1. Did a bulk import change data it should not have?
If products changed right after an import, start with the files, not the store. Compare the export from before, the file imported and a fresh export. Handles, the overwrite setting, blank cells and missing option columns explain most damage, and the example shows each on invented rows. Do not import again until the comparison is done.
- Take a fresh export now as a snapshot.
- Paid route: the Shopify import repair, proved on a test store.
2. Is the product structure itself wrong?
If choices are missing or priced wrongly, check variations, not stock. The WooCommerce variation guide covers attribute matching, the "Any" option and the switch at 30 variations. A data repair on one product is different from a redesign of the selector, which is not offered here.
- Paid route: the WooCommerce variation repair for one product or one import group.
3. Is the storefront showing current data?
If the admin is right and shoppers see old data, the fault may be display, not data. On Magento and Adobe Commerce, indexers and a recurring cron job keep the storefront current; the indexer guide gives read-only checks a host can run first. A manual reindex that helps only for a while points at the recurring job.
- Paid route: the Magento indexer and cron repair on a staging copy.
4. Do stock numbers agree across systems?
If Shopify and another system disagree, compare the same state at the same location before suspecting drift: available is not on hand. The reconciliation guide and the example sheet show the method of two lists and a difference, and the inventory guide explains why absolute writes can erase sales.
- Paid route: the Shopify stock sync correction for a sync you control.
5. Are you moving the catalogue to another platform?
A move is a reshaping job: parent and variation rows become handles and variant rows, options are limited to three on Shopify, and old addresses need redirects. The mapping guide shows how WooCommerce and Magento exports read, and the launch guide covers redirects and checks.
- Paid route: the product file and redirect file job, or the wider catalogue move project.
6. Keep it true over time
Once data and stock are right, the standing sync check compares orders and stock every week and explains up to two separate causes of difference a month. It changes nothing in your live systems; the correction is the separate job, and you apply it.
Priced routes, not a package
Each paid job has its own offer and acceptance test. Published test prices, which no buyer has yet responded to: Shopify import repair from £295, WooCommerce variations £245, Magento indexers from £495, Shopify stock sync from £495, product file and redirects from £695, and the standing sync check £245 a month. The catalogue move project is quoted from £1,500. Payment follows agreed checks and your sign-off. This sequence is a diagnosis order drawn from the cited platform behaviour, not evidence that anyone has requested or paid for these jobs.
- Send a redacted description and the first rows of an export; never logins, keys or customer data.
Sources and limits
- Shopify Help Center: Importing products with a CSV file Checked 2026-10-11.
- Overwrite imports replace values in the columns present, and a blank cell erases a stored value.
- Adobe Commerce documentation: Manage the indexers Checked 2026-10-11.
- In schedule mode a recurring cron job keeps indexes current, so a manual reindex alone is not enough.
- Shopify developer documentation: Inventory management apps Checked 2026-10-11.
- Stock is held per location in several states, and some state changes do not fire webhooks.
- Shopify Help Center: Migrating to Shopify Checked 2026-10-11.
- Shopify describes CSV and app routes for products and says products are imported first.