not run into more than one row. If you want to put paragraphs into your product description, you should use HTML tags (<p>paragraph text here</p>) instead of inputting the description on multiple rows in the spreadsheet.
Invalid images
Your image file name must end in either .JPG, .JPEG, .GIF or .PNG. No other format is allowed. If your image file name doesn't end with this then it won't import.
If you have imported images from your computer, then you must make sure that the file name you enter in the spreadsheet is an exact match for the file name of the image on your computer from when you uploaded it. IMAGE.jpg is not the same as image.jpg or image.JPG.
Columns contain characters that are not allowed
The columns headed Price, Sale Price, RRP, Weight, Delivery Price, Cost Price, Sort Order should only contain numbers.
The columns headed Vat Exclusive, VAT Relief, Archived, Is This Product A 2 for 1 Product, Is This Product A 3 for 2 Product, Is The Product New, Trade Discount Exclusion should only contain Y, N, 1, 0, Yes or No.
The product URL field can only contain numbers, letters and the - or _ symbol. No other characters are allowed.
Variations are not configured correctly
If your variations are not configured correctly, then your import can fail. Please read the guidance on variations carefully.
Too many characters in some fields
The URL, Meta Title & Meta Keywords fields should not contain more than 70 characters. The Meta Description field should not contain more than 160 characters.
Import file type is in an incorrect file format
Your import file must be saved as a CSV file. If you are using an Apple Mac then you'll need to save it as a Windows Comma Separated (.csv) file.
Incorrect column headings
In order for the import to work the column headings used in your import file need to be exactly the same column headings that are required by the system. These are included in the import template which you should download from the product import/export page.