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Use Google Sheets as a WooCommerce Product Translation Workspace

Google Sheets can give translators, product owners and reviewers one structured workspace for WooCommerce product translations. The sheet holds shared identifiers and language-specific text side by side; Shirely imports the approved version in a deliberate run or through a reviewed Automation slot.

The sheet serves as a collaboration and review workspace. It does not change WooCommerce whenever someone edits a cell.

Start from the current catalog or a controlled template

If the products already exist, export the current catalog to a private Google Sheet through a Service Account. That creates a reviewable working copy with the identifiers needed for a later import.

If you are preparing a new catalog, start with a simple template and one or two sample products. A published sheet can be used as an import source without credentials, but translation work often contains internal or unreleased copy, so a private sheet is usually the safer choice.

Keep shared and translated fields separate

sku,title|en,title|pl,description|en,description|pl,regular_price
DRILL-100,Power Drill,Wiertarka,18V cordless drill,Wiertarka akumulatorowa 18 V,149.99

The SKU is a shared product identifier. Titles and descriptions are language-specific content. Price may be shared depending on the catalog workflow. The important rule is to avoid using translated text to match the product.

Protect operational columns in Google Sheets

Use Google Sheets’ protected ranges and permissions to restrict edits to operational columns such as SKU, Matrix ID, price, stock, images and category identifiers. This protection is configured in Google Sheets; Shirely does not lock cells for you.

Give translators access to the language columns they own. Keep a small instruction row or separate tab explaining allowed values, but do not place instructions above the actual header row used for import.

Define a review state outside the import

A spreadsheet can show whether a translation is draft, reviewed or approved, but Shirely does not interpret an editorial approval process automatically. Decide who can approve a language and which rows are ready before starting the import.

Useful review checks include:

  • Check that required titles and descriptions are present in every target language.
  • Ensure SKUs and other matching keys have not changed.
  • Confirm that units, decimal separators and product terminology are consistent.
  • Validate the HTML used in descriptions.
  • Confirm that category and attribute terms already exist in the expected language structure.

Import only after approval

When the sheet is ready, start the Shirely import deliberately. Products and Matrix Mode rows are processed each time, so stable identifiers determine whether the run updates the intended catalog records.

A saved private-sheet import re-fetches the current values and auto-maps recognized headers. It can process inline without the normal preview screen. Reconcile the completed totals and inspect representative products in every language instead of assuming that the spreadsheet approval proves the storefront result.

Export and import are separate actions

Every export to Google Sheets requires a Service Account. Exporting writes a working copy to the configured sheet; importing the edited data back is a separate action started by a WordPress user.

That separation is useful for translation teams: the sheet can move through review without changing the store, and WooCommerce changes only when an explicit import job processes the approved values.

Automate the execution, not editorial approval

Shirely 1.3 can save supported import and catalog/content export configurations as separate Automation slots. Test each direction with Run now, inspect Run History and keep the editorial approval rule outside Shirely.

WP-Cron is traffic-driven and does not guarantee an exact start time. Use system cron with WP-CLI when timing must be predictable, and do not overlap jobs that can write the same products, terms or WPML/WCML translation groups.

What to verify after import

Check only the structures touched by the sheet. Category and attribute checks apply when the import assigns those terms; prepare their translated terms and hierarchy separately in WooCommerce and WPML/WCML before relying on the product sheet.

  1. Open products in every imported language.
  2. Check language-switcher URLs and translated slugs.
  3. Review category archives and breadcrumbs.
  4. Test variable-product selectors where attributes are involved.
  5. Compare a sample of approved sheet cells with the rendered storefront.

For the WPML data structure, continue with the multilingual Google Sheets import guide. For general access and setup, see how to import WooCommerce products from Google Sheets and the Google Sheets import/export hub.