Issue with product attributes

This thread is resolved. Here is a description of the problem and solution.

Problem:
You are trying to import products in two languages (EN and DE) using the built-in importer. Initially, both language versions display correctly. However, after updating the EN product, the DE product attributes like size and color are no longer displayed in the webshop.
Solution:
We have identified that this behavior is expected due to the limitations in WPML's handling of attribute translations. In WPML, attribute names themselves cannot be translated, only their labels can be. These labels are what you see on the frontend, provided by the theme. Unfortunately, the attribute names included in the export CSV file are not translatable. If you're experiencing this issue, we recommend checking the known issues page and verifying that you have the latest versions of themes and plugins installed.

If this solution does not apply to your case, or if it seems outdated, please do not hesitate to open a new support ticket. We highly recommend visiting the WPML support forum for further assistance.

This is the technical support forum for WPML - the multilingual WordPress plugin.

Everyone can read, but only WPML clients can post here. WPML team is replying on the forum 6 days per week, 22 hours per day.

Tagged: Known issue, WCML

This topic contains 55 replies, has 0 voices.

Last updated by Marcel 5 months, 1 week ago.

Assisted by: Marcel.

Author	Posts
June 11, 2025 at 11:11 am #17125358
alirezaS-3 Site owner	It is still not working. If I change the price of a product, then its no longer possible to use the attribute selector of the translated product. I just tested again on your test site. Same issue.
June 11, 2025 at 6:37 pm #17127622
Andreas W. WPML Supporter since 12/2018 Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español ) German (Deutsch ) Timezone: America/Lima (GMT-05:00)	On this test site, WooCommerce and WPML were not updated. I updated these plugins now. Further, edited the product variations on the original product, saved them, and saved the product. The changes directly showed up on the translated product. I can currently not replicate the issue. Please give it a another try and let me know the exact steps you are taking in case you can still recreate the issue.
June 11, 2025 at 8:06 pm #17127753
alirezaS-3 Site owner	0. Delete all current products, categories, tags etc. 1. import the csv file (you can see the wpmlexample3 csv file in the image library). Result: "Import complete! 2 products imported. 4 variations imported" 2. run the wpml export and import. "We see 6 posts that are imported and need language information." Result: Multilingual Import Complete 3. Visit the store. The product in both languages EN/DE looks fine 4. Edit the price of the EN product, ie. one of the variations and press update 5. Go back to the store and look at the DE product - now the selection field is empty.
June 11, 2025 at 9:22 pm #17127891
Andreas W. WPML Supporter since 12/2018 Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español ) German (Deutsch ) Timezone: America/Lima (GMT-05:00)	Your import files are not following the recommended standard. I mentioned this already on the 2nd of May: https://wpml.org/forums/topic/issue-with-product-attributes/#post-16990579 Your files are used for: id:26 Instead of 26 And this might be why WPML can not point toward the correct ID. As I suggested earlier, you should use the same WooCommerce Export method together with WPML & export & Import and avoid manipulating the column values, apart from the text that needs a translation. See screenshots. There is one screenshot of your import file that displays that the original product ID is not identical to the parent product ID.
June 11, 2025 at 10:22 pm #17127976
Andreas W. WPML Supporter since 12/2018 Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español ) German (Deutsch ) Timezone: America/Lima (GMT-05:00)	Further, take note that I found the following known issues: https://wpml.org/errata/woocommerce-import-tool-importing-product-variations-is-not-supported/ I would kindly like to ask you to first adjust the import files and then use the patch plugin which is provided inside the errata above.
June 12, 2025 at 11:55 am #17129896
alirezaS-3 Site owner	I have taken the example file from your website and when I import to your test site it skips three variations. Can you please install the patch on the test site. I don't know how to do it as its a php file. Thanks
June 12, 2025 at 1:07 pm #17130239
Andreas W. WPML Supporter since 12/2018 Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español ) German (Deutsch ) Timezone: America/Lima (GMT-05:00)	My apologies, I have now uploaded the wpmlimport-137.php file to the server at /wp-content/plugins/ and activated this plugin. One-Click-Login: hidden link
June 13, 2025 at 6:33 am #17131817
alirezaS-3 Site owner	The import says: Import complete! 3 products imported. 3 products were skipped
June 13, 2025 at 6:34 am #17131832
alirezaS-3 Site owner	It would be nice if you also performed a test.
June 13, 2025 at 3:20 pm #17134022
Andreas W. WPML Supporter since 12/2018 Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español ) German (Deutsch ) Timezone: America/Lima (GMT-05:00)	It says three products were skipped, as there exist already products using the same SKU. It refers to the original English products. It seems there is already an existing product with the same SKU. Please verify if this is the case.
June 16, 2025 at 9:21 am #17137676
alirezaS-3 Site owner	Before import I delete all products.
June 16, 2025 at 9:34 am #17137783
alirezaS-3 Site owner	You can see the issue. It should have been fixed by your php file/correctoin - correct ?
June 17, 2025 at 7:45 pm #17143972
Andreas W. WPML Supporter since 12/2018 Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español ) German (Deutsch ) Timezone: America/Lima (GMT-05:00)	There seems to be something wrong with your import file. It is not mapping correctly to one field per column. See screenshots. Please try with a newly created export file and make sure that the mapping is working like on my first screenshot. Set WPML's fields to "Import as metadata".
June 18, 2025 at 12:06 am #17144240
Andreas W. WPML Supporter since 12/2018 Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español ) German (Deutsch ) Timezone: America/Lima (GMT-05:00)	I wanted to let you know, that I am still running tests on this matter with a functioning test file and I will contact you afterward with my findings.
June 18, 2025 at 5:00 am #17144465
Andreas W. WPML Supporter since 12/2018 Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español ) German (Deutsch ) Timezone: America/Lima (GMT-05:00)	On my latest test, the product variations seem not to be imported correctly even if I test only with WooCommerce. See "Hoodie" product in my test site, after running an import using only WooCommerce. Could you please give this a try and confirm if this might be a WooCommerce issue?