Import safety checklist · reviewed 13 July 2026

What should you check before importing a Shopify product CSV?

Back up first, state whether the file creates or updates products, compare its headers with a fresh Shopify export, preserve complete variant option data, preflight the file, and stage the import. After import, verify products and any app or feed that depends on variant identifiers.

1. Export a current backup

Export the affected products before editing. Keep that file unchanged and date the copy you will work on. A local preflight can find structural risks, but it cannot reconstruct store relationships or values that were overwritten without a backup.

2. Decide whether the file creates or updates

The required fields differ. Shopify says new products require Title, with URL handle also required when variants are added. Updates require both URL handle and Title. Choose the same intent in CatalogVigil so the correct rule set is applied.

3. Compare headers with a fresh export

Supplier files and older exports may contain legacy names, duplicates, hidden whitespace, or unrelated columns. Compare them with Shopify's current product CSV headers. Rename only when the meaning is equivalent; do not guess at custom columns.

4. Preserve complete variant options

Keep each product's rows together and make sure variant fields have complete Option1 name and Option1 value data. Do not add Option2 without Option1 or Option3 without Option2. Changing option values can replace variant identifiers and affect integrations, feeds, or apps that reference them.

5. Review values that automation should not guess

Prices should be plain numeric values, image fields should be usable URLs, and enumerated fields should match Shopify's current accepted values. A preflight should flag ambiguity rather than silently stripping currency punctuation, inventing handles, or filling product information.

6. Run a small staged import

1. Check the file locally and resolve blockers.
2. Read every warning that affects destructive dependencies.
3. Start with a small representative subset.
4. Read Shopify's import preview before confirming overwrite behavior.
5. Verify product counts, options, prices, images, inventory, feeds, and dependent apps.
6. Keep the backup until the complete result has been reviewed.

What can remain uncertain?

Remote image responses, current store state, market setup, product and metafield references, app behavior, and future Shopify validation are outside a browser-local file check. Treat “no blockers detected” as ready for Shopify's own preview—not as a guarantee of acceptance.

Primary sources: Shopify product CSV guidance and common import issues. Independent checklist; Shopify's current guidance controls.