Import Product Categories and Taxonomies

WooCommerce products use WordPress taxonomies for product categories, product tags, shipping classes, and any custom product taxonomies. Import WP maps these in the Taxonomies section of the WooCommerce Products template.

Add a taxonomy row

1. Open the Taxonomies section.
2. Click Add Row once per taxonomy (for example one row for categories, one for tags).
3. Choose the taxonomy and map the terms field from your file.

Example CSV

Field reference

Category hierarchy

To create or assign nested categories:

1. Format terms as Parent > Child (or your hierarchy character).
2. Set Enable Hierarchy to Yes.
3. Choose Hierarchy Relationship:
   • All terms — product is assigned to Parent and Child
   • Last term — product is assigned only to Child (parents still created as needed)

Example:

Clothing > T-Shirts > Graphic

With hierarchy enabled, Import WP creates missing parent/child terms and assigns the product according to your relationship setting.

Multiple categories per product

Separate category paths with commas (or your delimiter):

Products > Simple, Clearance > Summer

If a category name itself contains commas, change the taxonomy delimiter or use a different separator in the file and set Delimiter to match.

You can also change the default delimiter with a snippet — see How to Import WordPress Taxonomies onto a Post Type.

Append vs replace terms

Use Append = Yes when your update feed only sends additional categories and should not remove existing ones.

Shipping class

Shipping class is a taxonomy (product_shipping_class), not a field under Shipping dimensions.

Add a Taxonomies row:

• Taxonomy: product_shipping_class
• Terms: shipping class name or slug

Updating categories on existing products

1. Map Product SKU (or GTIN) and set it as the unique identifier.
2. On Permissions, enable Update.
3. Ensure taxonomy fields are allowed on update (not excluded in field restrictions).
4. Decide Append terms Yes/No based on whether the feed is a full category list or a partial one.

See Update Existing WooCommerce Products.

Default “Uncategorized” behaviour

When your import assigns real product_cat terms, Import WP’s WooCommerce integration removes WooCommerce’s default category from the product if it was only still attached alongside the imported categories. You usually do not need to clear “Uncategorized” manually.

Common problems