Matrix Mode: Map CSV Columns to WooCommerce and WPML Fields

Matrix Mode is Shirely’s format for importing multilingual WooCommerce catalog data with WPML. Translated fields use language-suffixed column names, while shared fields stay as ordinary columns.

The column pattern

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

The part before the pipe is the field. The part after the pipe is the WPML language code. The language codes in the file must match the languages configured in WPML.

Shared fields

Fields such as SKU, price, stock, and many operational identifiers normally appear once. They do not need a language suffix unless your own data model requires separate values.

Categories

For translated category hierarchy, use source identifiers:

source_id,parent_source_id,name|en,name|pl,slug|en,slug|pl
cat-tools,,Tools,Narzedzia,tools,narzedzia
cat-drills,cat-tools,Drills,Wiertarki,drills,wiertarki

Preview before import

Use the preview to check language detection, mapped fields, create/update expectations, and warnings. Product rows are processed during product imports, so the important protection is stable matching, not Smart Sync skipping.

For the broader field reference, see Shirely documentation.