Copy or Move WooCommerce Reviews 1.0.4

WooCommerce does not include a built-in feature to copy or move reviews directly between products. This functionality is essential when you update or replace an old product with a new listing but want to preserve the social proof from the original reviews.

You have three primary methods to copy or move WooCommerce reviews:

1. 🔌 Use a Dedicated Plugin (Recommended)

The most user-friendly and reliable method is to use a third-party plugin specifically designed for this purpose.

Plugin Functionality: Plugins like "Copy or Move Reviews" (or similarly named tools) add a direct interface in your WordPress admin area.

How It Works:

You select the Source Product (the product with the existing reviews).

You select the Target Product (the new product where you want the reviews to go).

You choose whether to Copy (duplicates the reviews to the new product) or Move (removes the reviews from the source and attaches them to the new product).

Benefit: This method handles all necessary database changes automatically, including updating the review counts and average rating meta fields, which a manual database edit might miss.

2. 🗃️ Export and Import

You can use a general WooCommerce import/export plugin that supports the WooCommerce Reviews post type (which are stored as comments in the database).

Export the Reviews: Use the plugin to export all reviews from the Source Product(s) into a CSV file. Ensure the export includes the review content, author details, rating, and most importantly, the comment_post_ID.

Edit the CSV: Open the CSV file and locate the column labeled comment_post_ID (this is the ID of the product the review is attached to).

Replace the old product ID in this column with the new product ID of the target product.

Import the Reviews: Import the modified CSV file back into WooCommerce. The plugin will create new review entries (or update existing ones) and attach them to the new product ID.

Recalculate Totals: After importing, you may need to recalculate product statistics for the new product to display the correct average rating and review count.

3. 🖥️ Direct Database Query (Advanced/Developer Method)

This method should only be attempted by experienced users as incorrect queries can damage your database. Always create a full database backup before proceeding.

WooCommerce reviews are stored in the WordPress database within the wp_comments table, and they are linked to a product by the comment_post_ID column.

Find Product IDs: Determine the old Product ID and the new Product ID from the URL when editing the products (e.g., ...post.php?post=**123**&action=edit).

Run SQL Query: Execute the following SQL query via a tool like phpMyAdmin (replace the IDs):

SQL

UPDATE wp_comments SET comment_post_ID = [new_product_id] WHERE comment_post_ID = [old_product_id] AND comment_type = 'review';

Update Product Meta: You must also update the WooCommerce product meta to show the correct star ratings and review counts on the new product, which requires complex updates to the wp_postmeta table (specifically for keys like _wc_average_rating and _wc_review_count). This step is why using a plugin is strongly preferred.

I recommend starting with Method 1 (Dedicated Plugin) for simplicity and reliability. Would you like me to find a specific plugin recommendation for copying or moving reviews?