An image opening in your browser does not prove WooCommerce can download it. Your browser may have a login cookie, while the store receives a permission error, an expired link or an HTML page. Test one failed URL from the store's environment before retrying the entire catalog.
Separate product import from image retrieval
Choose one failed row and record its product identifier, image column and exact importer message. Determine whether the product was created or updated despite the image failure. Re-running in create mode can compound an image problem with duplicate products.
The WooCommerce importer reference explains that external image URLs must be downloadable by the store. A share page is not necessarily a direct image. Import permissions and rights to reuse the image remain your responsibility.
Inspect the response without credentials
For a public image you are authorized to retrieve, inspect its initial response:
curl -sS -I --max-time 15 https://assets.example.com/product.jpg
Replace the example with the approved image URL. Do not paste a signed private link into a public support record. HEAD is a routing clue, not proof that a later GET returns valid image bytes.
| Response |
Investigation |
| Redirect |
Is the destination still an approved image host? |
| 403 |
Authorization, hotlink policy or host restriction |
| 404 |
Stale supplier path or missing file |
| 200 with text/html |
Share page, login page or challenge |
| Timeout |
Host reachability, rate limits or transfer size |
Have the host reproduce the actual download from the WordPress environment when your desktop result differs. Do not disable TLS verification, forward credentials to unknown redirects or remove the host's protections globally.
URL: Approved source and rights. Response: Real image, not challenge. Product: Correct image and gallery. Repeat update: No unnecessary duplicates. Explanatory checklist, not a customer test result.
Repair the source or use controlled media
Ask the supplier for a stable direct image URL that permits the intended server-side download. Time-limited links may expire halfway through a large feed. Do not make private source storage public just to satisfy an importer.
When permitted, upload the licensed image to the store's Media Library and use the importer-supported reference. Keep a record of the source and resulting media item so repeated feed updates do not create unnecessary duplicates.
If a security rule blocks the request, provide the host with the timestamp, approved URL and sanitized response. A scoped adjustment for a verified source is different from allowing arbitrary remote hosts.
Verify the storefront result
Import one synthetic or authorized test row on staging. Check the media item, featured image and gallery order, then load the product on mobile. A completed import counter cannot reveal that the server stored a challenge page instead of a usable image.
Repeat the update and inspect media identity and product count. Use the catalog roundtrip checklist before scaling the corrected feed. HandL WP can trace failed image imports from a single row and response rather than a full supplier-data export.
References reviewed October 13, 2026. Examples are explanatory, not customer test results.