How to Set Up a Facebook and Instagram Catalog Feed for WooCommerce

To set up a Facebook and Instagram catalog feed for WooCommerce, create a catalogue in Meta Commerce Manager, then connect your products either with the official Meta for WooCommerce plugin or with a scheduled product feed URL (CSV, TSV or XML) that Meta fetches automatically. Finally, connect your Meta Pixel so product events match your catalogue IDs, and fix any items Meta rejects.

A clean catalogue is what powers Advantage+ catalog ads, Instagram product tags and shop features. Softwix builds and maintains WooCommerce stores and runs Meta campaigns through our digital marketing services, and we see the same feed problems again and again. This guide walks through each step and how to avoid them.

WooCommerce Facebook catalog setup at a glance

Step	What you do	Where
1. Prepare product data	Clean titles, descriptions, images, SKUs, prices and stock	WooCommerce
2. Set up Meta assets	Business portfolio, Facebook Page, ad account, Pixel, 2FA	Meta Business Suite
3. Create a catalogue	Choose e-commerce catalogue type	Commerce Manager
4. Connect products	Meta for WooCommerce plugin or a scheduled feed URL	WordPress / Commerce Manager
5. Connect events	Pixel and Conversions API sending matching product IDs	Events Manager
6. Fix issues	Resolve rejected items and warnings	Commerce Manager diagnostics
7. Use the catalogue	Catalogue ads, Instagram product tags, shop	Ads Manager / Instagram

What is a Facebook catalog feed?

A Facebook catalog feed is a file or data connection that sends your product information to Meta, so Facebook and Instagram can show your products in ads and shopping features. Each row in the feed is one product or variation.

Meta uses the catalogue to:

• Run Advantage+ catalog ads (previously called dynamic product ads) that show each person the products they viewed or are likely to want.
• Tag products in Instagram and Facebook posts where shopping features are available.
• Build collection and carousel ads from live product data.

The same product data idea applies to Google. If you also sell through Google, our guide to creating a WooCommerce Google Shopping feed covers the Merchant Center side.

Which product fields does Meta require?

Meta requires a small set of core fields for every item: ID, title, description, availability, condition, price, link, image link and brand. Missing or badly formatted fields are the most common reason products are rejected.

The table below summarises the requirements in Meta’s catalogue fields documentation:

Field	Requirement	WooCommerce source
id	Unique, up to 100 characters; SKU recommended	Product or variation SKU
title	Up to 200 characters; Meta recommends 65 or fewer to avoid cut-off	Product name
description	Plain text, up to 9,999 characters, no HTML, links or all caps	Short or long description, cleaned
availability	“in stock” or “out of stock”	Stock status
condition	“new”, “refurbished” or “used”	Usually a fixed value or custom field
price	Number plus ISO currency code, with a full stop as the decimal point, e.g. “1250.00 BDT”	Regular price and store currency
link	Valid http or https URL on your domain	Product permalink
image_link	JPEG or PNG, at least 500 × 500 pixels, up to 8 MB	Featured image
brand	Up to 100 characters	Brand taxonomy or attribute

Useful optional fields include sale_price, additional_image_link, a product category, and item_group_id, which groups variations such as sizes and colours under one parent product.

How do you prepare WooCommerce products before syncing?

Fix your product data inside WooCommerce first, because every error in the store is copied into the feed. Ten minutes of clean-up per product type saves hours of rejected items later.

1. Give every product and variation a unique SKU. This becomes the catalogue ID and must match what your Pixel sends.
2. Write clear titles. Brand, product type and key attribute, for example “Cotton Panjabi – Navy, Size L” rather than “New Arrival!!!”.
3. Clean descriptions. Remove shortcodes, page-builder markup, phone numbers and links.
4. Use square, uncluttered images of at least 500 × 500 pixels, with no large text overlays or watermarks.
5. Turn on stock management. WooCommerce’s documentation notes you must enable it under WooCommerce › Settings › Products › Inventory for stock data to sync.
6. Set up variations properly. Each variation needs a single value for each attribute, such as one size and one colour.
7. Add a brand to every product, using a brand taxonomy or attribute.

Good product data helps organic search too. Many of the same fixes appear in our WooCommerce SEO guide.

How do you set up the catalogue with the Meta for WooCommerce plugin?

The official plugin, now listed as Meta for WooCommerce, connects your store to Meta, creates or links a catalogue, installs the Pixel and syncs products automatically when you create or edit them.

The Meta for WooCommerce listing on WordPress.org shows it is developed by Facebook, has over 400,000 active installations, and requires WordPress 5.6 or higher and PHP 7.4 or higher. Note that WooCommerce.com’s documentation says the extension is no longer sold on WooCommerce.com, though its setup guide remains available; the plugin itself is distributed through WordPress.org.

Setup steps

1. Install and activate Meta for WooCommerce from Plugins › Add New.
2. Go to Marketing › Facebook and click Get Started.
3. Log in to Facebook and approve the connection.
4. Choose or create your business portfolio, Facebook Page, ad account, Pixel and catalogue.
5. Make sure two-factor authentication is on. WooCommerce’s documentation notes Meta requires 2FA for business accounts older than 90 days.
6. Open the Product sync tab and run a sync.
7. Check each product’s sync setting: “Sync and show in catalog”, “Sync and hide in catalog” or “Do not sync”.

Pros and cons of the plugin

Pros	Cons
Free and official	Sync is triggered by product changes, so bulk imports and stock updates create a lot of sync activity
Installs Pixel and Conversions API in the same step	Limited control over how titles and descriptions are rewritten
Per-product sync controls	Large catalogues can hit memory limits during feed generation, as WooCommerce’s troubleshooting notes mention
Product errors shown inside WordPress	Harder to run one feed for Meta and other channels

How do you set up a scheduled data feed instead?

A scheduled data feed gives you more control. You generate a feed file at a fixed URL on your site, and Meta fetches it on a schedule to update your catalogue.

Meta’s feed documentation lists the supported formats as CSV, TSV, RSS XML and ATOM XML, and states that scheduled feeds do not support uploads more often than once per hour. You can also perform one-time uploads from a URL or your computer.

Steps for a scheduled feed

1. Use a feed plugin to generate a Meta-format XML or CSV feed from your WooCommerce products.
2. Map WooCommerce fields to Meta fields using the table above, including item_group_id for variations.
3. Copy the feed URL and open it in a browser to confirm it loads.
4. In Commerce Manager, open your catalogue, go to the data sources area and add a data feed.
5. Choose scheduled feed, paste your URL and set a frequency, such as daily or hourly for fast-moving stock.
6. Select the currency and run the first upload, then review the results.

When a feed plugin makes sense

A dedicated feed tool is useful when you sell on several channels or need to rewrite product data for ads. Softwix’s own plugin, Beep Feed Pro, generates WooCommerce product feeds for Facebook and Instagram catalogues, Google Merchant Center and other channels, and lets you optimise titles, attributes and product data before they are sent. It is not on WordPress.org; you can request a Beep Feed Pro demo or see all our tools on the Softwix products page. Other established feed plugins are available in the WordPress.org directory too, so compare features against your channel list.

How do you connect the Pixel to your catalogue?

Connect your Pixel to the catalogue and make sure the product IDs your site sends in events match the IDs in your feed. Without matching IDs, catalogue ads cannot retarget people with the products they viewed.

Meta’s Pixel reference lists contents or content_ids as required for Advantage+ catalog ads on Purchase and Search events, and contents for ViewContent and AddToCart events.

• If you use SKUs as feed IDs, the Pixel must also send SKUs, not WordPress post IDs.
• For variable products, send the variation ID that appears in the feed.
• Use Events Manager’s test tools to confirm events fire with the right IDs.
• Add Conversions API where possible, so events still reach Meta when browsers block scripts.

Why are products rejected and how do you fix them?

Most rejections come from missing required fields, broken image or product links, price format errors or policy issues. Commerce Manager’s diagnostics show the reason for each affected item.

Problem	Likely cause	Fix
Missing brand	No brand field in WooCommerce	Add a brand taxonomy or default brand value
Image too small or not found	Thumbnails sent instead of full images, or blocked image URLs	Send full-size images of at least 500 × 500 px
Invalid price	Comma used as decimal point or missing currency	Use “1250.00 BDT” format
Duplicate IDs	Products or variations without unique SKUs	Give every item a unique SKU
Description contains HTML	Page-builder markup or shortcodes	Strip HTML or use plain short descriptions
Out-of-stock items in ads	Stock not syncing	Enable stock management and increase feed frequency
Policy rejection	Product category restricted by Meta’s commerce policies	Review the policy and remove or change the product

Image updates have a catch: Meta’s field guide notes that a changed image needs a different URL to register. Renaming the file before re-uploading in WordPress avoids stale images.

How do you use the catalogue once it is live?

Once products are approved, use the catalogue for retargeting, prospecting and Instagram product tags. Start with retargeting, because it usually needs the least creative work and uses warm audiences.

1. Retarget viewers and cart abandoners with Advantage+ catalog ads showing the exact products they looked at.
2. Prospect with product sets, such as best sellers or a seasonal collection, to reach new buyers.
3. Tag products on Instagram where shopping features are available for your account and region.
4. Create product sets by category, price or custom label so you can bid differently on high-margin items.

Catalogue ads are only one part of paid social. If you are deciding how much budget to give Meta compared with search, read our comparison of Facebook ads vs Google ads.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Meta for WooCommerce plugin free?

Yes. The plugin is free on WordPress.org and is developed by Facebook. You only pay for the ads you run. Some store owners use a separate feed plugin instead if they need more control over product data.

How often does Meta update my WooCommerce catalogue?

With the official plugin, products sync when they are created or changed. With a scheduled data feed, Meta fetches your feed on the schedule you set, but no more often than once per hour according to Meta’s feed documentation.

Can I use the same feed for Google Shopping and Facebook?

The fields are similar but not identical, so most stores use separate feeds or a feed tool that outputs each channel’s format. Meta accepts CSV, TSV, RSS XML and ATOM XML feeds. Keep IDs consistent across both channels to simplify reporting.

Why are my product images rejected by Facebook?

Meta requires JPEG or PNG images of at least 500 × 500 pixels and up to 8 MB. Rejections often happen when a feed sends small thumbnails or images that cannot be fetched. Send full-size image URLs and avoid heavy text overlays.

Do I need a catalogue to run Facebook ads for my store?

No, you can run standard image and video ads without one. A catalogue is needed for Advantage+ catalog ads, which automatically show relevant products to each person, and for product tagging features. For stores with many products, it is usually worth setting up.

Get help with your WooCommerce catalogue

If your products are being rejected, your Pixel IDs do not match, or you want one feed system for Meta and Google, we can help. Contact Softwix to fix your catalogue setup or ask for a demo of Beep Feed Pro.