Bulk Upload Guide

Save hours of manual data entry by importing hundreds of speakers, attendees, exhibitors, sponsors, and sessions using Excel or CSV files with automatic image matching.

15-30 minutesIntermediateSupports Images

What You Can Import

Speakers

Profile photos

Max: 1,000

25 min

Attendees

Badge photos

Max: 5,000

20 min

Exhibitors

Logos + banners

Max: 500

30 min

Sponsors

Logos + banners + white logos

Max: 200

30 min

Sessions

Not applicable

Max: 1,000

20 min

The Import Process

1

Download Template

Excel/CSV format

2

Prepare Data

Fill required fields

3

Upload File

Choose entity type

4

Map Columns

Auto-detected

5

Upload Images

Zip file (optional)

6

Validate Data

Check for errors

7

Review Results

Fix any issues

8

Import Records

Create/update data

9

Verify

Check imported data

Speaker Template Example

Required Fields

first_name

Example: Jane

last_name

Example: Smith

email

Example: jane@company.com

Optional Fields

external_id

Example: SPK001

title

Example: Senior Product Manager

company

Example: Tech Innovations Inc.

bio

Example: Jane has 15 years of experience...

linkedin

Example: https://linkedin.com/in/janesmith

twitter

Example: @janesmith

profile_photo_filename

Example: SPK001.jpg

Image Requirements

Supported Formats

JPG, JPEG, PNG, WebP, AVIF, SVG (logos only)

EntityImage TypeRecommended SizeMax File Size
SpeakersProfile Photo400x400 - 1000x1000px5MB
AttendeesBadge Photo300x300 - 800x800px3MB
ExhibitorsLogo400x400 - 800x800px2MB
ExhibitorsBanner1200x400 - 1920x600px5MB
SponsorsLogo400x400 - 800x800px2MB
SponsorsBanner1200x400 - 1920x600px5MB

What to Expect: Validation Results

Validation Complete - 150 rows processed

145 Valid

96.7%

4 Warnings

2.7%

1 Error

0.7%

Row 23: Duplicate email detected

Email: john.doe@example.com - Will skip this row

Row 56: Missing required field

Field: email - Must fix to import

Best Practices

Do's

  • Start with the template - Ensures correct structure
  • Test with small batch first - Upload 10 records to verify
  • Keep original files - Save backups before editing
  • Validate data before upload - Clean in Excel first
  • Match images by External ID - Most reliable method
  • Use consistent naming - Standardize across all files

Don'ts

  • Don't mix date formats in one column
  • Don't use formulas (paste values only)
  • Don't ignore validation warnings
  • Don't upload images larger than limits
  • Don't use unsupported image formats (BMP, TIFF)
  • Don't skip the preview step

Common Scenarios

Import 100 Speakers with Photos

Files Needed

speakers.xlsx (100 rows) + speaker-photos.zip (100 JPG files)

Steps:

  1. 1.Fill template with speaker data
  2. 2.Add external_id column (SPK001-SPK100)
  3. 3.Add profile_photo_filename column
  4. 4.Prepare zip file with matching filenames
  5. 5.Upload Excel file
  6. 6.Upload zip file
  7. 7.Select 'Match by External ID'
  8. 8.Validate (100 valid)
  9. 9.Import
  10. 10.Verify photos display
25 minutesSuccess: 98%

Import 500 Attendees (No Photos)

Files Needed

attendees.xlsx (500 rows)

Steps:

  1. 1.Fill template (first_name, last_name, email)
  2. 2.Add optional fields (company, title)
  3. 3.Upload Excel file
  4. 4.Skip image upload
  5. 5.Validate (495 valid, 5 duplicates)
  6. 6.Import valid rows
  7. 7.Done!
15 minutesSuccess: 99%

Import 50 Sponsors with Multiple Images

Files Needed

sponsors.xlsx (50 rows) + sponsor-media.zip (150 images)

Steps:

  1. 1.Fill template (company_name, email, tier)
  2. 2.Add filename columns for all image types
  3. 3.Prepare zip with folders (logos/, banners/, white-logos/)
  4. 4.Upload Excel file
  5. 5.Upload zip file
  6. 6.Validate (50 valid, 145 images matched)
  7. 7.Import
  8. 8.Verify all 3 image types display
30 minutesSuccess: 96%

Ready to Import?

Start by downloading a template and preparing your data. Need help with specific entity types?

Bulk Upload Guide - webMOBI Events