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Stone & Water
Use Case

Import Shopware 6 images: assign product images by URL

Uploading hundreds of product images one by one takes days. In the PIM you assign them by file via their URLs, set the cover image and decide whether existing images stay or are replaced.

4 min readFor Shopware 6.6 and 6.7

What the PIM does here
  • Images by URL: coverUrl for the cover image, imageUrls for further images, separated by a vertical bar.
  • Image mode: "Add" keeps existing images, "Replace" deletes them first.
  • Adjustable speed: parallel image uploads per product and simultaneous products in the config matrix.
  • Maintain afterwards: file name, alt text and title per image, images by drag and drop, transfer to variants.

What the file looks like

productNumber;coverUrl;imageUrls
TABLE-160;https://cdn.example.com/table-160.jpg;https://cdn.example.com/table-160-2.jpg|https://cdn.example.com/table-160-3.jpg
CHAIR-01;https://cdn.example.com/chair-01.jpg;

The images must be publicly reachable at the URL. The product is matched by product number, EAN, manufacturer number or product ID. The export with the "Images" profile gives you a template.

Add or replace

  • Add: for new additional images, for example lifestyle photos for existing cut-outs.
  • Replace (delete all): for a complete image change, for example after a new photo shoot.
Test first: "Replace" removes all images of the affected products. A run with a few rows shows beforehand whether the URLs are right.

After the import

  • Alt texts: maintain file name, alt text and title per image, more under Maintain Shopware alt texts.
  • Variants: transfer the parent's images to all variants with one click.
  • Find gaps: the "without image" filter and the dashboard show which products still have no image.

Example: supplier images for a new range

  1. Get a template: export with the "Images" profile for the new products. The file already has productNumber, coverUrl and imageUrls.
  2. Enter URLs: copy the image links from the supplier list into the columns in Excel, several images separated by a vertical bar.
  3. Test ten rows in the "Add" image mode. Check in the shop whether cover image and order are right.
  4. Import the whole file. With many images it pays to adjust the parallel uploads per product and the simultaneous products in the config matrix.
  5. Follow up: maintain alt texts and transfer the main product's images to the variants.

Frequently asked questions

Can I import images into Shopware by URL?

Yes. In the PIM you assign images by URL via the coverUrl and imageUrls columns, several separated by a vertical bar.

Are existing images kept?

In the image mode "Add", yes. "Replace" first deletes all images of the affected products.

How do I set the cover image?

Via the coverUrl column. Further images go in imageUrls.

How do I find products without an image?

With the image filter in the product list or in the dashboard among the completeness checks.

Can I import images for variants?

Yes. Every variant has its own product number, which the import uses to find it. If all variants should show the main product's images, transfer them afterwards with one click.

What happens if an image URL cannot be reached?

The image cannot be loaded then. So check a few rows first and make sure the images are publicly available at the URL.

Further reading