How to create a CSV file for Bulk uploading New Products

When it comes to adding multiple products at once, doing a manual upload via platform could be taxing and this is where the Bulk Upload feature comes in handy. Using this feature, you can add your products and all their information using a single CSV file.

CSV which stands for Comma Separated Value is the file used to store and manage data. It is a great way to add, move, or update products and their details in your store.

You can easily create a CSV file via Google Spreadsheets / MS-Excel (save it as a ".csv" extension).

We recommend you to first check on this sample CSV here, which comes with guidelines to follow to see what the CSV file looks like.

We recommend you use google spreadsheets to manage data within your team.

We hope you are already aware of the type of products which CommerceUp uses, if not then go through the following section

Below are the following CSV column fields which are used to create the file. Basic CSV is for simple products and Advanced CSV is mostly used in the Fashion/Apparel or Grocery industry. Please follow the Required and Optional fields to fill in the correct data.

CSV Columns

A) Name

The name you put in this field will be visible as product's name on your store.

B) Category name

Every product falls under specific categories and subcategories, for example, All T-shirts & Shirts for men come under Men's wear (sub-category) which are then categorized as Fashion/Clothing (Main Category). Here Men's wear and Fashion/Clothing is a category whereas T-shirts & Shirts are the products.

You can add a main category and its subcategories separated by a comma in the Category column (Main Category, Subcategory1, Subcategory2). Once CSV is done and uploaded, all the main categories and subcategories will be created accordingly by the platform, so you won't have to do that manually.

Note- 1.) Do not add a product without first categorizing it into a relevant category otherwise, it will not be added to your product list. 2.) In the case of Config-Item, make sure you put a category for parent item too, and those categories should match with variants of the products.

C) Item-Type

In this column you will have to define what type is your product, i.e. Simple-Item(A product with no other variation), or a Config-Item (Product having different variations(known as 'Variant'). )

In the case of Simple-Item, fill in the field as "Simple-Item". And in the case of Config-Item, fill in the field as Config-Item and since it has variants, in the succeeding row you will have to mention the product type as "Variant"(consider below picture for reference).

Note - Since it is a mandatory field, you cannot upload a product without first defining its item type, or else it will not be considered in your CSV and may reflect as an error while importing data on the platform.

D) Quantity

It is important that you define the quantity for your products in your CSV. If you don't want to define the quantity of any product, you can give a value of 0 to that product. In such a case, the product will not be displayed on your online store as it will be considered "Out-Of-Stock" but will be present in the "All product" list in the catalog section at the backend of your store.

Note- In the case of Config-item, the quantity of product considered will be the total of the quantity of all the variants available. Also, Do not put any quantity in the parent item as it will not be considered, only the total quantity of variant is reflected in the store

E) Stock Keeping Unit (SKU)

Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) is used to provide unique identifiers to each of your products. As each product has its own identity, in the simplest words it is a product ID. You can mention the SKU for your products & provide unique identification to them. On your e-commerce platform; you can easily search your products with the help of added SKU.

Note- In the case of Config-Item, the SKU of the parent product will be used as "PARENT_SKU" for the variant of Config-Item to link the variant to its parent product. Hence, make sure you put the correct SKU in the PARENT_SKU field of variant and Do not leave it empty, otherwise, the product will not be reflected in your store and will show an error on import (For reference, consider the below image).

F) Active

The Active column is used to publish or unpublish a product on your online store. It can be done by defining the value of Active as 1 or 0 in your CSV, where "1" stands for Publish and "0" stands for Unpublish. Since it is a mandatory field, make sure you give it either 0 or 1, to avoid any errors.

NOTE- In the case of config-item, make sure to define "Active" state for your parent item to make any of the variants visible who also have "Active" defined as 1, and if you want to hide(or unpublish) a particular variant then define "Active" as "0", keeping others as "1". Consider below image for reference:

G) Original Price

You can mention the original price for your added products in your products CSV. This price will be visible in your store as the MRP of a product.

H) Store Price

You can mention your store price for all the products of your online store. This is basically the discount which you are giving to your customers on the Original price.

NOTE- In the case of config-item, you don't have to mention any of the prices in the Parent item fields, the prices shall be mentioned for variant items only.

I) IMAGE (Thumbimage)-

Each product has its own basic image which is used as a thumbnail image to show on the product listing page (PLP) or the first image which will be visible on the product description page (PDP) of your store. In the product CSV, the image column is used as a thumbimage of the product.

Steps: 1. You have to upload that particular image in Gallery -->Product --> Upload File

2. After uploading the image of your product, you then have to put the same name as your image file in CSV' image column. For example, if the product's image name is Denim jacket.jpg, then you will have to fill the same name (including white spaces) with the same extension (.jpg). consider the below image of CSV for reference:

NOTE- 1.) Make sure you put the right name as uploaded in the Product tab of Gallery to avoid any error. 2.) In the case of Config-Item, you can leave the parent product' image field empty.

J) Other image (Other media)

You can add multiple images of your product in the same way as you did for thumbimage, but each image name has to be separated by a comma. These other images will be visible on the Product Description Page (PDP) of your store.

K) Short Description

Short description (or Excerpts), is used to give brief detail about your product, which enables you to introduce your product in a short and sweet manner. We recommend not using more than 140 characters.

L) Long Description

In this column, you can add a detailed description of your product, either in the form of plain text, which will be considered as one paragraph and will be displayed as same Or you can add the details in the form of HTML tags, which will be styled accordingly. For example, if you want to show description in the form of bullet Points or tabulated form, add a description as illustrated in the below image using HTML tags:

M) Non-Returnable

There are cases when you don't want to show a product to be "returnable" on your store, in such a scenario the non-returnable column is used. By using "1" or "0" a product can be defined as returnable or not, where 1 stands for Non-returnable and 0 stands for Returnable.

N) Option1Name and Option1Value

These fields are used in the case of a variant of a config-item, where the name of the attribute is to be filled in "Option1Name" which defines it as a variant of parent (config-item) item and the value of that attribute to be filled in "Option1Value". For example, if your variant product is different from the parent in terms of "Color", then the Option1Name will be "Color" and its value (i.e. Blue) will be "Option1Value". Similarly, if your variant has more attributes and values, they will go into fields like Option2Name/Option2Value and so on.

O) SEO Title/Description/Keyword

SEO Title tag is typically the first thing a potential visitor will take notice of when performing a search. So this is your chance to make a positive first impression. Use the title which best defines your product as this will be the first line that will be visible in the search result of a search engine.

SEO Description or meta description is used to get users searching on Google to click your link. Thus, a relevant and compelling description of your product in the search result will draw users to your product's web page. It's best to keep descriptions long enough, so we recommend descriptions between 120–160 characters. Keep in mind that the "optimal" length will vary depending on the situation, and your primary goal should be to provide value and drive clicks.

SEO Keyword can be just a single word, but it can also be a phrase or combination of 2+ words. Choosing keywords is an essential stage in the SEO process. Choose the best keywords, based on your industry, monthly searches, and more.

NOTE: 1.) You can use OptionalFields to add any other information about your product, these fields work in key-value pairs and can be as many as you want. The keys are dependent on keys available in product data, For example- If your product is clothing, there could be an optional field that you want to show in specifications such as Pattern, Washable, Slim Fit, Material, etc.

NEXT STEPS :

If you want to add products via Commerceup Dashboard, You can always check