How to write product descriptions that answer the question first

Most product descriptions fail in the same way: they describe the product the seller is proud of, not the decision the buyer is trying to make. How to write product descriptions is really a question of sequencing — answer the questions in the order they arrive, and the sale moves forward without another chat.

The six facts every description needs

1. 1What it is, in the customer’s words — not the supplier’s category name.
2. 2Size and dimensions, including fit guidance for clothing.
3. 3Material and finish, because it drives both price and care.
4. 4What is included, especially for sets, bundles and digital products.
5. 5Who it suits and what problem it solves, in one concrete sentence.
6. 6Care, compatibility or usage, so the product lasts and returns drop.

A template you can reuse

Write one opening sentence that names the product and its main use. Follow with a short bullet list of the facts above. Close with a line about delivery, customisation or the best way to ask a question. That structure works for clothing, food, electronics accessories and services, and it scans well on a phone.

Before and after

The second version is longer, but every extra line removes a question. It also uses the words a buyer would search for — soy candle, 200 g, fig and cedar, gift — without repeating them.

Write for a phone screen

• Front-load the important fact; the first line is often all that is visible.
• Keep paragraphs to two or three lines.
• Use bullets for measurements, materials and inclusions.
• Avoid ALL CAPS and long hyphenated strings of adjectives.
• Put the delivery and returns information in the same place on every product.

Bilingual and local-language descriptions

If your customers read two languages, write the primary description in the language they message you in, then add a short secondary version rather than a machine translation pasted below. Keep product names consistent across both so the catalogue does not look like it contains duplicate items.

The description and the photo work together

Do not spend the description repeating what the photo already shows. Use it for scale, material, what is included and how the product behaves after purchase. The photo sells the look; the description sells the decision.

Improve the visual half with product photos with a phone. For the structure around it, see free product catalog templates, and for the price that sits next to the copy, how to price products online.

Create your catalogue and rewrite your ten bestsellers using the template above. Clear descriptions are the cheapest conversion improvement available.