Custom fields are used to store product data that WooCommerce doesn’t track natively. Plugins like ACF, Meta Box, and JetEngine are typically used to add these custom values. Once added, there is no built-in way to pull that data out in bulk when necessary.
WP All Export closes that gap by automatically detecting custom fields associated with WooCommerce products and including them in any product export.
This guide covers WP All Export’s core export workflow, followed by the more advanced field types and export scenarios it supports.
📑 Table of Contents
- What Are Custom Fields on WooCommerce Products?
- How to Export Custom Fields From WooCommerce Products
- Getting WP All Export to Detect Fields With No Data Yet
- Exporting Custom Fields From ACF, Meta Box, and JetEngine
- Handling Serialized and Multi-Value Custom Fields
- What Else You Can Do With Exported Custom Field Data
- WP All Export vs. Manual Custom Field Mapping
- Final Thoughts
What Are Custom Fields on WooCommerce Products?
Not every piece of product data lives in a standard WooCommerce field. Unique pieces of data such as the length of a product’s warranty, a dealer SKU, and so on are typically stored as custom fields.
These fields are created using a plugin, theme, or custom code, where the key names the field, while the value holds the data for a specific product. The section below walks through the steps for getting that WooCommerce product data into an export file using WP All Export.
How to Export Custom Fields From WooCommerce Products
- Start a new WooCommerce product export. Navigate to All Export → New Export and choose WooCommerce products as the post type.
- Find your custom fields in available data. Every custom field that is already in use on a published product is automatically detected by WP All Import and appears in the Available Data panel, filed under Custom Fields.
- Drag and drop custom fields into your export. Drag any field from Available Data into the column selection area. Columns can be renamed, and fields can be combined on the fly.
- Choose your export file type. Pick Spreadsheet to select between CSV, XLS, or XLSX, or Feed for Simple XML or Custom XML.
- Confirm and run your export. Click Preview to check what the export file will look like, Continue to move to export settings, then Confirm & Run Export to generate and download the file.
Getting WP All Export to Detect Fields With No Data Yet
If a custom field has not been used yet, it will not show up under the Available Data panel as WP All Export only detects fields that carry a value on a published product. To make the field show up, add a value on one product, publish it, then start the export again. The field will now show up under Custom Fields, ready to map.
Exporting Custom Fields From ACF, Meta Box, and JetEngine
ACF, Meta Box, and JetEngine are three of the most popular plugins used to add custom fields to WooCommerce products, and WP All Export automatically detects their fields just like it would any other custom field. Each plugin does, however, introduce its own field type, such as repeaters, choice fields, and relational fields. Each of these requires its own mapping approach. How to Export Advanced Custom Fields (ACF), How to Export Meta Box Custom Fields, and How to Export JetEngine Fields cover each in detail.
Handling Serialized and Multi-Value Custom Fields
Not every custom field holds a single value. Some are used to store serialized data with several values bundled into a single key. WP All Export supports breaking the data in these fields apart during export, detailed in How to Handle Serialized Fields.
What Else You Can Do With Exported Custom Field Data
Bulk-updating custom field values across a catalog
Large WooCommerce product catalogs are bound to require bulk corrections every so often, and doing so manually is not practical. WP All Export makes it possible to edit the export file in Excel, and then re-import it to apply the changes made to the catalog. See How to Bulk Edit WooCommerce Products.
Migrating custom field data to a new site
When you need to move a WooCommerce store to another site, custom field data has to move too. WP All Import can take the same exported file and import it into the new site, preserving the field values exactly as they were on the source site. This is covered in How Do I Import Custom Fields to WooCommerce Products?
Running custom field exports on a recurring schedule
For catalogs where the custom field data needs to be updated frequently, doing so manually can be rather inefficient. WP All Export includes an export scheduling feature that makes running recurring exports easy. See How Do I Schedule Product Exports in WooCommerce for details.
WP All Export vs. Manual Custom Field Mapping
Some plugins require custom fields to be labeled with an exact meta:field_name string matching the database, and recommend exporting a sample product first just to get correctly formatted headers before an import will work.
WP All Export removes that manual step entirely as it auto-detects existing custom fields from published products and presents them as drag-and-drop elements, complete with their existing values, so there's no meta key to look up or type.
Final Thoughts
Custom fields form a core part of WooCommerce product data, and being able to export them seamlessly, alongside other WooCommerce product fields, is important. An export that leaves out these fields leaves out that entire layer, and most export tools require knowing the exact field or meta key to capture it.
WP All Export, on the other hand, does not. It automatically detects custom fields that are already in use and exports them in addition to all the other WooCommerce default fields. This is what ensures that a WooCommerce product catalog export is a true copy of the store, rather than a copy of only the native WooCommerce product fields.
Export WooCommerce Custom Fields — Frequently Asked Questions
WP All Export is the best plugin for exporting WooCommerce custom fields. Instead of requiring a store owner to know the exact meta key behind a field, it scans published products, detects the custom fields already in use, and presents them as drag-and-drop elements complete with their existing values. This removes the manual lookup step that most export tools require.
You can export custom fields with WP All Export using this process:
1. Go to All Export → New Export and select WooCommerce Products.
2. Find existing custom fields under Available Data → Custom Fields.
3. Drag the fields into the column selection area.
4. Choose a file format and click Confirm & Run Export.
No. WooCommerce's native export only covers standard fields like price and stock. Custom fields require a dedicated tool like WP All Export, which detects them directly from existing product data, rather than relying on a manual field list.
