squatch-post-importer

Used in conjunction with Squatch Post Exporter and Squatch Media Sync, a simple Wordpress importer that creates posts from a CSV

Overview

Squatch Post Importer allows you to import posts from a CSV file into WordPress. You can:

• Choose a CSV from your Media Library
• Map posts to any public post type
• Optionally perform a string replace on post content (requires old and new URLs to be provided)
• Attach featured images by matching filenames in the Media Library
• Map custom post meta and SEO fields

The plugin provides a progress bar and logs details of imported posts, including author, post ID, permalink, featured image, SEO, and custom fields.

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Features

• Select CSV from Media Library
• Optional string replace for URLs in post content
• Choose target post type for import
• Automatic assignment of authors (by username or email)
• Map featured images automatically (matching filenames in uploads)
• Placeholder support for custom post meta (ACF or other fields)
• Placeholder support for Yoast SEO metadata
• Batch import with progress tracking

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Requirements / Prerequisites

⚠️ Before importing posts, ensure:

1. Media Library must be copied over with the same filenames and paths as in the CSV. This is required so the plugin can match featured images correctly. Use Squatch Media Sync to populate the media content to the Media Library.
2. Authors must already exist in the site with the correct username or email. Otherwise, posts will default to the currently logged-in user.
3. Custom post meta and SEO mappings must be updated in the plugin code to match your CSV headers and meta keys.
4. The string replace feature will only work if both Old URL and New URL are provided. Leaving them blank will skip the replacement.
5. ALWAYS make a backup before using the importer. Use at your own risk.

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Installation

1. Upload the squatch-post-importer folder to your WordPress /wp-content/plugins/ directory.
2. Activate the plugin via the Plugins menu in WordPress.
3. Navigate to Tools → Squatch Post Importer to access the importer interface.

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Usage

1. Click Select CSV to choose your CSV file from the Media Library.
2. Optionally, fill in the Old URL and New URL fields for string replacement in post content.
3. Select the Post Type for import.
4. Click Start Sync.
5. Watch the progress bar and output log for import status.

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Customization

Custom Post Meta

Update the $custom_map array in the plugin code to map CSV headers to meta keys:

$custom_map = [
   'CSV Header 1' => 'meta_key_1',
   'CSV Header 2' => 'meta_key_2',
];

Yoast SEO

Update the $yoast_map array in the plugin code to map CSV headers to meta keys:

$yoast_map = [
  '_yoast_wpseo_title'      			  => '_yoast_wpseo_title',
  '_yoast_wpseo_metadesc'				  => '_yoast_wpseo_metadesc',
  '_yoast_wpseo_focusk'   			  => '_yoast_wpseo_focuskw',
  '_yoast_wpseo_canonical' 			  => '_yoast_wpseo_canonical',
  '_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex'    => '_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex',
  '_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow'   => '_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow',
];

##Notes

• The plugin uses AJAX and batch processing to handle large CSV imports.
• Featured images are attached by matching filenames from the uploads folder.
• Posts with missing authors will default to the currently logged-in admin user.
• The plugin outputs a summary for each post: title, ID, permalink, author, date, featured image, SEO update, and custom meta update.