First-Time Setup — Complete Checklist

Brand-new to the plugin? This page walks you through everything in order. Check each box as you complete the step.

Estimated Time

About 30 minutes for a complete setup.

The Checklist

Part 1 — Install (5 min)

• [ ] Check system requirements (see Installation)
• [ ] Download the plugin ZIP from Webkul or CodeCanyon
• [ ] Upload via Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin
• [ ] Activate the plugin
• [ ] See "Webkul WC Addons" in your sidebar

Part 2 — System Check (5 min)

Screenshot: Dashboard System Information card — review status before continuing.

• [ ] Open Webkul WC Addons → Import Export (Dashboard)
• [ ] Scroll to System Information card
• [ ] Check the banner:
  • Green "All system requirements met" → skip to Part 3
  • Yellow "X performance warnings" → review warnings but you can continue
  • Red "X critical issues" → fix these first
• [ ] For any red items, click How to fix this
• [ ] Follow the OS-specific install commands
• [ ] Refresh the Dashboard — confirm everything is green

Most common fixes:

• pcntl not available — Ask hosting to install php8.3-pcntl
• LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE disabled — Ask hosting to enable MySQL local_infile = 1
• PHP memory < 256M — Add define('WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '512M'); to wp-config.php

See PHP Configuration for details.

Part 3 — Basic Settings (5 min)

Screenshot: Settings — General tab for default import mode, entity, and batch size.

• [ ] Open Settings → General
• [ ] Set Default Import Mode to Create + Update (most common)
• [ ] Set Default Entity Type to Products (or whatever you import most)
• [ ] Set Default Batch Size based on your store:
  • Small store (<10K products): 500
  • Medium (10-100K): 1000
  • Large (>100K): 2000
• [ ] Click Save Changes

Part 4 — Email Notifications (5 min)

• [ ] Open Settings → Email Notifications
• [ ] Check Send on Failure (you want to know when things break)
• [ ] Fill Recipients (To) with your email
• [ ] Leave Send on Success unchecked (daily schedules would spam you)
• [ ] Click Save Changes
• [ ] Install an SMTP plugin like WP Mail SMTP if your hosting mail is unreliable

See Email Setup for SMTP configuration.

Part 5 — Compatibility Plugins (5 min)

Screenshot: Settings — Third-party compatibility with detection badges.

• [ ] Open Settings → Third-Party Compatibility
• [ ] For each plugin you use, check the status badge:
  • "Detected: Active" — check the box to enable support
  • "Installed but inactive" — activate the plugin first
  • "Not installed" — skip
• [ ] Common to enable: Yoast SEO, RankMath, ACF, WPML/Polylang
• [ ] Click Save Changes

See Compatibility for what each integration does.

Part 6 — Your First Import (10 min)

Screenshot: Quick Import wizard step 1 — upload and configure your file.

• [ ] Prepare a test CSV with 10 products (or use the sample file)
• [ ] Open Quick Import from the menu
• [ ] Step 1:
  • [ ] Entity Type: Products
  • [ ] Import Mode: Create + Update
  • [ ] File Format: Auto-Detect
  • [ ] Source Type: File Upload
  • [ ] Upload your file
• [ ] Click Next
• [ ] Step 2: Review column mapping (should auto-match standard columns)
• [ ] Click Next
• [ ] Step 3: Read the preview summary
• [ ] Click Start Import
• [ ] Step 4: Watch the progress bar
• [ ] Step 5: See the result — click View Products to verify

Part 7 — Save as Job (Optional, 3 min)

If this will be a recurring import:

• [ ] Click Save as Job on the result page
• [ ] Give it a clear title (e.g., "Daily Supplier Feed")
• [ ] Pick a schedule (e.g., Daily at 3 AM)
• [ ] Click Save
• [ ] Go to Jobs page and verify it is listed

Part 8 — Server Cron (For Reliable Scheduling)

WordPress built-in cron is unreliable. For scheduled jobs:

• [ ] SSH into your server (or use cPanel → Cron Jobs)
• [ ] Add this to your server crontab:

  */5 * * * * curl -s https://your-site.com/wp-cron.php > /dev/null
  
• [ ] Save

See Server Cron Setup for full instructions.

Part 9 — Backups (Optional but Recommended)

• [ ] Install UpdraftPlus or similar
• [ ] Schedule daily backups before imports run
• [ ] Test restore once to make sure it works

This is separate from the plugin's Rollback, which only undoes one import.

You Are Done

After completing this checklist, you have:

• Plugin installed and working
• System optimized
• Defaults set
• Notifications configured
• Compat plugins connected
• First import done
• Scheduling set up (if needed)
• Backups in place

What to Learn Next

Common First-Time Questions

Do I need to import everything at once?

No. Start with 10 products. Get comfortable with the flow. Then do the full import.

Should I test on staging first?

Yes, especially for large imports. Most hosts offer free staging.

Can I undo my first import if I mess up?

Yes. Every import creates a rollback snapshot. See Rollback.

How long will a 10,000-product import take?

On a decent VPS with pcntl enabled: under 10 seconds. On shared hosting without pcntl: 2-10 minutes.

Related Pages

• Installation
• Quick Import Wizard
• Settings
• Tutorials