If you already keep your records in a spreadsheet—artworks, events, publications, or anything else your website will hold as its own set of records—that spreadsheet can usually be imported in one operation. Every record is created at once, with its information in the right fields, instead of being typed in one at a time.
We provide the template. Once we know what kind of records your website will hold, we send you a spreadsheet with the exact column headings the import expects for that record type. The template is the specification: whatever your own spreadsheet looks like now, the version you send back needs to match the template column for column, with the same headings in the same order.
Moving your data across. In most cases this is straightforward copying and pasting, one column at a time. Four things commonly need a little attention:
One piece of information per column. Each column holds one thing. If your current spreadsheet combines a title and a date in a single column, or spreads titles across several columns depending on the group a record belongs to, those need to be separated out into the single columns the template provides.
A unique ID for each record. A short code that belongs to that record and nothing else—EV-001, PUB-014, and so on. If you don’t have one yet, the template is a good moment to add it. It is what lets you find a record with certainty when two of them have similar names.
How records are grouped. Most record sets are organized on two levels: a main category and a sub-grouping within it. The template has a column for each. Filling both in as you go is much quicker than reorganizing records afterward.
The image filename. Where records carry images, the template has a column for the filename of the image belonging to each record written exactly as the file is named, including the extension (eg autumn-memory-014.jpg). An image name that is descriptive (using hyphens like this) is best. You send the images in a folder alongside the spreadsheet, and this column is what attaches the right image to the right record.
Sending it back. Save as .xlsx or .csv and send it with the image folder. We upload the images, run the import, and every record is created with its information and image in place. From that point each record is editable individually through your website, and the import can be run again later for a new batch.
If your spreadsheet doesn’t match the template, we can reshape it for you. This is charged at the current hourly rate and is usually short work, but it is worth knowing in advance—we will always look at your spreadsheet and tell you what it needs before doing anything chargeable.
