Rewrite mode
Importing the rewritten CSV
A rewritten CSV updates existing Shopify products when handles and SKUs are preserved.
Quick answer
A rewritten CSV updates existing Shopify products when handles and SKUs are preserved.
What this means
Use this when you are one of the Shopify merchants improving an existing product catalog without breaking URLs. The goal is simple: understand what Storeshift changes, what Shopify will import, and what you should review before a real catalog update.
Plain-English rule: do the smallest safe action first, inspect the result, then scale up. That means preview before full run, sample import before full import, and review before publishing.
Before you change a live Shopify catalog, check product titles, body copy, image order, variant options, prices, handles, SKUs, SEO fields, and any warnings shown on the run page.
Simple checklist
- 01Export the current Shopify CSV and keep a backup before uploading it.
- 02Choose the narrowest rewrite scope: titles, body copy, SEO fields, images, or a small mix.
- 03Preserve handles, SKUs, inventory, status, and fulfillment fields unless you mean to change them.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Changing handles during a copy cleanup and accidentally creating new product URLs.
- Letting a rewrite touch inventory, publication status, or fulfillment settings.
- Accepting unsupported claims that were not present in the source product data.