When importing reviews with a CSV file, most reviews will upload smoothly. But sometimes, specific values or formats in your file might not meet our system’s requirements—causing some reviews to fail.
File upload errors
When uploading your review file, you might run into processing errors that prevent the file from being accepted.
This section outlines common issues and explains how to fix them so your file can go through successfully.
Try uploading the file to Google Sheets
Try uploading the file to Google Sheets
Issue:
After uploading the file, you might run into this error: "Try uploading the file to Google Sheets and download the sheet as CSV to fix errors automatically. Please make sure the first row is not empty."
Why it happens:
This error usually occurs when the file:
Has invisible formatting issues (e.g., encoding problems, hidden characters)
Is saved in a non-standard CSV format
How to fix:
To fix the "Try uploading the file to Google Sheets" error:
Open our Google Sheet template and click Make a copy to start editing.
Open your original file with the error and copy the data from the 2nd line.
In the Google Sheet template:
Paste the data as plain text (press Ctrl + Shift + V) from the 2nd line to remove any hidden formatting or errors.
Go to File > Download > and select Comma-separated values (.csv, current sheet).
Reimport with the file you've just downloaded.
The uploaded file is from another shop
The uploaded file is from another shop
Issue:
After uploading the file, you might run into this error: "The uploaded file is from another shop. Please contact us at support@judge.me if this error persists."
File content errors
If your file was uploaded successfully but some reviews couldn’t be imported, this usually means there are formatting issues within the file. Here’s how to check and fix those errors:
Step 1: Download the error file
If the reviews can't be imported, we will email you an error file that lists the failed reviews and the reasons they weren’t imported.
You can also download this error file in the app:
From your Judge.me admin, go to Manage Reviews > Reviews Dashboard.
Click the Import & sync reviews button.
Scroll down to Reviews import log.
Next to the relevant import event, click the 3-dot icon (...) and select "Download error file".
Step 2: Fix the errors and reimport
To fix the errors and reimport the failed reviews (you don't need to reimport the successful reviews):
Open the error file:
Download the error file.
From the Google Sheet screen, go to File > Import.
Go to Upload and click Browse to upload the error file.
Click Import data.
Fix the errors:
Find the error message in the errors column (usually column K).
Refer to the list below for common error messages and how to fix them.
Apply the fix to the corresponding row.
Follow the same steps in this guide to download and re-upload this corrected CSV file.
Common errors and how to fix them
1. We couldn't find the product
1. We couldn't find the product
Issue:
In the error file, you see one of the following messages:
"We couldn't find the product with this product_id"
"We couldn't find the product with this product_handle"
"We couldn't find the product with this product_url"
Why it happens:
This error might occur if we couldn’t match the product information in your uploaded file with any product in your store.
This usually means the Product ID, Product Handle, or Product URL in your file is incorrect, outdated, or doesn't exist in your current product catalog.
How to fix:
Check which product reference the error message mentions ("product_id", "product_handle", or "product_url") and apply the following fix based on the issue:
Product reference | Issue | How to fix |
product_id | ||
product_handle | ||
product_url | Your Product URL contains special characters like ™. When pasting the URL to the file, it becomes https://store.com/products/railbuilder%E2%84%A2-set, which won't work for imports. | Instead of using the Product URL, enter the Product ID value in the product_id column of the error file. |
2. Review content not found
2. Review content not found
Issue:
The body column is empty. This is a required field, so reviews without content will be rejected.
How to fix it:
Make sure each row has at least one character in the body column. If you're importing from another app (like Loox or Yotpo), locate the column that contains the review text (e.g., review, comments, text) and map it to body.
3. Review already exists in Metaobjects
3. Review already exists in Metaobjects
Issue:
You exported reviews from Judge.me and tried to reimport them. These reviews already exist in Shopify’s Metaobjects, so duplicates are blocked.
How to fix it:
Open the CSV file in Google Sheets.
Delete the
metaobject_handlecolumn.
Save as
.csvand reimport it.
Version | product_handle | title | body | rating | metaobject_handle |
❌ Incorrect | cool-shirt | Love it! | Great quality! | 5 | review_12345 |
✅ Corrected | cool-shirt | Love it! | Great quality! | 5 | (column removed) |
4. Review rating invalid
4. Review rating invalid
Issue:
The rating value is missing or not a valid whole number. Ratings must be 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5.
How to fix it:
Ensure all entries in the rating column are whole numbers between 1 and 5.
Version | rating |
❌ Incorrect | 4.5 |
| five |
| (blank) |
✅ Corrected | 4 |
| 5 |
| 3 |
5. Reviewer name invalid
5. Reviewer name invalid
Issue:
The name in the reviewer_name column exceeds 100 characters.
How to fix it:
Keep names under 100 characters. If you leave this field blank, we’ll use “Anonymous” by default.
Version | reviewer_name |
❌ Incorrect | This is a very long name that exceeds the maximum length... |
✅ Corrected | Alex Carter |
| (blank → will show as "Anonymous") |
6. Missing required headers
6. Missing required headers
Issue:
Your CSV file is missing one or more required headers. Judge.me needs these to process each review correctly.
How to fix it:
Use our CSV import template to make sure all necessary headers are included. Required columns:
titlebodyratingreview_datereviewer_namereviewer_emailproduct_idorproduct_handle
❌ Missing headers
product_handle | title | reviewer_name |
cool-shirt | Great fit | Alex |
✅ Required headers added
product_handle | title | body | rating | review_date | reviewer_name | reviewer_email |
cool-shirt | Great fit | Fits perfectly! | 5 | 2024-03-20 | Alex Carter |
Other issues with import
Reviews are imported but not showing in the store
Reviews are imported but not showing in the store
Issue:
You have successfully imported the reviews, but you don't see them on your product page.
Why it happens:
This can happen for a couple of reasons:
The Review Widget is not added. Without the Review Widget installed, reviews won't be displayed, even if they were successfully imported.
Reviews were imported as store reviews instead of product reviews.
Store reviews won’t appear on specific product pages. Product reviews must be linked to a valid product handle or ID to display correctly.
How to fix:
To show your imported reviews on the product page, check if the reviews were imported as Product reviews or Store reviews.
From your Judge.me admin, go to Manage Reviews > Reviews Dashboard.
Under the Reviewer name, you’ll see a clickable link.
If the link says "your shop", it's a Store review.
If it links to a product page, it's a Product review.
If you correctly imported the reviews as Product reviews: install the Star Rating Badge and Review Widget to show these Product reviews on your product page.
If you mistakenly imported the reviews as Store reviews:
First, remove the incorrect import:
From your Judge.me admin, go to Manage Reviews > Reviews Dashboard.
Click the Import & sync reviews button.
Scroll down to Reviews import log.
Click the 3-dot icon (...) next to your latest import.
Click Delete reviews.
Then, in the original CSV file that you used to import:
Add and fill in one of these columns: product_id, product_handle, or product_url.
Once you've adjusted the original file:
Reimport the file you've corrected.
Install the Star Rating Badge and Review Widget (if not already done).
Imported reviews are added to a different store
Imported reviews are added to a different store
Issue:
The import is done in 1 store, but the reviews are being added to another store.
Why it happens:
This usually occurs when you have multiple Shopify stores open in the same browser (in different tabs or windows). Judge.me may connect to the wrong store session.
How to fix:
To make sure reviews are imported to the right store:
Close all other store tabs or windows.
Make sure only the correct store is open in your browser.
Then, go back to Judge.me and reimport your reviews.