Best practices: Change the import in an active project

Is your webshop going to change from the e-commerce platform it is running on? This will also impact your Channable account if you import directly from your e-commerce platform to Channable. Even though you will import the same products, it can still cause problems because every e-commerce platform is different.

This article gives recommendations and best practices for customers switching their e-commerce platform in Channable.

Recommendations and best practices

• Create a test project first and add the import connection with your new e-commerce platform there. This lets you see how products import without directly impacting active export channels. Keep the test project inactive so it won't affect subscription usage. Only when the new import connection works properly and you're ready to switch, go to your live project(s) and delete the old import / add the new import there.

• Before switching your live projects, review the mapping of both your old and new imports. Fields may have different names in the new import mapping even if they contain the same information. This can cause many errors in Rules, Build, Finalize, and Attributes steps because the old fields used there may no longer exist after switching.

• You can resolve this by either:

  • Adjusting the mapping of your new import so internal Channable fields keep the names of the old fields used in the project, or

  • Changing the fields used in your export channels to the new fields (Channable will show errors where fields are used that do not exist anymore). Be sure to check all export channels for errors after switching the import in your live project.

• Check for fields that have the same name in mapping but different values. For example, a field called visibility might be 'true'/'false' in the old import and 'yes'/'no' in the new one. Rules that rely on old values (e.g., exclude visibility = 'false') may no longer work after switching. Verify you are still sending the correct amount of products in your feeds and APIs after the switch.

• Recreate any custom fields you manually added in the old import mapping in the new import connection. Taking a screenshot of the custom fields in your old import can help re-add them easily.

• Check categorization in your export channels. Categories in the new e-commerce platform may be structured or named differently. They will likely still import into standard fields like categories, category, or category_path, but products may be categorized incorrectly. Verify product categorization after switching.

Order connection specific notes

• If you have one or more order connections, you must contact us for assistance when switching imports. We will remove old order connections and set up the new order connections for you.

• Product IDs in the id field are likely different in the new import, since this identifier is generated by the e-commerce platform. Order connections identify products by ID, so orders to your new back-end will fail if products contain the old ID as 'Unique ID per item'. The 'Unique ID per item' can be found in the Settings of an API export or the Finalize step of a feed export (it may be named differently in feed exports). Ensure the new IDs are sent to all marketplaces you have an order connection with.

To make sure you send the IDs from your new import to all APIs you have an order connection for, follow this process:

1

Clear the APIs

Clear the APIs so all listings with the old ID as 'unique ID per item' are removed.

(Note: Go to APIs > Settings > [gear icon] > Clear API.)

2

Switch the import(s)

After clearing your APIs, switch the import(s) in the project to the new import.

3

Verify setup

Check the project and make sure everything is set up correctly using the general tips above (mapping, custom fields, categorization, rules, etc.).

4

Run the APIs again

If everything looks good, run your APIs again so all listings re-appear with the correct unique ID per item.

Important: If you clear your APIs, there is a risk of losing some product reviews on marketplaces, especially if you are the only seller of the products you list. Also consider possible listing costs (for example, listing on eBay); clearing and re-running the API will re-list all products. Check with the marketplace if it's safe to clear your API and later re-run it. If unsure, contact us for advice.