Exporting WooCommerce Products: Step-by-Step Guide

Running an active WooCommerce store eventually means moving product data out of WordPress. You might need to update seasonal prices in a spreadsheet, migrate your catalog to a new domain, or send live inventory feeds to Google Shopping.

A basic data dump sounds straightforward until variable products, image galleries, and custom attributes land in an unorganized mess.

In this guide, I’ll walk you through the most practical ways to export your WooCommerce products and show you how to generate clean, ready-to-use files without hours of manual cleanup.

Method 1: Exporting Products Using WooCommerce’s Built-in CSV Exporter

WooCommerce includes a free CSV export feature built directly into the core plugin. It allows you to generate a basic spreadsheet of your products without installing extra plugin.

Step-by-Step Native WooCommerce Product Export:

1. In your WordPress admin menu, navigate to Products › All Products.
2. Click the Export button at the top of the screen (next to Add New).
3. Under Which columns should be exported?, choose whether to export all columns or select specific fields from the dropdown.
4. Under Which product types should be exported?, choose your target types (e.g., Simple, Variable, or External).
5. If you only want to export specific items, select your categories under Which product category should be exported?.
6. Check Export custom meta? if you need custom attributes included in the file.
7. Click Generate CSV.

WooCommerce compiles the spreadsheet and downloads the CSV file directly to your computer.

Limitations of the Native WooCommerce Product Exporter

While the built-in tool works for small, one-off backups, it carries significant operational limitations:

• Flat CSV only: It cannot export native Microsoft Excel (.xlsx) spreadsheets or formatted XML feeds.
• Fixed column order: You cannot rearrange columns visually or rename headers to match external distributor templates.
• No background automation: The export must be run manually inside your browser, meaning large catalogs often encounter server 504 gateway timeouts.
• No conditional filters: You cannot filter products by stock levels, price thresholds, or publish dates.
• Rigid variable products: Variations export across rigid column schemas that are difficult to edit and re-import cleanly.

Method 2: Exporting Products Using WordPress’s Default XML Tool

WordPress includes a general data export feature accessible under Tools › Export.

Step-by-Step WordPress Product XML Export:

1. In your WordPress admin dashboard, go to Tools › Export.
2. Select Products from the list of content types.
3. Click Download Export File.

WordPress generates a standard WordPress eXtended RSS (WXR) XML file containing your product records.

Limitations of the Default WordPress XML Tool

The WordPress XML exporter is made strictly for complete site backups. It outputs raw, unformatted XML that cannot be customized or opened cleanly in spreadsheet software. Furthermore, external sales channels (like Google Merchant Center or Amazon) cannot parse this format, making it unusable for marketplace feeds.

Method 3: Exporting WooCommerce Products with WP All Export

WP All Export is the best WooCommerce product export plugin as its visual drag-and-drop editor allows store owners to export catalog data to CSV, native Excel, or custom XML feeds without manual file reformatting.

It processes every standard WooCommerce product field, custom fields registered by Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) or Meta Box, product attributes, and multi-image galleries.

What sets WP All Export apart is the control you get over the final layout. Rather than forcing you to accept an unorganized dump of your entire catalog, it lets you create your exact column order, rename headers to match external marketplace schemas, and choose whether variable products export as individual rows or grouped under the parent.

It also connects directly to your broader store operations. You can use WP All Export to schedule recurring exports using server cron jobs to keep inventory feeds in sync, generate dedicated XML feeds for the Google Merchant Center, or package your catalog into an automated bundle that WP All Import can migrate to another site with zero manual mapping.

Here is the complete four-step walkthrough once you have the WP All Export installed on your site:

Step 1: Start a New WooCommerce Product Export

Navigate to All Export › New Export in your WordPress dashboard.

1. Select Specific Post Type.
2. Choose WooCommerce Products from the dropdown menu.
3. WP All Export displays the total count of products detected on your site.
4. (Optional) If you only want to export a specific subset of products, expand the Add Filtering Options panel to filter by stock status, price, category, or date.
5. Click Customize Export File.

Step 2: Choose Your Export Columns and Format

The Drag & Drop screen displays your target export columns on the left and all available WooCommerce database fields in panels on the right:

• WooCommerce Standard Data: Title, Content, Short Description, and Status.
• WooCommerce Product Data: SKU, Regular Price, Sale Price, Stock Quantity, and Dimensions.
• Media: Featured Image URL, Filename, Alt Text, and Gallery URLs.
• Taxonomies: Product Categories and Tags.
• Custom Fields: Metadata stored by third-party plugins, themes, or custom code.

To include a field, simply drag it from the right-hand panel into your column layout on the left. To rearrange columns, drag them into your preferred sequence. You can also click any column header to rename it directly to match an external feed schema.

Under Export Type, choose your desired file format: CSV, Excel (.xlsx or .xls), or Custom XML Feed.

Step 3: Configure Export Settings

Click Continue to move to the Export Settings screen.

Here you can configure how WP All Export processes large catalogs:

• Set batch sizes to prevent server timeouts on catalogs with thousands of items.
• Enable automated scheduling via cron or the built-in Automatic Scheduling service.

Step 4: Run the Export and Download Your File

Click Confirm & Run Export. WP All Export processes your catalog in the background and displays a progress screen.

Once complete, click your file format button (CSV, Excel, or XML) to download the finished file.

Pro-Tip: You can also download a Bundle zip archive. This bundle contains your raw product data alongside an import configuration template, allowing WP All Import to migrate your entire catalog to another WooCommerce store with zero manual mapping.

Advanced WooCommerce Product Export Techniques

While basic exports output flat spreadsheets, enterprise store management often requires complex data transformations and automated marketplace feeds.

1. Generating Automated Google Merchant Center Feeds

Google Shopping requires product data to follow strict formatting guidelines, including specific category taxonomies, availability statuses, and unique product identifiers (GTIN, MPN, and Brand).

WP All Export includes a dedicated Google Merchant Center Product Feed template:

1. When creating a new export, select Feed › Google Merchant Center Product Feed.
2. The plugin automatically generates required sections, including Basic Product Information, Availability & Price, and Unique Identifiers.
3. In the Category Mapping panel, you can match your local store categories to Google’s official taxonomy using a simple point-and-click interface.
4. The generated feed URL can be submitted directly into Google Merchant Center, updating automatically on a daily schedule to keep prices and stock counts accurate.

2. Exporting Variable Products and Variations

Variable products in WooCommerce are stored as one parent product linked to multiple child variation records. When exporting variable products, different external systems require different layouts:

• Separate Rows: Each child variation exports as its own row with its unique SKU, price, and attribute values (ideal for accounting software and inventory systems).
• Grouped Parent Rows: All variation data is bundled inside the parent product row.

In WP All Export, you can toggle between these two structures with a single click in the export settings, giving you total control over how variations display in your spreadsheet.

3. Editing Export Data on the Fly with Inline PHP

Distributors and external marketplaces often require data in specific formats, such as capitalizing product titles, rounding wholesale prices, or stripping HTML tags from descriptions.

Instead of manually editing spreadsheets after the export finishes, WP All Export includes a built-in PHP function editor. You can right-click any mapped field and apply inline PHP functions (like strtoupper() or custom pricing formulas) to transform values dynamically as the export runs.

4. Scheduling Automated WooCommerce Product Exports

To keep external channels synchronized without manual intervention, you can automate your exports:

• Automatic Scheduling Service: Configure weekly or daily schedules directly inside WordPress for $19/month.
• Server Cron Jobs: Set up free system cron commands in your hosting control panel (cPanel or crontab) to trigger exports automatically at exact clock times.

Exported files can be saved to your server, sent via email, or delivered directly to external FTP/SFTP servers.

4. Exporting Product Images and Gallery URLs

When exporting product images from WooCommerce, the spreadsheet does not contain the raw image files themselves. Instead, it exports direct, publicly accessible web URLs pointing to where those images are hosted, allowing external channels or migrating sites to download them.

The native WooCommerce exporter only outputs a single unorganized image column. In WP All Export, you have full control over how imagery is structured:

• Featured Image vs. Gallery: You can export the primary featured image (_thumbnail_id) into its own dedicated column, and output the secondary product gallery images into a separate column.
• Custom Delimiters: If your products have multiple gallery photos, you can specify whether those URLs should be separated by commas, pipes, or spaces to match your spreadsheet software.
• Image Metadata: Beyond the image URLs, you can drag and drop fields for image alt text, titles, captions, and descriptions to ensure SEO metadata carries over during a site migration.

5. Filtering Product Exports by Stock, Price, or Category

Most export tasks require a targeted subset of your catalog rather than a complete database dump. For example, you may need to send an inventory list of only out-of-stock items to a warehouse, or export products priced over $50 for a seasonal promotion.

While WooCommerce’s built-in exporter only allows basic filtering by category or broad product type, WP All Export includes a rule-based filter engine accessible directly on the New Export screen:

1. Expand the Add Filtering Options panel.
2. Select the database Element you want to target (such as Stock Status, Regular Price, Product Category, or Date).
3. Choose your comparison Rule (e.g., equals, greater than, contains, or is empty).
4. Enter your target Value (for example, setting Stock Status equals instock) and click Add Rule.

You can add multiple rules and combine them using AND or OR logic. For complex catalog audits, rules can be nested with parentheses to create advanced queries, such as exporting products that are either (In Stock AND Category = Shoes) OR (Price > $100). WP All Export calculates the exact number of matching records in real time before you run the export.

Frequently Asked Questions About Exporting WooCommerce Products

How do I export all products from WooCommerce?

To export all products from WooCommerce for free, go to Products › All Products in your WordPress admin and click the Export button at the top. Select all columns and product types, then click Generate CSV. For advanced layouts, native Excel spreadsheets, or scheduled feeds, use a dedicated export plugin like WP All Export.

Can you export WooCommerce products to Excel (.xlsx) directly?

No. The built-in WooCommerce export tool only exports flat CSV files. To export products directly into Microsoft Excel spreadsheets (.xlsx or .xls) without formatting errors, you must use a dedicated plugin like WP All Export.

How do I export WooCommerce products to Google Shopping?

To export products to Google Shopping, use WP All Export’s built-in Google Merchant Center Product Feed template. It maps your catalog data to Google’s required schema (including GTIN, MPN, and price rules) and provides a dynamic feed URL that refreshes automatically on a schedule.

Further Reading

• The 5 Best WooCommerce Product Export Plugins
• The 5 Best Plugins for WooCommerce Product Export to CSV
• How to Export and Import WooCommerce Products
• How to Export and Import Variable Products in WooCommerce
• Best WooCommerce Bulk Edit Plugins
• The 5 Best WooCommerce Product Import Plugins