Guide · E-commerce
Importing products into an online store
Filling a new online store with products is often underestimated. The data exists — in 1C, a supplier's spreadsheet, an old website — but it is incomplete, inconsistent and structured for accounting rather than for customers. A good import turns that raw data into a catalog customers can browse and filter, and sets up the flow that keeps it current.
[ 01 ]
In short
In short
- 01
Identify sources for each field: names and prices from accounting, descriptions and images from elsewhere.
- 02
Clean and structure data before import: consistent names, units, attribute values and categories.
- 03
Design import as a repeatable process, not a one-time manual job.
- 04
Handle images, variants and translations explicitly — they are where imports usually fail.
- 05
Validate after import with checks and a human review of samples.
[ 02 ]
Guide
Sources
- Accounting or ERP (often 1C): product codes, names, prices, stock, units.
- Supplier files: specifications, images, barcodes.
- Old website: descriptions, images, URLs that need redirects.
- Manual enrichment: customer-friendly descriptions, attributes, photos.
Decide which system is the master for each field, so later syncs do not overwrite enriched content. See 1C integration.
Cleaning and structuring
- Names: accounting names ("SHOES M BLK 42 ART.1234") become customer names ("Men's leather shoes, black").
- Categories: map products to the new category tree. See catalog structure.
- Attributes: extract size, colour, material and other values into structured fields with controlled vocabularies.
- Units and formats: consistent units, decimal separators and currencies.
- Duplicates: merge or remove duplicate records.
Variants
Group products that differ only by size, colour or configuration into one product with variants. Accounting systems often store each variant as a separate item; the import must link them by a common model code or naming rule.
Images
- Match images to products and variants reliably — by product code in file names or a mapping file.
- Process images automatically: formats, sizes, compression, consistent cropping.
- Identify products without images and plan a photo shoot or supplier requests.
Translations
For Azerbaijani, Russian and English catalogs:
- translate attribute names and controlled values once, and apply them to all products;
- translate names and descriptions per product, prioritising best-sellers;
- keep translations in fields linked to the same product, not as separate products.
Import as a process
Build the import as a script or integration that can run again:
- the first import fills the catalog;
- repeated runs update prices, stock and new products;
- enriched fields — descriptions, images added on the website — are protected from being overwritten.
This matters more than it seems: catalogs change constantly, and a manual one-time import becomes outdated within weeks. See inventory sync.
Validation
- Automatic checks: products without price, category, image or stock; invalid attribute values; duplicate URLs.
- Counts by category compared with the source.
- Human review of a sample in each category.
- A test purchase of products from different categories.
Redirects from the old store
If products existed on a previous website, map their old URLs to new ones and set up permanent redirects. See redirects when changing a website.
[ 03 ]
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Can we import directly from 1C?
Often yes, through standard exchange formats or an API. Enrichment for the website — descriptions, images, attributes — usually happens in the store or a product information system.
How long does it take to prepare a catalog?
It depends on the number of products, quality of source data and how much enrichment is needed. Start with best-sellers and complete the rest gradually.
Should we launch with the full catalog?
Not necessarily. Launching with well-prepared best-sellers and adding the rest in batches is often better than launching with thousands of incomplete products.