What is the CSV Import Feature? #
Want to import books from CSV in WordPress quickly? Books Gallery’s bulk CSV import feature lets you upload your entire book catalog at once — saving hours of manual data entry. Simply prepare your book data in a given spreadsheet and import it directly into Books Gallery in minutes.
This feature is especially useful for libraries, publishers, and bookstore owners who already have their catalog in a spreadsheet and want to migrate it to WordPress quickly. You can import books from CSV in WordPress regardless of how many titles you have — there is no limit on catalog size.
💡 Pro Feature — CSV Bulk Import
CSV bulk import is available on the Professional plan and above. It is available as a separate free addon — downloaded from GitHub and installed just like any other WordPress plugin. This keeps Books Gallery lightweight for users who do not need bulk import.
Requirements #
- Books Gallery Professional plan or above — active license required
- Books Gallery plugin installed and activated on your WordPress site
- CSV Import Addon — free separate download from GitHub
- A specific CSV format (provided template within the addon) to import books correctly
How to Import Books from CSV — Step by Step #
Step 1 — Download the CSV Import Addon #
The CSV import feature is available as a free separate addon — keeping the main Books Gallery plugin lightweight for users who do not need bulk import.
- Go to the Books Gallery CSV Import addon on GitHub
- Click the green Code button → Download ZIP
- Save the ZIP file to your computer
🔗 Download CSV Import Addon: github.com/GitMubarak/wp-books-gallery-import
Step 2 — Install and Activate the CSV Import Addon #
- Log in to your WordPress admin dashboard
- Go to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin
- Click Choose File and select the downloaded ZIP file
- Click Install Now
- Click Activate Plugin once installation completes
After activating the addon you will see a new WBG Books Import sub-menu appear under the Tools menu in your WordPress admin sidebar.
Step 3 — Download the CSV Format Template #
Books Gallery requires a specific CSV format to import books correctly. Always use the provided template to ensure your data imports without errors.
- Go to Tools → WBG Books Import in your WordPress admin
- The Import Books panel will open
- Click the Download CSV Format url below the import area
- Open the downloaded CSV file in Excel or Google Sheets
⚠️ Important — do not modify the header row!
The CSV file includes a header row with column names like Title, Category, Author, ISBN etc. Never delete or rename these headers — Books Gallery uses them to map your data correctly. Only add or edit the data rows below the header.
Step 4 — Prepare Your CSV File #
Open the downloaded CSV template and fill in your book data. A sample book is provided as a reference — follow the same format for all your books.
Available CSV Fields #
| Field | Description | Required? |
| Title | The book title | ✅ Required |
| Author | Author name | ✅ Required |
| Category | Book genre or category | Optional |
| Description | Book description or synopsis | Optional |
| ISBN | ISBN-10 number | Optional |
| ISBN13 | ISBN-13 number | Optional |
| Publisher | Publishing company name | Optional |
| Published | Publication date | Optional |
| Language | Book language | Optional |
| Pages | Number of pages | Optional |
| Cover | Full URL to book cover image | Optional |
| Download | Download button URL | Optional |
| Buy | Buy button URL — Amazon or other retailer | Optional |
| Price | Book price | Optional |
| Sale Price | Discounted sale price | Optional |
💡 Pro tip — adding book cover images:
For the Cover field enter the full URL to your book cover image — for example https://books-gallery.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/my-book-cover.jpg. If you do not have hosted images, upload your covers to your WordPress Media Library first and copy their URLs. You can use any image url from any site.
Step 5 — Upload and Import Your CSV File #
- Save your completed CSV file
- Go to Tools → WBG Books Import in your WordPress admin
- Click Choose File and select your completed CSV file
- Click Import Books
- Wait for the import to complete — a success message will appear
✅ Import completed successfully?
Go to WBG Books → All Books to see all your imported books. Each book will appear with its title, author, cover image, and all other fields you filled in. You can then edit individual books to add affiliate links, update pricing, or adjust any details.
Step 6 — Verify Your Imported Books #
- Go to WBG Books → All Books in your WordPress admin
- Check that all your books appear correctly
- Click on any book to verify the data imported correctly
- Visit your gallery page on the front end to see the imported books displaying
Common Problems and Solutions #
| Problem | Cause | Solution |
| Books not importing | Header row modified | Re-download the CSV template and do not change the header row column names |
| Missing cover images | Invalid image URL in Cover field | Make sure the Cover URL is a full https:// URL pointing to a publicly accessible image |
| Category not showing | Category doesn’t exist yet | Create the book category first in WBG Books → Book Categories before importing |
| Import button not visible | Addon not activated | Go to Plugins → Installed Plugins and make sure the CSV Import addon is activated |
| Some books missing after import | Blank rows in CSV | Check your CSV file for any completely blank rows and remove them before re-importing |
| Special characters showing incorrectly | Wrong file encoding | Save your CSV file as UTF-8 encoding — in Excel use Save As → CSV UTF-8 |
Best Practices for Large Catalog Imports #
- Always use the provided CSV template — never create your own format from scratch
- Test with 5-10 books first before importing your full catalog
- Prepare all book cover images and upload them to WordPress Media Library before importing (Or use any image url from a permitted site)
- Save your CSV as UTF-8 encoding to avoid special character issues with non-English titles
- Keep a backup of your original CSV spreadsheet — re-import is easy if anything goes wrong
- For very large catalogs (1,000+ books) import in batches of 200-300 for best performance
Frequently Asked Questions #
Is the CSV import addon free? #
Yes — the CSV Import addon itself is free to download from GitHub. However it requires an active Books Gallery Professional plan license to use. The addon is kept separate from the main plugin to keep Books Gallery lightweight for users who do not need bulk import functionality.
How many books can I import at once? #
There is no hard limit on the number of books you can import in a single CSV file. However for very large catalogs (1,000+ books) we recommend importing in batches of 200-300 books at a time for the best performance and to avoid server timeout issues.
Can I update existing books using CSV import? #
The CSV import feature adds new books to your gallery. It does not currently update existing books. If you need to update book data, edit individual books manually in WBG Books → All Books, or delete and re-import the affected books.
What happens if I import the same book twice? #
Books Gallery will create a duplicate entry if you import the same book twice. Check your existing catalog before importing to avoid duplicates. If duplicates occur, delete them manually from WBG Books → All Books.
Can I import book cover images from Amazon? #
You can use any publicly accessible image URL in the Cover field — including Amazon cover image URLs. However Amazon cover image URLs can change or expire over time. For best long-term results, download the cover images and upload them to your WordPress Media Library, then use those permanent URLs in your CSV.
Is there an alternative to import books from CSV in WordPress? #
Yes. Books Gallery Professional plan also includes Google Books API import — which lets you import complete book data automatically using just an ISBN number. This is often faster than CSV import for adding new books since all the data is fetched automatically. Use CSV import when you already have your book catalog in a spreadsheet.
You can also use WP All Import plugin which works perfactly with this plugin.
Related Documentation #
- Import Books via Google Books API → books-gallery.com/docs/import-books-from-google-books-api/
- How to Create a Google Books API Key → books-gallery.com/docs/create-google-api-key/
- Add a New Book Manually → books-gallery.com/docs/add-a-new-book/
- Import CSV via WP All Import Plugin → books-gallery.com/docs/import-csv-via-wp-all-import-plugin/
Related Blog Articles #
How to Create a Digital Library in WordPress: books-gallery.com/how-to-create-digital-library-wordpress/
How to Build a WordPress Amazon Store: books-gallery.com/wordpress-amazon-store/
Need Help? #
If you are having trouble importing books from CSV, our support team is ready to help. Professional plan users get priority support — we typically respond within 24 hours on business days.
Support forum: wordpress.org/support/plugin/wp-books-gallery/
All documentation: books-gallery.com/docs/
