A:
When importing your products back into your store, BigCommerce converts the data from a CSV file. Once you have made changes to your exported CSV file, you then re-import it into your products page (for example), and the changes should be reflected in your store.
Super easy, right?
For the most part, this is a fairly simple process. But things can go wrong with your CSV file causing unwanted changes or even remove important data from your store. The most common problems we see:
- Mission or incorrect data – if any of the content in your columns are missing, or in the wrong order, it would be reflected in your store
- Stuck imports – the CSV file being used is larger than 512MB, an unusually high number of blank image columns, or contains base64 encoded images in the Product Description column.
- Invalid track inventory value – occurs when this field is left blank.
- Excel converts SKU into scientific notation and removes special characters – BigCommerce provides steps on how to prevent future conversions, it cannot fix an export that Excel has already converted.
Unfortunately, this was the case for one of our customers, Andrew Saunders:
“Do yourself a favour and download this plugin. Even though I have not used it – I wish I had downloaded it on my other store when 60% of my product images were deleted after importing a CSV file and costing me weeks of work locating and uploading the images again. Don’t take the risk.”
To ensure that import does not result in a data disaster in your store, we recommend that you backup your store data with Rewind BEFORE importing a CSV file. Rewind runs automatic backups of your entire store on a daily basis, but you can also run a backup yourself right before importing your CSV file, to make sure that your site stays undamaged. If something were to go wrong with your site after importing, you can simply go into your Rewind Vault, and rewind your store to the moment it was in before you made the CSV import.