How to Export WooCommerce Categories and Collections to CSV
To export WooCommerce categories and collections to CSV, open a supported WooCommerce store in Chrome, launch WooCommerce Product Scraper & CSV Exporter, and select Export Collections. The downloaded file can include publicly available category IDs, names, slugs, parent categories, descriptions, image URLs and product counts.
Product categories are more than navigation labels. They are part of the catalog structure. A clean WooCommerce category CSV helps you review taxonomy organization, identify duplicate slugs, inspect parent-child relationships and prepare a catalog migration.
What is a WooCommerce category CSV export?
A WooCommerce category CSV export is a spreadsheet containing category-level records instead of product-level rows. Each row represents a product category or collection. Each column describes a property of that category.
| Category ID | Name | Slug | Parent | Product count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | Baths | baths | 0 | 124 |
| 24 | Freestanding Baths | freestanding-baths | 18 | 47 |
| 31 | Bath Accessories | bath-accessories | 18 | 26 |
This category-first spreadsheet is useful when you want a portable view of the catalog hierarchy rather than a product export in which category names are repeated across many product rows.
Categories, tags and attributes are not the same thing
WooCommerce documentation describes categories, tags and attributes as product taxonomies used to organize, display and filter products. Their purposes overlap, but they are not interchangeable:
- Categories create a hierarchical catalog structure, such as Furniture → Chairs → Office Chairs.
- Tags add flexible descriptive labels, such as bestseller, eco-friendly or summer-sale.
- Attributes describe product characteristics and may be used for variations, such as size, color, finish or capacity.
A category CSV should focus on the taxonomy structure: IDs, names, slugs, parent records, descriptions, category images and available product counts.
How the WooCommerce Store API exposes categories
The public WooCommerce Store API includes a Product Categories endpoint. The endpoint can list product categories and supports pagination and search. This gives supported storefronts a public category data source for customer-facing catalog experiences.
A browser extension can use compatible public category responses to generate a category and collection spreadsheet without requiring source-side dashboard access.
How to export WooCommerce categories and collections
- Visit the public WooCommerce storefront.
- Open WooCommerce Product Scraper & CSV Exporter.
- Confirm that the store is detected.
- Click Export Collections.
- Download the category CSV file.
- Open the CSV in a spreadsheet editor.
- Review the category hierarchy before using it in another workflow.
Which category fields should you inspect?
- Category ID
- Category name
- Category slug
- Parent category ID
- Category description
- Category image URL
- Public product count
Seven practical uses for a WooCommerce category export
1. Audit a product catalog hierarchy
Review the entire taxonomy in one spreadsheet. Look for unclear names, duplicate concepts, inconsistent capitalization and overly deep category trees.
2. Prepare a store migration
Keep a portable reference for the source catalog structure before mapping categories into a new store.
3. Identify orphaned or underused categories
Use product counts to locate categories that contain no products or only a small number of items.
4. Review parent-child relationships
Check that subcategories sit beneath the correct parent category. A category spreadsheet makes hierarchy errors easier to spot.
5. Improve category naming
Review slugs and names side by side. Consistent naming helps customers navigate the store and helps catalog teams maintain the site.
6. Collect category image URLs
Where category images are publicly available, keep an image URL reference for migration preparation or catalog documentation.
7. Compare category coverage across catalogs
For permitted research workflows, compare public category structures to understand how different stores organize related products.
Category CSV cleanup checklist
After you export WooCommerce categories to CSV, create a working copy of the file and review the taxonomy structure. A category spreadsheet is especially valuable when a store contains nested categories, legacy slugs or inconsistent naming conventions.
- Find duplicate names. Two category rows may intentionally use similar names, but confirm that each row serves a distinct catalog purpose.
- Find duplicate slugs. A slug is the URL-friendly identifier. Review collisions, unexpected suffixes and inconsistent word separators.
- Check parent IDs. Confirm that each subcategory points to the expected parent record.
- Review empty descriptions. Decide whether important landing categories need clearer descriptions for customers.
- Open a sample of image URLs. Confirm that public category images load correctly and that your intended workflow has permission to reuse them.
- Inspect product counts. Identify empty categories, underused sections and unexpectedly large groups.
How category exports support catalog migration
A product CSV and a category CSV answer different questions. The product spreadsheet shows which products belong to which categories. The category spreadsheet shows how the taxonomy itself is structured. Keep both files during migration preparation.
Before recreating categories in another store, document the source category ID, category name, slug, parent ID, description and image URL. Then create a mapping sheet with target category IDs or target slugs. This prevents category names from being copied without their hierarchy.
How category structure affects product discovery
A clear taxonomy helps visitors browse a catalog and helps catalog teams maintain product placement. Categories should reflect meaningful customer paths rather than a random list of internal labels. Use the spreadsheet to identify vague names, duplicate concepts and deep hierarchies that make navigation harder to understand.
Do not create categories only to repeat keywords. Use descriptive names that match the products and the customer's browsing intent.
Recommended category-export worksheet columns
For a reusable category-audit worksheet, keep a source tab and a working tab. In the working tab, add review columns such as Needs description, Duplicate concept, Parent confirmed, Image checked and Migration target slug. These helper columns turn a raw export into a practical catalog-maintenance document.
When a store has hundreds of categories, sort first by parent ID and then by category name. This groups sibling categories together and makes inconsistent naming easier to notice. Filter blank descriptions separately, then review categories with unusually low or high product counts.
A structured category worksheet also helps teams discuss whether a category belongs in the customer-facing navigation, should remain available only as a landing page, or should be merged into a clearer parent section.
Common WooCommerce category export questions
Can WooCommerce categories be exported separately from products?
Yes. A category-focused CSV is useful when you need a taxonomy spreadsheet containing category records, hierarchy data and public counts rather than individual product rows.
Are categories and collections the same thing?
The extension uses the term collections in its popup because users often think of grouped catalog sections as collections. In WooCommerce, product categories are the primary hierarchical taxonomy for organizing products.
Why is the product count different from the number I expected?
Counts depend on the publicly accessible catalog data exposed by the selected store. Published visibility, endpoint behavior and store configuration can affect the available response.
Can I use the category CSV for migration?
Use it as a migration-planning reference. Review required columns, taxonomy mapping, hierarchy and slug rules before importing or recreating the structure in another store.
Related guides
- How to Export WooCommerce Products to CSV with Product Variations
- WooCommerce Catalog Migration Checklist for CSV Product Files
- How to Review WooCommerce SKUs, Prices, Stock and Product Images in CSV
Official WooCommerce references
- WooCommerce Store API Product Categories endpoint
- WooCommerce product categories, tags and attributes documentation
Responsible use: Use catalog-export tools only for lawful workflows. Export data only when you have the right or permission to use it, and follow applicable website terms, privacy requirements, intellectual-property rules and data-use regulations.
