Accepted File Formats
Fringe accepts product data in several formats. Choose based on your technical capabilities:
CSV/Excel
Best for: Non-technical teams. Simple spreadsheet format.
Recommended for beginners
JSON
Best for: Technical teams. Supports nested data structures.
For complex product data
API Integration
Best for: Real-time sync. Automated updates from your PIM.
For enterprise clients
CSV Format Guidelines
CSV (Comma-Separated Values) is the simplest format. Here's how to structure it:
# Example CSV structure
sku,name,brand,category,width_cm,depth_cm,height_cm,material,price,currency,image_url MIL-001,"Milano Chair","DesignCo","Seating > Lounge",80,75,82,"leather",1500,"EUR","https://..." MIL-002,"Milano Sofa","DesignCo","Seating > Sofas",200,90,82,"leather",3500,"EUR","https://..."
CSV Best Practices
- • Use UTF-8 encoding for international characters
- • Quote text fields that may contain commas
- • Use consistent column headers across updates
- • Include header row as first line
- • Use blank cells for missing data (not "N/A" or "-")
- • Save as .csv, not .xlsx
JSON Format Guidelines
JSON allows for more complex data structures with nested objects:
{
"products": [
{
"sku": "MIL-001",
"name": "Milano Chair",
"brand": "DesignCo",
"category": ["Seating", "Lounge Chairs"],
"dimensions": {
"width_cm": 80,
"depth_cm": 75,
"height_cm": 82,
"seat_height_cm": 45
},
"materials": {
"primary": "full-grain leather",
"frame": "solid oak"
},
"colors": ["black", "cognac", "navy"],
"price": {
"amount": 1500,
"currency": "EUR"
},
"certifications": ["GREENGUARD", "FSC"],
"applications": ["hospitality", "residential", "office"],
"images": [
{"url": "https://...", "type": "primary"},
{"url": "https://...", "type": "detail"}
]
}
]
}
Data Type Guidelines
| Data Type | Format | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Text | Plain text, quoted if commas | "Milano Chair" |
| Numbers | No quotes, use decimals | 80.5 |
| Boolean | true/false or 1/0 | true |
| Lists (CSV) | Pipe-separated in single field | "black|cognac|navy" |
| Lists (JSON) | Array format | ["black", "cognac"] |
| URLs | Full URL with https:// | "https://example.com/img.jpg" |
| Prices | Number only, currency separate | 1500 (not "€1,500") |
Dimension Standards
Use consistent units across all products:
- Length/Width/Height: Centimeters (cm) - not inches or mm
- Weight: Kilograms (kg)
- Capacity: Kilograms (kg) for weight, liters (L) for volume
- Area: Square meters (m²) for larger surfaces
Image Requirements
Do
- ✓ Min 1000px on shortest side
- ✓ White or neutral background
- ✓ JPG or PNG format
- ✓ Direct image URLs (not page URLs)
- ✓ Multiple angles if available
Don't
- ✗ Watermarked images
- ✗ Lifestyle images as primary
- ✗ Images with text overlays
- ✗ Low resolution (<500px)
- ✗ Expired/broken URLs
Common Formatting Mistakes
Inconsistent units
Mixing cm and inches, or including units in numeric fields ("80 cm" instead of 80)
Embedded formatting
Price as "€1,500.00" instead of just "1500" with separate currency field
HTML in text fields
Including <br> tags or HTML formatting in descriptions
Encoding issues
Special characters appearing as "ä" instead of "ä" - use UTF-8