CSV Review Imports: Best Practices for a Clean Start

Switching review platforms shouldn't mean starting from zero. Your existing reviews are a hard-won asset — they represent real customer relationships and real social proof. Reviewifyd's CSV importer lets you bring them all across in minutes.

Step 1: Export your existing reviews

Most review apps offer a CSV export option in their settings or data management dashboard. Export all reviews and open the file in a spreadsheet tool like Google Sheets or Excel to inspect the columns before importing.

The required CSV columns

• product_id or product_handle — to match the review to the correct product.
• reviewer_name — the customer's display name.
• rating — a numeric value from 1 to 5.
• review_body — the written review text.
• review_date — in ISO format (YYYY-MM-DD).
• verified_purchase — true or false.

Step 2: Clean your data

Before importing, scan for common issues. Remove any rows with missing product IDs, as these will fail silently. Check that all rating values are between 1 and 5. Strip any HTML tags from review body text unless you want raw HTML displayed to customers.

Step 3: Map products correctly

The most common import error is a mismatch between the product identifier in your CSV and the product handle in your Shopify store. Use Shopify's product export (Admin → Products → Export) to get a definitive list of your product handles, then cross-reference against your review CSV.

Step 4: Run a test import

Before importing thousands of reviews, run a small test batch of 10–20 rows. Check that reviews appear on the correct products, names are displayed correctly, and star ratings match your CSV values. Only then should you proceed with the full import.

Reviewifyd's import tool gives you a detailed row-by-row error report so you can fix issues without re-importing clean data. Your first successful import is usually ready within a few minutes.