13 pointsStarting to get into this DEV thingI'm new here
rolyatnitram
Member
—
29th August 2011 20:22
Hi,
I just installed Marketpress and now I need to import a list of products from an old ZenCart site. Can you point me to any instructions on how to import a list of products? I hope to import the product list and any links to product photos and categories as automatically as possible.
I will want to have a couple of different ways to search products by manufacturer and by other product features. Is that best acheived by categories or tags or both?
I just installed Marketpress and now I need to import a list of products from an old ZenCart site. Can you point me to any instructions on how to import a list of products? I hope to import the product list and any links to product photos and categories as automatically as possible.
I will want to have a couple of different ways to search products by manufacturer and by other product features. Is that best acheived by categories or tags or both?
I don't think marketpress can import zencart, but I think wp e commerce can, and marketpress can import from that... So its a few steps, but you can get there!
You should use categories more for product categories - if you want these sorted by manufacturers then that would work well, then using tags for product features.
Thanks, but what if I want to add 50 new products do I have to always install them in another e-commerce system first in order to do a mass import? There must be a function for mass import of products, surely.
There's not an import option available as yet, but it's in the plans. That said, it may require a bit of tweaking, but you should be able to use the CSV Importer to import via a csv list. http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/csv-importer/
Alternatively, TurboCSV is a premium pluing that can import any custom post type, not just MarketPress products, so it can work for importing pretty much anything into WordPress. http://wpplugins.com/plugin/145/turbocsv-2/
My blog tells you how to do it, I have moved whole wordpress to new host and new domain, or do it to the same domain but new sub directory.
this will import all though but it should not hurt anything, but an easy way to product everything is to do a database backup and download it to pc, then zip up your whole entire wordpress root folder just to cpanel is fine and simple.
Then do my tutorials I found online it works, you will have all store mods, images, descriptions, posts, pages, everything.
Just remember to backup your database in database backups in cpanel, zip up whole root of wordpress folder to cpanel, downloading is not required, it will still be in there in cpanel, but you can download it if you want.
An easy way to save an entire wordpress to a new directory is the copy and paste in file manager, copy the wordpress over to new sub dir or new addon domain directory of a sub directory of where your wordpress is, just copy the wp-content folder over, that should set everything you need for another copy of your wordpress, then do the import and export method. Your good to go!
Now about the copying over to this new store mod I have no idea, but all do what they said and give you a report back...
here is the tutorial on how to save a wordpress to a new wordpress, it will save the entire wp store too over like I said, I did this 5 times already.
I study a lot in web design and how everything works, I have video tutorials just about on every niche product, website, training courses that I provide. You can find my twitter, facebook, and major websites that I have designed or run here.
I hope this tutorial works out for you too, GOD BLESS!!!
@Tony, good point regarding the featured images. It's been a little while since I looked into that one and will have to take a good look back at that once I get a free moment. I've not sought support for TurboCSV (haven't dug into it in a little while) but I do hear the developer's very helpful. Perhaps he might be able to help with that.
@jccoldwell, sorry I missed your post here but the installation page I linked to above should sort that one for ya.
I went ahead with CSVpig and I'm loving it so far with Marketpress. It took me a little bit of testing to figure everything out, but I can tell already that I have a lot more freedom with importing data and product taxonomies than I would with a typical wordpress plugin shopping cart.
I chose CSVpig because of the one-time bundle license that lets me use it on as many sites as I want. They have an annual fee license, but I'd rather pony-up and buy the bundle with no annual fees to worry about.
The downside is the lack of support for featured images, though CSVpig mentioned that they might include that in a future release.
In the meantime, I've simply imported the image, and then using css I have visibility set to hidden and the height and width set to 1 at the end of the post.
After import, I run a plugin called "Auto Post Thumbnail" by Aditya Mooley.
It takes a few minutes, but it creates a featured image from the first image within all post/pages/products that do not already have a featured image set
Essentially, I can load 1000 products, run the auto post thumbnail, and then come back later and all my post now have featured images.
It's a pain, and a non-programmer hack, but it works!
While we don't give ETA's as a general rule, I'll ping Aaron to see how this one's coming along.
This thread actually should have been moved to our feedback and feature suggestion forum earlier so I'll get that moved. We don't have an open status in this forum but this section is very well monitored for input and feedback.
Hi,
I'm in the middle of creating a site with Multisite and Marketpress with Buddypress. Any more news on the CSV importer? I don't mean to be a bother, but my customers are about beating down my door asking for it.
Thank you for any news you have. :)
The importer hasn't been included as yet and while we can't give an ETA still, it is in the plans. If you need something right away, you could try one of the plugins mentioned above. You might also consider enlisting the aid of a developer to get that done.
The API is already in place, which makes it easier and therefore quicker for a developer to do so, plus the existing WP-eCommerce importer could serve as an example to work from.
Tony's method for creating post thumbnails is great. I only add hotlink to the image on the post content (and use CSS to set it to display:none) so there's no need to upload anything. Although, I have one problem conserning the import:
I'm using the Worpress CSV Importer plugin and I'm able to import everything that's needed except product category (I don't import product tags). I've tried both product_category and csv_ctax_product_category but the products always end up "Uncatagorized". What I've read above it should work, but I haven't been able to figure out the cause for this problem. Any ideas?
OK happy new year to all and may it be a blessing to us.
Just wanna say, i too was looking for this option to import products into marketpress via csv. after reading this forum I decided to try chesterbailey combined with Tony's method. i could not afford CSVPig at the moment so i purchased TurboCSV and download the "Auto Post Thumbnail" by Aditya Mooley.
I will post the results when i am done activating and testing.
So far everything work fine with TurboCSV except for the same issues Tony had, lack of support for featured images and SKU issues as well. I would like to know if you (Tony) can share your method with me in details? i am still a novice trying to understand css. Currently I'm on a low budget but I am willing to pay someone if i can afford it.
I tried posting a job on the developers section but the price they are asking for is ridiculous, i might as well purchase a premium shopping cart "TWICE" and still have change left over (not to say i have that kind of money), but since i am a dedicated WordPress and WPMU Dev fan i will continue to support these projects as best as i can.
It’s official! Version 1.0 of MarketPress Product Importer has been released. If you currently use the WPMU DEV plugin, MarketPress, and have been looking for a quick and easy way to import products to your online store, or product listing site, this is for you.
I manage several affiliate product listing sites, and couldn’t keep up with the ever changing “product data feeds” for each site. Since I really wanted to use MarketPress, I decided to develop a product importer specifically for MarketPress.
I’m looking forward to sharing it with anyone that can use it, and of course, the WPMU Dev team. Like most initial releases, there are many items not yet integrated, so test it out and provide feedback.
The MarketPress Product Importer currently supports (basic product data, featured images, categories, tags, skus, price, sale price, and external product links).
NOTE: I tested this on Bird-Feeders.com, and successfully imported 896 products. There's still more to do on that site, but now my "Commission Junction" data feeds are a breeze.
Yes. When the importer is run, the uploaded product data is converted to market press CPT product posts. Here's a brief explanation of the process.
When this plugin was activated, a new database table is created for storing the product data temporarily. In order to run the importer, that table needs to be populated with the users product information. I'm planning to integrate the CSV import directly into the plugin, but for now, I'm using CSVisual, an edited version of Quick CSV import with Visual Mapping by Alexander Skakunov.
Once the product data has been added to the (_mpimporter) table, the plugin will recognize it, and show the "number of products" available, as well as, an "Import Now" button.
Simply click the "Import Now" button, and the plugin will import your new products. NOTE: Data in the (_mpimporter) was not deleted, so running the import again will just create copies of the products in MarketPress. I'm working on an update to handle this, so users will have the ability to update existing MarketPress products, without having a duplicate record created.
So, the process of getting products from a affiliate network is this (correct me if I'm wrong):
- create a login
- get approved for merchants
- get approved for their program
- export all approved programs(products) as a CSV
Then with your plugin:
- Import all from CSV.
Your plugin will auto pull from csv, create the titles, cats, etc,
Is that correct?
Some aff networks allow for auto export of CSV file to a specific folder on my server. Does your plugin auto import from a csv file on a timed occurrence?
If, some affiliate programs expire or cut the program, will the products still be loaded?
How many aff networks do you currently support CSV export for?
At the moment, I have no plans to monetize any of the MarketPress Product Importer code. As far as I'm concerned, it's free to anyone that finds it useful. My hope is that over the next couple weeks / months, I'll be able to reach the 1,000+ membership points, by helping solve problems for WPMU members.
Very excited to see this...just gave it ago...but it divided 430 products up to 2408 products...something obviously went wrong!
I'll give it another go later...let you know how I get on!
Hi BlueNet,
This seems like the perfect solution for me but I can't get past the first hurdle... I realise it makes me sound very dim... but I'm not sure what I should be entering to define database settings in config.inc
Thanks!
Responses (35)
Lifetime Member — 29th August 2011 20:46 #
Hey. Welcome to the forum!
I don't think marketpress can import zencart, but I think wp e commerce can, and marketpress can import from that... So its a few steps, but you can get there!
Lifetime Member — 29th August 2011 20:48 #
Sorry, forgot your other bit.
You should use categories more for product categories - if you want these sorted by manufacturers then that would work well, then using tags for product features.
Member — 29th August 2011 21:17 #
Thanks, but what if I want to add 50 new products do I have to always install them in another e-commerce system first in order to do a mass import? There must be a function for mass import of products, surely.
Martin
WPMU DEV Fanatic — 29th August 2011 22:31 #
Hi Martin and welcome to WPMU DEV!
There's not an import option available as yet, but it's in the plans. That said, it may require a bit of tweaking, but you should be able to use the CSV Importer to import via a csv list.
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/csv-importer/
Alternatively, TurboCSV is a premium pluing that can import any custom post type, not just MarketPress products, so it can work for importing pretty much anything into WordPress.
http://wpplugins.com/plugin/145/turbocsv-2/
And fortunately, an awesome member from the site here provided a file for use with TurboCSV and MarketPress in the following thread.
http://premium.wpmudev.org/forums/topic/bulk-import-for-marketpress#post-68026
Hope that helps!
-David
Member — 31st August 2011 06:36 #
Sorry to re open this. We have a site currently using the wp e commerce plugin...chris mentioned we can import from there... how?
Member — 20th September 2011 22:18 #
I've successfully imported data by uploading to wp-ecommerce and then using marketpress to import from wp-ecommerce. It's a pain, but do-able.
Unfortunately, it doesn't import the images. Just a few basic fields, or did I miss something?
Isn't it possible to just upload data through MyPHPAdmin?
Can the "featured" images be uploaded via ftp, and then just assigned? Almost all of our images are basically SKUnumber.jpg
I guess I'm looking for an easier method to create and upload hundreds, and potentially thousands of products than doing them one at a time.
Someone else mentioned TurboCSV, but then said he had to manually add the images, which is a deal killer for me.
Any ideas?
Member — 28th September 2011 04:03 #
My blog tells you how to do it, I have moved whole wordpress to new host and new domain, or do it to the same domain but new sub directory.
this will import all though but it should not hurt anything, but an easy way to product everything is to do a database backup and download it to pc, then zip up your whole entire wordpress root folder just to cpanel is fine and simple.
Then do my tutorials I found online it works, you will have all store mods, images, descriptions, posts, pages, everything.
Just remember to backup your database in database backups in cpanel, zip up whole root of wordpress folder to cpanel, downloading is not required, it will still be in there in cpanel, but you can download it if you want.
An easy way to save an entire wordpress to a new directory is the copy and paste in file manager, copy the wordpress over to new sub dir or new addon domain directory of a sub directory of where your wordpress is, just copy the wp-content folder over, that should set everything you need for another copy of your wordpress, then do the import and export method. Your good to go!
Now about the copying over to this new store mod I have no idea, but all do what they said and give you a report back...
here is the tutorial on how to save a wordpress to a new wordpress, it will save the entire wp store too over like I said, I did this 5 times already.
http://crystalspalace1.blogspot.com/?zx=dc37cdf4edddd10e
Member — 28th September 2011 04:19 #
Ok it all works out!!!!
after I did the above, I went to the new store products page and clicked import and look at this!!!
This will allow you to import your products and most of their attributes from the WP e-Commerce plugin.
It appears that you have 25 products from WP e-Commerce. Click below to begin your import!
now checkout my new store now, wow lol, I did this in 10 mins, it works
http://chatterfriends.com/world/
my official website to see my websites and contact me is at
http://crystalspalace.yolasite.com/
I study a lot in web design and how everything works, I have video tutorials just about on every niche product, website, training courses that I provide. You can find my twitter, facebook, and major websites that I have designed or run here.
I hope this tutorial works out for you too, GOD BLESS!!!
WPMU DEV Fanatic — 28th September 2011 20:12 #
Hi guys,
The instructions for importing from MarketPress are located at the bottom of the installation page:
http://premium.wpmudev.org/project/e-commerce/installation/
@Tony, good point regarding the featured images. It's been a little while since I looked into that one and will have to take a good look back at that once I get a free moment. I've not sought support for TurboCSV (haven't dug into it in a little while) but I do hear the developer's very helpful. Perhaps he might be able to help with that.
@jccoldwell, sorry I missed your post here but the installation page I linked to above should sort that one for ya.
Cheers,
David
Member — 28th September 2011 23:04 #
@David
I went ahead with CSVpig and I'm loving it so far with Marketpress. It took me a little bit of testing to figure everything out, but I can tell already that I have a lot more freedom with importing data and product taxonomies than I would with a typical wordpress plugin shopping cart.
I chose CSVpig because of the one-time bundle license that lets me use it on as many sites as I want. They have an annual fee license, but I'd rather pony-up and buy the bundle with no annual fees to worry about.
The downside is the lack of support for featured images, though CSVpig mentioned that they might include that in a future release.
In the meantime, I've simply imported the image, and then using css I have visibility set to hidden and the height and width set to 1 at the end of the post.
After import, I run a plugin called "Auto Post Thumbnail" by Aditya Mooley.
It takes a few minutes, but it creates a featured image from the first image within all post/pages/products that do not already have a featured image set
Essentially, I can load 1000 products, run the auto post thumbnail, and then come back later and all my post now have featured images.
It's a pain, and a non-programmer hack, but it works!
WPMU DEV Fanatic — 29th September 2011 00:01 #
Hi Tony,
That's a brilliant solution and thanks for posting it! We often refer back to threads like this for great ideas like that!
Cheers,
David
Member — 19th October 2011 23:15 #
Yes it was brilliant if I do say so myself.
The only hiccup was that the data uploaded, but it didn't really take until we went and hit "update" on each and every product (over 400 so far)
Until then, the SKU wasn't showing up in product page view, so we knew something was wrong.
Thankfully I had someone that had nothing better to do than to go hit update on 400 products.
:)
Member — 28th October 2011 06:21 #
Any news on when the "Import from CSV" importer will appear in our Settings panel?
Does the temporary 'Coming soon..." message mean very soon?? Sitting on 300+ products to import.
Thanks for any timing info. (Aaron?)
PS. I re-opened message as not really resolved until native importer available. Right? Shoot me if not.
WPMU DEV Fanatic — 29th October 2011 02:09 #
Hi RichardHK,
While we don't give ETA's as a general rule, I'll ping Aaron to see how this one's coming along.
This thread actually should have been moved to our feedback and feature suggestion forum earlier so I'll get that moved. We don't have an open status in this forum but this section is very well monitored for input and feedback.
Thanks,
David
Member — 30th October 2011 13:07 #
Thanks David. Much appreciated.
Lead Developer — 31st October 2011 17:21 #
I'll be putting it in whenever I get a chance. Sorry no ETA.
Member — 10th December 2011 20:36 #
Hi,
I'm in the middle of creating a site with Multisite and Marketpress with Buddypress. Any more news on the CSV importer? I don't mean to be a bother, but my customers are about beating down my door asking for it.
Thank you for any news you have. :)
WPMU DEV Fanatic — 10th December 2011 22:30 #
Hiya Hiltos and first off, welcome to WPMU DEV!
The importer hasn't been included as yet and while we can't give an ETA still, it is in the plans. If you need something right away, you could try one of the plugins mentioned above. You might also consider enlisting the aid of a developer to get that done.
The API is already in place, which makes it easier and therefore quicker for a developer to do so, plus the existing WP-eCommerce importer could serve as an example to work from.
-David
Member — 28th December 2011 00:24 #
Tony's method for creating post thumbnails is great. I only add hotlink to the image on the post content (and use CSS to set it to display:none) so there's no need to upload anything. Although, I have one problem conserning the import:
I'm using the Worpress CSV Importer plugin and I'm able to import everything that's needed except product category (I don't import product tags). I've tried both product_category and csv_ctax_product_category but the products always end up "Uncatagorized". What I've read above it should work, but I haven't been able to figure out the cause for this problem. Any ideas?
Member — 28th December 2011 17:42 #
Solved it! Help was found here.
For some reason CSV Importer needs the product category in format "0,CategoryName" in the CSV file.
Member — 4th January 2012 02:23 #
OK happy new year to all and may it be a blessing to us.
Just wanna say, i too was looking for this option to import products into marketpress via csv. after reading this forum I decided to try chesterbailey combined with Tony's method. i could not afford CSVPig at the moment so i purchased TurboCSV and download the "Auto Post Thumbnail" by Aditya Mooley.
I will post the results when i am done activating and testing.
+1 for marketpress csv importerMember — 5th January 2012 19:09 #
So far everything work fine with TurboCSV except for the same issues Tony had, lack of support for featured images and SKU issues as well. I would like to know if you (Tony) can share your method with me in details? i am still a novice trying to understand css. Currently I'm on a low budget but I am willing to pay someone if i can afford it.
I tried posting a job on the developers section but the price they are asking for is ridiculous, i might as well purchase a premium shopping cart "TWICE" and still have change left over (not to say i have that kind of money), but since i am a dedicated WordPress and WPMU Dev fan i will continue to support these projects as best as i can.
Member — 10th January 2012 05:57 #
http://premium.wpmudev.org/forums/topic/feature-request-marketpress-import-from-everything
Member — 12th January 2012 14:27 #
It’s official! Version 1.0 of MarketPress Product Importer has been released. If you currently use the WPMU DEV plugin, MarketPress, and have been looking for a quick and easy way to import products to your online store, or product listing site, this is for you.
I manage several affiliate product listing sites, and couldn’t keep up with the ever changing “product data feeds” for each site. Since I really wanted to use MarketPress, I decided to develop a product importer specifically for MarketPress.
I’m looking forward to sharing it with anyone that can use it, and of course, the WPMU Dev team. Like most initial releases, there are many items not yet integrated, so test it out and provide feedback.
The MarketPress Product Importer currently supports (basic product data, featured images, categories, tags, skus, price, sale price, and external product links).
Official WordPress Plugin Download
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/marketpress-product-importer/
Development Website Link
http://bluenetpublishing.com/plugins/marketpress-product-importer/
CSVisual (CSV uploader with Visual field Mapping)
http://bluenetpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/csvisual.zip
NOTE: I tested this on Bird-Feeders.com, and successfully imported 896 products. There's still more to do on that site, but now my "Commission Junction" data feeds are a breeze.
Thanks
Member — 13th January 2012 12:22 #
Awesome work! Gave you 50 points for this sweet dev work.
So, you imported your commission junction data feeds? Is that a constantly updating feed, being converted to market press CPT product posts?
Cheers,
Johnny
Member — 13th January 2012 21:25 #
Hi Johnny,
Yes. When the importer is run, the uploaded product data is converted to market press CPT product posts. Here's a brief explanation of the process.
When this plugin was activated, a new database table is created for storing the product data temporarily. In order to run the importer, that table needs to be populated with the users product information. I'm planning to integrate the CSV import directly into the plugin, but for now, I'm using CSVisual, an edited version of Quick CSV import with Visual Mapping by Alexander Skakunov.
Once the product data has been added to the (_mpimporter) table, the plugin will recognize it, and show the "number of products" available, as well as, an "Import Now" button.
Simply click the "Import Now" button, and the plugin will import your new products. NOTE: Data in the (_mpimporter) was not deleted, so running the import again will just create copies of the products in MarketPress. I'm working on an update to handle this, so users will have the ability to update existing MarketPress products, without having a duplicate record created.
Support Kangaroo — 14th January 2012 01:34 #
Greetings BlueNet :-)
Totally flippin awesome :-)
Great job and a personal thank you :-)
Joe :-)
Member — 17th January 2012 20:13 #
For all the "dev" types interested in the guts of the plugin, listed below is my process() function. It's where all the magic happens.
If this helps you, please send a few points my way.
BlueNet
Member — 18th January 2012 02:21 #
So, the process of getting products from a affiliate network is this (correct me if I'm wrong):
- create a login
- get approved for merchants
- get approved for their program
- export all approved programs(products) as a CSV
Then with your plugin:
- Import all from CSV.
Your plugin will auto pull from csv, create the titles, cats, etc,
Is that correct?
Some aff networks allow for auto export of CSV file to a specific folder on my server. Does your plugin auto import from a csv file on a timed occurrence?
If, some affiliate programs expire or cut the program, will the products still be loaded?
How many aff networks do you currently support CSV export for?
How automated can I get the above processes?
Cheers,
Johnny
Member — 18th January 2012 02:23 #
Will you be monetizing this in the near future? Ie: charge for updates? or is it free forever?
Cheers,
Johnny
Member — 19th January 2012 20:12 #
Hi Johnny,
At the moment, I have no plans to monetize any of the MarketPress Product Importer code. As far as I'm concerned, it's free to anyone that finds it useful. My hope is that over the next couple weeks / months, I'll be able to reach the 1,000+ membership points, by helping solve problems for WPMU members.
BlueNet
Member — 19th January 2012 22:00 #
Very excited to see this...just gave it ago...but it divided 430 products up to 2408 products...something obviously went wrong!
I'll give it another go later...let you know how I get on!
Member — 20th January 2012 16:07 #
Hi Fondeli,
Sorry to hear you're having trouble. Can you give me more details, so I can help diagnose the issue?
1. Where do you see the reference to 2408 products? Is it in the DB?
2. How did you get the product data into the (_mpimporter) table?
BlueNet
Member — 23rd January 2012 13:25 #
The importer solution is brilliant. it will tremendously help me setting up a new shop for a client but I have another related question:
if a customer has a tool for managing his stock (for the real life warehouse) is there any chance to get that synchronized with marketpress?
I guess you'd have to have an API and some custom coding done but I wouldn't know where to start looking so has anyone done anything similar yet?
Member — 10th May 2012 16:22 #
Hi BlueNet,
This seems like the perfect solution for me but I can't get past the first hurdle... I realise it makes me sound very dim... but I'm not sure what I should be entering to define database settings in config.inc
Thanks!
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