Shopify CSV For Beginners

Taking a look at an exported Shopify CSV file, you might feel a bit intimidated at first. The truth is, Shopify's template for uploading product sheets is actually quite simple and intuitive, once you've got a good idea of what you're looking at.

Let's go through each data-field together so you can start importing and exporting in Shopify like a pro!

Handle:

Handles are unique names for each of your products. 

This handle determines this product’s URL. For example, if you enter women-snowboard as your handle, the link to that product would be the following: https://yourstore.myshopify.com/product/womens-snowboard 

These names can contain letters and numbers, but no spaces.  

Dashes are used in place of spaces, for example: Anti Oil Solution Wash will be entered as following: 

Every time a new handle is entered into the spreadsheet, it will be treated as a new product. Therefore, if you wish to add more images or variants of a product, you should have multiple lines of the same handle. 

Title: 

This is where you enter the name you want your product to display on the store. 

For example, if you entered Dark Chocolate Almond Squares as your product’s title, it would display as following on your shop: 

Titles are simply entered into the spreadsheet as follows: 

Body (HTML): 

The text you enter in this field will be used as this product’s description. 

For example, if you enter the following into your Body (HTML)  

It will display as following on your store: 

You also have the option to use HTML tags to format your text in this field. 

A few examples of HTML tags: 

Bold text:  <b> Enter your text here </b> 

Italic text: <i> Enter your text here </i> 

Vendor: 

(Requires a minimum of 2 characters.) 

The text entered here will be used as the vendor for your product. 

By default, Shopify will just use your store’s name as the vendor name. 

Vendor names are entered as following: 

Type: 

A product type that can be used to sort and filter products on your store. 

For example, the product type of a white T-shirt, will be entered as following: 

Customers on your store can sort products by type, to help them find what they are looking for. 

Tags: 

(This can be left blank.) 

Tags are used to filter and sort products in your store. These tags are entered between quotes, and separated by commas. For example: 

When customers search your store, typing one of these tags will then show them all related products. 

Published: 

(This can be left blank.) 

Determines if your product is visible in your store. By leaving this field blank, the product will automatically be visible. 

Option1 Name: 

(This field should be used if your product has multiple variants) 

If your product does NOT have variants (for example, different sizes or colours), simply enter the following: 

If your product DOES have variants, (for example, different sizes or colours), this field is used to define the variant name. 

For example, if your product comes in different sizes, enter the following: 

Option1 Value: 

This field is used in conjunction with the previous field, Option1 Name 

If you entered Title into the previous field, simply enter Default Title into this field. 

If your product DOES have variants, for example, three different sizes (small, medium, and large), the following should be entered: 

Option2 Name & Option2 Value 

(Can be left blank, no need to enter Title) 

This is the same as the field Option1 Name, but for when your product has TWO variant variables. 

For example, a shirt that comes in different sizes (Small, Medium, Large) and different colours (White, Red, Green) would be entered as following: 

Option3 Name & Option3 Value 

This is the same as the previous field, but for when your product has THREE variant variables. 

For example, a shirt that comes in different sizes (Small, Medium, Large), different colours (White, Red, Green) AND different materials (Cotton, Polyester, and Linen) would be entered as following: 

Variant SKU: 

(This can be left blank.) 

Your product or variant’s SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) is entered in this field.  

This SKU code is used to track stock if you use an inventory tracking service. 

For example: 

Variant Grams: 

(This can be left blank; default value is 0) 

Your product or variant’s weight is entered in this field in GRAMS. 

Do not add a unit of measurement, just a number. 

Variant Inventory Tracker: 

This field includes your inventory tracking service for this product or variant. 

Valid entries include: Shopify , fulfillment-service-handle 

In most cases, Shopify , will be used: 

 (VALUES ARE CASE SENSITIVE) 

If you are not using an inventory tracking service, enter FALSE. 

Variant Inventory Qty: 

(This can be left blank; default value is 0) 

The amount (positive integer) of the product or variant that is available for sale. 

For example, if you have 5 of this product in stock: 

Variant Inventory Policy: 

This field defines how to handle orders when inventory level for this product or variant has reached zero. 

Valid values are: deny, continue 

deny will stop selling when inventory reaches zero, while continue will allow sales to continue into negative inventory levels. 

Entered as following: 

Variant Fulfilment Service: 

The product or variant fulfilment service used.  

Valid values are: manual, shipwire, webgistix, amazon_marketplace_web. 

If unsure, just enter manual 

Enter as follows: 

Variant Price: 

The price of your product or variable is entered here. DO NOT PLACE ANY CURRENCY SYMBOL HERE, JUST THE NUMBERS. 

For example: 

Variant Compare At Price: 

(This can be left blank) 

Enter the “Compare At” price for your product or variant here. The Compare At price is the original price for a product that is on sale. When you enter a compare at price, the product displays a sale price. 

Entered as: 

IMPORTANT NOTE: The Variant Compare at Price column can be blank, but if you leave this column blank and check Overwrite any current products that have the same handle. Existing values will be used for any missing columns. when you upload the CSV file, then the existing “compare at prices” for these products in your Shopify store will be deleted. 

Variant Requires Shipping: 

(This can be left blank, blank = FALSE) 

If your product or variant requires shipping, enter TRUE 

If your product or variant DOES NOT requires shipping, enter FALSE (or leave blank) 

Variant Taxable: 

(This can be left blank, blank = FALSE) 

If you wish to apply taxes to your product or variant , enter TRUE 

If you wish to NOT apply taxes to your product or variant, enter FALSE (or leave blank) 

Variant Barcode: 

(This can be left blank) 

The barcode, ISBN or UPC of the product or variant. 

IMPORTANT NOTE: The Variant Barcode column can be blank but if you leave this column blank and check Overwrite any current products that have the same handle. Existing values will be used for any missing columns. when you upload the CSV file, then the existing barcodes for these products in your Shopify store will be deleted. 

Image Src: 

(This can be left blank) 

Enter the URL for your product or variant here. These images aren’t variant specific, meaning you have to specify the Image Src for each respective variant. 

This is entered as following: 

IMPORTANT NOTE: The Image Src column can be blank but if you leave this column blank and check Overwrite any current products that have the same handle. Existing values will be used for any missing columns. when you upload the CSV file, then the existing images for these products in your Shopify store will be deleted. 

Image Alt Text: 

(This can be left blank) 

Enter text that describes your image. This is useful for when your image cannot be displayed due to an error. 

Entered as following: 

Collection: 

Enter the name of the collection you want to add this product or variant to. If it's an existing automatic collection, then the product needs to meet the conditions for the collection. If the collection doesn't already exist, then a manual collection is created. You can add a product to only one collection. 

Learn more about Shopify Collections here.