Differences between using Shopify CSV for Products export and import, or Matrixify:
- With Shopify you work with CSV files, whereas with Matrixify you work with pure Excel files.
- With Shopify you upload the CSV file and wait for e-mail. In other words, you don’t see what’s happening, and you don’t control anything; whereas with Matrixify you see the progress of your imports/exports, estimated time to complete, and can cancel them any time.
- With Shopify CSV export you always get the full store with all products and all fields. On the other hand, with Matrixify you can choose in more grained details, what details to export, and filter which Products you need to export. That is convenient because it not only saves time and file size. Most importantly, it allows you to export data so that you don’t have those duplicate rows. For example, if you want to just update Tags, then you don’t need Images or Variants. because those create additional rows for each product in the table. But you need just one row per product, just with base columns where the Tag column is.
- With Shopify CSV – to import several images per product, you need to copy rows and put the image in each row. Whereas with Matrixify you can put all images in one row in “Image Src” column, split images by a semicolon. See: How to import several product images from one row?
- With Shopify CSV you cannot export or import Metafields. Whereas with Matrixify you can export Metafields as columns in the same table of Products. Then you cam edit them and import them back as updates. See Metafields documentation.
- With Shopify CSV, when you import, you either create new or replace existing Products (you cannot update, only replace); whereas with Matrixify you can update products as well. You can update even individual fields by importing just those fields. See for example the tutorial how to update just the Product Price.
- With Shopify CSV – to update Image Alt Text field, you need to import whole Product with all its variants again, and replace it; whereas with Matrixify you export existing Products with just Images and Image Alt Text as additional data. After that, update that column in the Excel file and import it back as an update.
- With Shopify CSV you cannot export or import Template Suffix field of your products. You also cannot update thia field in bulk; whereas with Matrixify the Template Suffix is just one column in the file, which you export or import.
- With Shopify CSV – when you import your Products, the existing ones get deleted, and new are being created, which makes them have new ID, which in turn removes those products from all the existing places where they are referenced – for example, they disappear from Custom Collections. With Matrixify – when you import an update for the products, they keep the same ID, and all the references to those products are kept intact. And they stay in the same Custom Collections, too.
- With Shopify CSV you have the file size limit of 15 MB, which is roughly not more than 10’000 Products (depending on your images/variants rows); whereas with Matrixify there is 3 GB Excel file size limit you can upload, which for the Excel file is a lot more than you can ever need, because Excel file is compressed. For example, 600’000+ Products in one import is ok.
- Descriptions that contain escaped HTML code, with symbols like < > are being fixed to normal HTML code.
- You can import the inventory adjustments (delta).
- You can import inventory quantities to multiple locations (if you use the Multi-Location enabled shop).
- You can bulk-generate variants from options combinations, split by ; (semicolon).
- You can publish the Product on Online and POS channels by setting the Published Scope.
Those are just differences for importing and exporting Products
Matrixify app can import and export well beyond that – see full documentation of what can be exported and imported.
