Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Learn from other people's mistakes. These are the top 20 things users get wrong.

File Preparation

Mistake 1 — Saving CSV in Excel Without UTF-8

What happens: Special characters (é, ñ, ü) turn into garbage after import.

Why: Excel defaults to Windows-1252 encoding, not UTF-8.

Fix:

  • Excel: File → Save As → CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited) — not just "CSV"
  • Google Sheets: always saves UTF-8 by default
  • LibreOffice: File → Save As → check "Keep current format" → pick UTF-8

See CSV Preparation → Encoding.

Mistake 2 — Leading Zeros Stripped by Excel

What happens: ZIP codes like 00123 become 123. Product codes with leading zeros break.

Why: Excel treats numeric-looking text as numbers.

Fix:

  • Format the column as Text before entering data
  • Or prefix values with ' ('00123)
  • Or edit CSVs in a text editor, not Excel

Mistake 3 — European vs US Decimal Separator

What happens: Prices show as 0 or completely wrong.

Why: European Excel uses , for decimals: 29,99. US uses .: 29.99.

Fix:

  • Standardize on . for decimals
  • Or use Transformations to convert during import

Mistake 4 — Unquoted Commas in Values

What happens: Product name "Coffee Mug, 12oz" splits into two columns.

Why: Commas inside values must be wrapped in double quotes.

Fix:

SKU,Name,Price
WK-001,"Coffee Mug, 12oz",18.50

Always quote values that contain commas.

Mistake 5 — Using the Wrong Delimiter

File Format dropdownScreenshot: File Format dropdown — Auto-Detect usually works; force CSV if the delimiter trips up auto-detection.

What happens: Plugin sees all your data as one column.

Why: Your file uses ; but the plugin defaulted to ,.

Fix:

  • The plugin auto-detects most delimiters
  • If not, set in wizard Step 2 → Separators

Variable Products

Mistake 6 — Parent Row After Variations

What happens: All variations fail to import.

Why: Variations reference parent SKU. Parent must exist first.

Fix: Put the variable row first. variation rows after it.

See Variable Products.

Mistake 7 — Missing Parent Column on Variations

What happens: Variations become orphaned (no parent link).

Fix: Every variation row must have Parent = parent's SKU.

Mistake 8 — Attribute Values Not Matching Parent

What happens: Variation shows "No valid attribute combination."

Why: Parent row lists colors as "Red, Blue, Green" but a variation has Color = Yellow — not in the parent list.

Fix: Every value used in variations must appear in the parent row's attribute list.

Mistake 9 — Duplicate SKUs Across Variations

What happens: WooCommerce rejects the import.

Fix: Every variation SKU must be unique across the entire store.

Import Modes

Import Mode dropdownScreenshot: Import Mode — Create Only, Update Only, Create + Update, Delete, Replace. Wrong mode is the root cause of most "nothing happened" reports.

Mistake 10 — Using "Create Only" When Products Already Exist

What happens: Everything shows "Skipped." No products created.

Why: Create Only only adds NEW products. If all SKUs already exist, nothing happens.

Fix: Use Create + Update for mixed files.

Mistake 11 — Using "Replace" on a Live Store

What happens: All your existing products are deleted.

Why: Replace mode wipes everything first, then imports.

Fix: Never use Replace on production. Use Create + Update or Update Only.

Mistake 12 — Wrong Match Key

What happens: Updates don't match. Plugin creates duplicates.

Why: Products match on SKU by default. If your CSV uses a different column, the match fails.

Fix: Set the correct Match Key in Settings or wizard Step 3.

Mapping and Fields

Mistake 13 — Not Mapping Required Fields

What happens: Import fails validation.

Why: Products need SKU or Name. Orders need Order Number. Customers need Email.

Fix: Map required fields (marked with red star) in Step 2.

What happens: Only the first image shows. Gallery is empty.

Why: The Images field handles featured + gallery. If you map to Featured Image only, the rest are ignored.

Fix: Map to Images (plural). First URL becomes featured, rest go in gallery.

Mistake 15 — Category Hierarchy Not Working

What happens: Nested categories are created at the top level instead of nested.

Why: Your file uses / but the plugin expects >.

Fix: Set the separator in wizard Step 2 → Separators → Category Level Separator.

Scheduling

Mistake 16 — Relying on WordPress Cron for Critical Jobs

What happens: Scheduled imports miss their times on low-traffic sites.

Why: WordPress cron only fires when someone visits the site.

Fix: Set up real server cron. See Server Cron Setup.

Mistake 17 — Running Every Minute Without Delta Import

What happens: Server gets hammered. Imports overlap and fail.

Why: A daily feed should not run every minute.

Fix:

  • Pick the right schedule (hourly, daily) based on how often data changes
  • Use Delta Import to skip unchanged rows

Images and Performance

Mistake 18 — Downloading Images on First Import Without Deferred Mode

What happens: Import takes 30x longer than it should.

Why: Each image download is an HTTP request.

Fix: Turn on Deferred Image Import in Settings. Finish the import fast, download images in background.

Mistake 19 — Not Backing Up Before Big Imports

What happens: Something goes wrong and you have no backup.

Why: Rollback is great but might not cover everything (e.g., images in Media Library).

Fix:

  • Always take a database backup before big imports
  • Use UpdraftPlus or similar
  • Test on staging first

Mistake 20 — Ignoring System Info Warnings

What happens: Imports are 10x slower or fail on big files.

Why: Dashboard shows yellow/red warnings but users skip them.

Fix: Check Dashboard → System Information. Fix every yellow and red item before importing.

Plugin Integrations

Mistake 21 — Enabling Compat After Import

What happens: Yoast/RankMath/ACF fields ignored during import.

Why: Compat plugins are only read if enabled BEFORE the import starts.

Fix: Enable compat in Settings → Third-Party Compatibility → Save → THEN import.

Mistake 22 — WPML Without Sitepress

What happens: Language import appears to work but translations don't link.

Why: The plugin supports WPML via the free woocommerce-multilingual plugin, but full translation features require the paid sitepress-multilingual-cms.

Fix: Either buy WPML core, or use free Polylang instead.

Testing and Safety

Mistake 23 — Not Previewing Before Running

Wizard Step 3 — Preview / Dry RunScreenshot: Step 3 preview — sample rows, create/update counts, and any errors. Read this carefully before hitting Start Import.

What happens: You find out the mapping was wrong AFTER destroying data.

Fix: Always click Run Preview in Step 3 before Start Import.

Mistake 24 — Testing on Production

What happens: One wrong click breaks your live store.

Fix: Most hosts offer free staging environments. Clone your store, test there first.

Mistake 25 — Trusting the Same Mapping for Different Files

What happens: New supplier CSV has slightly different columns. Old mapping wrecks the data.

Fix: Always review the mapping in Step 2 — even when loading a saved preset.

Pre-Flight Checklist

Before any big import:

  • [ ] File is UTF-8 encoded
  • [ ] First row is the header
  • [ ] Commas in values are quoted
  • [ ] Decimal separator is .
  • [ ] Required fields (SKU, Email, etc.) are present
  • [ ] Variable products: parent row first
  • [ ] Right import mode picked
  • [ ] Right match key picked
  • [ ] Compat plugins enabled (if needed)
  • [ ] Database backup taken
  • [ ] Tested on staging (for production sites)
  • [ ] Ran Preview in Step 3
  • [ ] Reviewed column mapping
  • [ ] System info shows green/yellow (no reds)