Import Products
Smart Import reads your existing product file and builds your catalogue for you — no template, no column mapping, no spreadsheet editing.
What is Smart Import?
Smart Import takes the product file you already have and turns it into a working catalogue on your store. You don't need to rearrange your columns, rename your headings, or fill in a template first — upload the file exactly as it came out of your old platform, your supplier, or your own spreadsheet.
Smart Import reads the file, works out which column is which, tidies up prices and categories, and tells you exactly what it found before anything is imported.
The short version: if you can export it, we can import it. No template required. Every product needs a name and a price — everything else is optional.
How do I import my products?
Log into your Freewebstore Control Panel.
Go to Manage > Products > Import.
Drag your file into the upload box, or click inside the box to choose one.
Smart Import reads the file and shows you what it found.
Check the preview, adjust anything that isn't right, then click Confirm Import.
We'll process the import in the background and email you when it's finished.
What files can I upload?
CSV, Excel (.xlsx), JSON, XML, or a ZIP — up to 100 MB.
That covers:
Platform exports from Shopify, Wix, WooCommerce, Etsy, Squarespace and others — upload them exactly as they come
Your own spreadsheets, in whatever shape you keep them
Supplier and dropshipper price lists
A ZIP containing your product file and your product images together
Your columns can be in any order, and your headings can say whatever they say. They don't need to match ours.
What do I actually have to include?
Each product needs at least a name and a price. Everything else is optional — if your file has it, we'll use it; if it doesn't, we'll leave the field empty and you can fill it in later.
Product names and descriptions
Imported as-is, including HTML formatting where present
Prices
Detected and tidied, including sale prices where your file has them
Stock levels
Imported and applied to the product or variation
Images
Fetched from web addresses in your file, or read from a ZIP
Categories
Matched to your existing categories, or created for you
Variations
Grouped into options and choices automatically
Columns we don't recognise
Skipped safely — nothing breaks, and nothing is lost from your original file
Bringing your images across
There are two ways to get your product images in:
If your file contains image web addresses — most platform exports do — we'll fetch them automatically. Nothing else to do.
If your file only has image filenames, which is common with supplier lists and spreadsheets you've built yourself, put everything in a ZIP: your product file plus the image files themselves, and we'll match them up.
If we can't find an image for a product, we'll tell you on screen and show you what to do about it.
The preview step
Before anything is added to your store, Smart Import shows you what it's about to do: how many products it found, which categories it will use, and how it has read your columns.
If something isn't right, you can change it there and then — reassign a column, pick a different category, or correct a mapping. You don't need to go back and edit your file and start over.
Nothing is added to your store until you click Confirm Import. If the preview doesn't look right, cancel and start again — no changes will have been made.
Importing again, and updating products
Smart Import matches products in your file against products already on your store and updates them rather than creating duplicates. That makes it a practical way to keep your catalogue in step with a supplier feed or a master spreadsheet — re-upload the same file after a price change or a stock update and your store catches up.
The preview tells you how many products are being created and how many are being updated before you confirm.
Do I still need to test with 10 products first?
No. That advice existed because a badly formatted template file would fail the whole import with no warning. Smart Import shows you the result before it commits anything, so the preview does the job the test import used to do.
If you'd still rather start small, you're very welcome to.
Plans and limits
Smart Import is available on every plan, including Community.
Individual uploads are limited to 100 MB. There's no limit on the number of rows — if you have a very large catalogue with images, split it into a few ZIPs and import them one after another.
Importing from a specific platform
Most exports work straight away, but some platforms need an extra click on their end to get the file out:
Importing from Shopify
Importing from Etsy
Frequently asked questions
Will this overwrite my existing products? It updates products it recognises rather than duplicating them. New products in your file are created; products already on your store are refreshed with the data in the file. The preview shows you the split before you confirm.
What if my file has thousands of products? There's no row limit — only the 100 MB upload size, and the 1,000 product cap on the Community and Startup plans.
Can I still use the old CSV template? Yes. There's a Classic CSV import link at the bottom of the import screen, where you can also download a blank template. See Classic CSV Import.
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