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Images from web addresses

Use image addresses in your spreadsheet: what is accepted, why Google Drive, Dropbox and OneDrive share links fail, and what each failure message means.

  • 4 min read
  • Updated October 13, 2026
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If your images are already on the web, put their addresses in the spreadsheet instead of uploading a ZIP. Content Uploader downloads each image when the file is checked, then delivers it to your site.

What is accepted#

  • An address starting with https:// or http://, at most 2,048 characters, on the standard ports (443 and 80).
  • A public website: Content Uploader refuses addresses that lead to private networks, your own computer or anything not reachable from the internet (The image address does not lead to a public website.), and addresses with a user name or password, or with a custom port.
  • The address must lead to the image itself, not to a page that shows it. The file's content must be an image of an accepted type (image types and limits).
  • Redirects are followed, up to five, and each one is checked again; one image may take about half a minute at most.
  • The same address that this configuration already sent to the site is reused without downloading it again.

You can also build the address from a column with a template: https://cdn.example.com/{{ SKU }}.jpg (templates).

A share link opens a web page with a preview, not the image file, so it cannot be used as it is. Content Uploader recognises the common ones and says how to fix them in the review:

Service What to do
Google Drive Share the file with Anyone with the link, and use https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id= followed by the file's ID (the long code in the share link).
Dropbox Change dl=0 at the end of the link to raw=1.
OneDrive (personal) Choose Embed and use the image address from the embed code.
OneDrive for work or school, SharePoint Add download=1 to the link, or use the file's direct download link.

Files that are not shared publicly cannot be downloaded at all: the website must serve the image to anyone, without signing in.

When it fails#

A failing address does not stop its item: the item is published without that image, the review lists the address with the reason, and an update keeps the image the site already has (missing images). The messages:

Message Meaning and fix
Enter a full image address starting with https:// or http://. The value is not an address. A bare file name is looked up in the ZIP and the media library instead.
Use an image address of at most 2,048 characters. Shorten it.
Image addresses cannot contain a user name or password. / Image addresses cannot use a custom port. Use a plain public address.
Use the address of an image on a public website. / The image address does not lead to a public website. The host is private, local, or does not exist.
The image could not be downloaded: its website did not respond in time. The server was slow or down; check the file again later.
The image could not be downloaded: its website answered HTTP 404. The address is wrong or the image is gone (403: not public; 5xx: the website has a problem).
The image address redirects too many times. More than five redirects. Use the final address.
The image is larger than 20 MB, the most the site accepts. Reduce it. The limit is 20 MB, or the site's own limit when lower.
This is a web page, not an image. Use the image's own address, which usually ends in .jpg or .png (JPG, PNG, GIF, WEBP, AVIF). The address shows a page.
SVG images are not accepted. Use JPG, PNG, GIF, WEBP, AVIF. Convert it.
This is not an image the site accepts (…). The file's content is not an accepted image.

Check the file again after you fix an address (check again); it is downloaded again.

Tips#

  • Prefer addresses on your own website or a CDN: they are fast and public.
  • Test one address in a private browser window: if it shows the image alone (no page around it), it will work.
  • An address that changes the picture behind the same URL is not detected: Content Uploader keeps the image it already has for that address. To replace the image, use a new file name or address.

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