Known limitations: what Content Uploader does not do

A guide that only lists what works is not much use. This page lists what Content Uploader does not do, and a few behaviours that surprise people, as of October 2026. Each line links to where it is explained.

What it does not do#

• It never deletes. Posts, articles, files and categories are only created and updated; an item that is not in a file is left alone (does it delete anything?).
• It does not adopt posts, pages or articles that already exist. Only items it published itself are matched, so a hand-made post with the same title gets a twin (record IDs). WooCommerce products are the exception: a shop's existing products are found by their SKU (update products already on your shop).
• It does not fetch files by itself. A person uploads each file. There is no link to Google Sheets, no web address to poll and no schedule (importing from Google Sheets).
• It reads only the first worksheet of a workbook (supported file formats).
• Without a header row, columns are found by position. A column inserted in the middle of next week's export moves the others, and nothing warns about it (files without a header row).
• One configuration publishes to one site and one content type. The same file for two sites needs two configurations (two sites).
• It does not support WordPress multisite, Joomla 4 and older, Joomla on PostgreSQL, or sites on a private address or behind a password (compatibility).
• Content types: posts, pages and custom post types the REST API exposes (WordPress), products (WooCommerce) and articles (Joomla). Menus, comments, users, contacts and web links are not available (content types).
• WooCommerce: grouped products and downloadable files are not written; a row for a grouped product is named in the review and left alone. Prices are never converted between currencies, and a shop that sells in several currencies gets its base currency only. What a translation, multi-currency, subscription, bundle or add-on plugin keeps outside the product is not updated (what you can do).
• Joomla workflows: when they are on, Status and Featured are not offered (Joomla specifics).
• Joomla custom fields: the types of Advanced Custom Fields Pro, subforms that contain an image field, and fields set to one language cannot be filled; the editor lists them with the reason (Joomla custom fields). On WordPress, plugins that keep their fields outside post meta cannot be filled (custom fields).
• Images: SVG is never accepted; web addresses must be public and lead to the image itself (share links are not images); one image is at most 20 MB (image types).
• The interface and this documentation are in English (languages).
• No custom roles. A workspace has owners and team members, and the owner of a workspace cannot be changed (team members). So an account that owns a workspace other people use cannot be deleted until they are removed from it (delete your account).
• No undo button. An update is reversed by uploading the previous values (undo).

Behaviours worth knowing#

• Matching looks at what it last published, not at the live item. An edit made on the site is not noticed while the file's row stays the same; the exceptions are the status (updating existing content) and, for a WooCommerce shop, prices, sales and stock, which are compared with what the shop holds now (review product changes). When a row changes, every mapped field is sent.
• An empty cell is a value. It removes content, excerpts, terms, images and custom fields. An empty Status, Publish date or Author has no value to send: an item that exists keeps its own, and a new one gets the site's default (a draft, the moment of publishing, the publishing account) (empty cells).
• A failed item can only be retried with the same content. To change what is sent, upload the file again (retrying failed items).
• The attempts count on a result is cumulative for the item, including earlier files (publishing results).
• Dates without a zone are read as UTC on WordPress and in the publishing account's zone on Joomla (dates).
• Original files are deleted after 30 days, so an old file cannot be read again; rows are kept 12 months (what is kept).
• The first file after any change waits for your confirmation, even with automatic publishing (attention reasons).
• Allowances are monthly per workspace, and shared by all sites (plans and allowances).

Tell us#

If something on this page gets in your way, say so through the bug icon at the top of any page: the list changes with what people report.