Importing contacts from a CSV file

Importing starts with the Import button at the top of the contact list. The wizard has three steps: Upload file, Map columns and Options.

Preparing your file

Your CSV needs a header row, for example Name, Email, Phone. One import takes up to 25,000 contacts, so split larger files into parts. If you’d rather start from a format that’s known to work, click Download template on the upload step, fill it in and upload it back.

Step 1: Upload file

Drag the file onto the drop area or choose it from your computer. The file is read in your browser, and the wizard tells you how many rows it found.

Step 2: Map columns

Every column in your CSV is listed with a sample value and a “Maps to” dropdown. You can map to Email, Name, Phone, Address, City, State or region, Postal code, Country, Tags or Notes, or choose Skip. The wizard guesses sensible matches from your headers, so usually you only need to confirm.

Two useful details. Email is required: you can’t continue without it. And mapping more than one column to the same field joins them together: that’s how you combine First name and Last name columns into a single Name field.

The Tags column accepts tag names separated by commas and creates any that don’t exist yet. The Notes column becomes an internal note on the contact.

Step 3: Options

• “These contacts have agreed to receive marketing from me”. Tick this only if they really gave their consent. Leave it unticked and everyone is imported as Unconfirmed, which means no campaign will reach them.
• Add a tag to everyone imported (optional).
• Add everyone to a list (optional).

Then press Import contacts. Rows upload in batches, with a progress indicator while it runs.

How duplicates are handled

Matching is done by email address. An existing contact is updated, never duplicated, and a previously deleted contact is restored rather than created from scratch. Empty cells are ignored, so an incomplete row never wipes data you already have.

Importing never undoes an opt-out

If you tick the consent box, contacts with Unconfirmed or Pending status are moved up to Subscribed. Anyone already Subscribed, Unsubscribed, Bounced or marked as Spam stays exactly where they were. An import never sends a confirmation email. See How forms on your pages collect leads.

The results screen

The report shows Added, Updated, Skipped and Errors. Rows with a missing or invalid email address are the most common reason for skips.