Importing Product Data and Images: Best Practices

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Creating New Products in Syndigo Via Import

There are several ways to add new products, or update existing products, in the Syndigo system.

• Create new products one by one, or in bulk edit. This makes sense if you are creating the product from scratch and using Syndigo as the single source of truth for product information and creation. Learn more about creating a single new product.
• Create new products by importing a spreadsheet of data and images. This makes sense if you have already created the product information in another system and can export it from that system easily. It’s the most common way our customers add new product information today.
• For very large product catalogs, it may make sense to explore an API integration to automate the delivery of product information to Syndigo. Check with your account executive to learn more.

Planning for Product Import

For most use cases, importing a product means getting both data and images into the Syndigo system. Data is simple: We make it easy to pull a blank import template out of the system, and you can fill it up with your data, and import it.

Options for managing images on import:

• Import images directly from publicly available URLs that allow for direct download. This is the easiest way to import images, IF you have the right kind of URLs for your images.
• Import images first and connect them to products by including their file names in the data import. This is a very common way to handle image import, and it doesn’t require any special URL, just the image files themselves.

Image Uploading Best Practices

• Make sure the images you will be uploading meet the requirements of the recipient. Check dimensions and dpi before finalizing the image files.
• If images are posted to publicly available URLs where the image itself is the only file displayed, or, if the image is stored inside a platform where the URL is set so the file can be automatically downloaded, putting the URLs into the image slots in the data import spreadsheet is the easiest way to upload entire products to Syndigo.
• If images are stored in a file folder but cannot be made publicly available, upload the images to the Asset library and then put the file names in the standard data upload template.

Image URLs for Import

Each image URL should be publicly accessible without a username/password, and the image itself should be the only information displayed; or, if the image is inside a platform, it must be available for direct download without the need to click any buttons or use functionality of the platform where the image is stored.

If the URL ends in a common image file format, like .jpg or .png, and you can access the image without signing into the page, it should work for automated import.

Common file storage systems like Dropbox and Box may require additional tweaks to standard shared URLs to make them available for direct download. Check the help or support for the file sharing system you use for specific instructions.

Dropbox Best Practices

If your Dropbox links end in ?dl=0, change that to say ?dl=1 to enable direct download.

Image File Naming for Imports

If it is not convenient to pull image URLs that can be directly downloaded, you can import the image files directly. A little planning beforehand will make it easier to manage images going forward. Here are our favorite tips:

1. Decide how to name your images.

We recommend including several elements in the image file name to make it easy to tell later what you were thinking today.

• Product unique identifier, if it’s a product image [Like a GTIN, UPC, part number, etc.]
• Brand/message unique identifier, if it’s not a product image [A word or phrase that tells you what the image is about]
• View identifier [Is it the front, back, etc.?]
• Resolution
• Dimensions
• Date
• Other relevant details

For example, you might name your images in this fashion:

GTIN-ImageView-Resolution-Dimensions-Date.jpg

So an image file name might look like this:

17326736536591-Front-300-2400-2022-11-02.jpg

Many companies create a dozen or more image views for each product, and if you do, you’ll want to use the same naming convention every time. That way, it’s easy to work with your creative team on how to name and organize images, and you’ll know exactly how to build a spreadsheet to attach those files to your products in Syndigo. 

Image View Naming Conventions: There’s no particular requirement to use a certain naming convention in Syndigo, but there are some common conventions that may make sense for you.

• Plain Language Naming: This system might be unique for your company, but it would use plain language to describe the exact image view used for each image file. Examples might include Front, Back, Left, etc. or Open Case, Closed Case, or Front-Center-Elevated, Front-Left-Elevated for those views with a slight angle commonly used as ecommerce images.
• Plain language naming has a couple of clear benefits:
  • Very little training is required to understand what kind of image the file is.
  • Everyone on your team will understand what shot you’re talking about.
• However, there’s one downside:
  • This kind of system would be unique to your company.
• GS1 Naming: If you’re sending data in the GDSN system, or you’re looking for a standard naming convention recognized by companies around the world, consider GS1 image naming conventions. Learn more about GS1 image naming conventions. 
  • Benefits of GS1 image naming:
    • Widely recognized by companies around the world
    • Clear, concise codes to refer to a wide range of image views
    • Commonly required by recipients in using the GDSN system
  • There are a couple of downsides here:
    • GS1 naming depends on codes, and teams who will create and use images need to invest time to learn the common codes for their image views.
    • GS1 naming covers many common image views, but not all.

However you decide to name your image files, we recommend you choose a system, share it with your creative teams, and stick to it. If you know, every single time, the front image of your product will include “Front” in the name after the GTIN, or “A1N1” [the GS1 code for a straight-on front shot], it will make it easy to populate the image file names on an import spreadsheet.

2. Don’t create duplicate images.

We recommend including details like dates in image file names. Including a date on an image file name gives you a clear, easy reference to the last time you updated this image. If you are looking back 6 months from now and you see today’s date on your image files, you’ll know you updated those images just before the last brand refresh, so you need to update again, for example.

Syndigo also allows you to upload more than one image with the exact same file name into your account, to allow for the greatest flexibility, but many clients typically just want to see the latest version of an image. Including the date in the file name makes the latest image easy to find, no matter how you’re searching for it. Same goes for resolution or image dimensions, if you have different sizes of the same image view.

The GS1 naming convention doesn’t include a created date for the image inside the file name, but it does allow for an optional end date for the image, which is also nice, especially for seasonal imagery.

Putting It All Together: Importing Data and Images

Here are the steps to prepare and complete a product import:

1. Download an import template. Select a template based on a certain recipient, or your own favorite data view in the Syndigo platform. Important Tip: Do not alter the template format in any way. If you need to use formatting like highlighting, set View preferences, or filter, to manage your data and review it before uploading, be sure to undo each of those edits before you upload the template. However, if you find that some of the columns on your template aren’t necessary for any products, and it’s inconvenient to have to scroll past them, you can highlight and remove any entire column from the Attributes tab, without negatively impacting the template. There is no harm in leaving an empty column in the template, however.
2. Fill in the data. Some Syndigo clients set up an automated export from other systems that populates a Syndigo template, and others export data in whatever format is convenient and then copy and paste data into the correct columns on the attributes tab. You can also use a template to create data, if it is convenient.
3. Add image URLs or image file names in the correct image columns. Note that many images in the Syndigo system have the image view defined already [like Front-Center-Elevated, or Planogram Left], while others [like Main Product Image or Detailed Product View 1] are up to you to define the right type of image for each slot. If the image you are populating has the view defined, make sure you put the correct image in the slot.
4. Save the import template. Name the template anything that makes sense to you.
5. If uploading image files directly, upload those first. Follow these instructions to upload your image asset files. If you have URLs for your images, skip this step and go straight to importing the template.
6. Upload the import template. Follow these instructions to walk through the import modal and import your products.
7. Double check your products. When the import is complete, spot check your products. Are the images in the right slots? Is the data where you expected? Then you’re ready to manage and syndicate your products.