How to Easily Export WooCommerce Products to CSV Files?

One of the first things you need to do when moving to a new hosting service provider is export WooCommerce products to CSV files.

We will take you through the whole process in this article. In the end, you can export WooCommerce products to CSV files easily and quickly.

There are two ways to do it. The first way is to use the default WooCommerce tool. And the second way is to use a WooCommerce plugin.

Because both ways use CSV files, we need to be familiar with it first.

What is a CSV file?

A CSV file, also known as Comma Separated Values file, is a simple text file containing a data table. It is used to transfer data among different applications that support CSV.

Once you have exported a CSV file, you can open it with any text editors you want. Even Notepad can open it.

However, since the data that a CSV file holds is usually big, we would recommend you access it with a spreadsheet application for smooth editing. You can use Microsoft Excel, Apple Numbers, or even upload the file to use in Google Sheets.

Now you know what a CSV file is, let’s see how you can use it to export products from WooCommerce stores.

How to Export WooCommerce Products to CSV File with the Default WooCommerce Tool?

WooCommerce already has a built-in CSV importer and exporter. With it, you can export, import, or even update the current database of your store with a single CSV file.

It also supports various types of products. I.e., Group, Variable, Simple, External/Affiliate products.

To begin the exporting process, you need to click on Products > All Products to reach the Product page first.

After that, select the products you want to migrate then click the ‘Export‘ button on the top of the page to export them.

If you want to export all of the products in your store, just check the box in the top list products.

Then click on Export button:

After that, a new window appears as below.

You now can check the option “Yes, export all custom meta” then hit the “Generate CSV” button right away to export all WooCommerce data about the products you have selected on your store.

Or you can type in the specific columns, product types, and product categories that you want the WooCommerce store exporter to export.

• Which columns should be exported? In this section, you choose the products’ information that you want to export.

When clicking on its textbox, you can see a drop-down menu, then you can select the information you want as shown like this:

• Which product types should be exported? In this field, you can choose the types of products you would like to export. These will be simple products, grouped products, external/ affiliate products, variable products, or product variations.

Just put a click in the textbox, then you can choose any product type in the dropdown options.

• Which product category should be exported? In this section, you are allowed to select the product categories you want to export.

Once you have done, click the ‘Generate CSV‘ button to start exporting.

Note: If you added additional data for products via any plugins, you should check the ‘Export custom meta‘ box, too.

When the woocommerce export products process is complete, you will be asked where to save the file. Now, please choose the location you want to store it. The name of your CSV file may include the date you create it. For example, I export products from my WooCommerce store on January, 14th, 2021, the CSV file is automatically named “wc-product-export-14-1-2021-1610589184618.csv“. That will help you easily to remember the exported file.

Open the file and check all information that has been exported is correct or not.

How to Export WooCommerce Products to CSV File Using a Plugin

There are many plugins available to export your WooCommerce products to a CSV file that you can choose. The list of the plugins you can use to export WooCommerce products to CSV is mentioned in the next part.

This article will use the ‘Product Import Export for WooCommerce‘ plugin for the demo, as it is free and very well-known.

The free version of this plugin only allows you to export and import simple products. If you want to export products with variations, you will have to consider the paid version.

To use it, you need to have it on your store first, of course. Just search for ‘Product Import Export for WooCommerce’ and install and activate it like any other plugins.

Once you install it successfully, go to ”Product -> Product Im-Ex”.

The first things you will see are the ‘Offset‘ and ‘Limit‘ textbox in addition to many others under them.

Type in the ‘Offset’ and ‘Limit’ textbox, or leave it alone to export all the products. In case you do not know, if you set the Offset to 100 and the Limit to 50, then it will export all products from 101 to 150 to the CSV file.

After that, scroll down, and you will see some other fields.

• Products: Allow you to choose products to be exported. You need to type at least 3 characters for the options to show off. Leave it alone to export all products.
• Product Categories: Allow you to select which categories of products you want to be exported. This option can be useful if you need to export products of specific categories. Leave it alone to export all categories.
• Product Tags: Allow you to choose tags of products to be exported. Leave it alone to export all tags.
• Product Status: Allow you to select which products have certain statuses to be exported. Leave it alone to export all products.

Once you have chosen all the products you want to export, it is now time to modify the exporting information.

Here, you can select checkboxes from the Column field for the required columns to be exported. 

And in the Column Name field, you can modify the column header to how it should appear in the CSV file. To do this, simply enter an appropriate name for the specified column. If you do not know much about it, we suggest you leave it as default.

When you are done, click on the ‘Export Products’ and wait for a bit, your file will be ready to download. 

Once the file has downloaded successfully, all you need to do now is store it at a safe place.

Top 4 best plugins for Exporting WooCommerce Products 

First, you need to know that most of the woocommerce product import export plugin we stated below will only provide the best functionality and features if you buy the paid version. 

That said, advanced features such as woocommerce export variable products, product reviews, bulk products, customer details, and many many more are available only with the paid version.

But if you want basic import and export functionality, the default export tools of WooCommerce may already suit your needs.

Product CSV Import Suite

In my opinion, this is the product import export plugin for WooCommerce. It is straightforward to use yet still has almost the advanced features we listed above.

Furthermore, you can even test it to see whether it suits your requirements or not. All you need to do is click on the ‘Try before you buy’ button below the buy now button and log in to your WordPress account. Then, a demo site will be generated for you to test the plugin.

Product Import Export for WooCommerce

This WooCommerce product export plugin is viral and also the one we have used in our example. 

Like we said above, the free version has limited features. If you want to expand its functionality, you have to purchase the paid version. 

WP All Import

WP All Import is best known for its ease of use. You can export all products WooCommerce you want in just a few clicks. Besides exporting to CSV files, it can export woocommerce data to XML files as well.

You can try it for free for seven days before deciding to purchase. In those seven days, you can use any features that it provides.

WOOEXIM

This plugin is our final recommendation. With this WooCommerce import export plugin, you can not only export and import your products but also the other data such as orders, customers, coupons, and so on. 

Besides, you can schedule the exporting process, and it will automatically operate when the time comes.

Final words

If you have a WooCommerce store, you will be quickly familiar with the export WooCommerce products to CSV process because of security issues. The default WooCommerce export tool is somewhat decent to handle the work. However, numerous plugins are available on the market that offers much better functionality and features than the default tool.