You can have great product photos, fair prices, and a tidy WooCommerce store, then still watch people leave without buying.
Why? Because the product description does nothing. It just sits there saying things like “high quality”, “premium material”, or the all-time classic, “perfect for any occasion.” Which means… basically nothing.
A good product description helps someone picture the thing in their life. Their kitchen. Their skin. Their Saturday market stall. Their kid’s bedroom. It answers the little questions that stop a sale, and it gives just enough confidence to click Buy Now without sounding like a desperate salesperson.
If you’re building or fixing an online shop, this stuff matters as much as your theme or checkout flow. Sometimes more. And if you’re still setting up the store itself, getting the structure right from the start with a proper WooCommerce website build saves a lot of rewriting later.
Stop writing for “everyone”
This is where most product pages go wonky.
You try to make the description broad enough for every possible customer, so it ends up vague and flat. A candle becomes “ideal for homes.” A handmade ceramic mug becomes “beautiful and functional.” A dog shampoo becomes “great for pets.”
Nope.
Pick the actual buyer. Be specific. If you’re selling a soy candle, maybe it’s for people who want their bedroom to smell calm instead of like last night’s takeaway. If you’re selling a waterproof dog coat, maybe it’s for owners of muddy spaniels who are tired of towel chaos in the car.
Specific sells because it sounds real.
Try this simple shift:
- Weak: “A stylish tote bag for everyday use.”
- Better: “A sturdy canvas tote that fits a 13-inch laptop, lunch box, water bottle, and the random receipts living at the bottom of your bag.”
See the difference? The second one gives your brain something to hold onto.
Features matter. But only after you translate them
People don’t buy features by themselves. They buy what those features do for them.
So yes, list the material, size, ingredients, battery life, whatever applies. But don’t stop there. Translate it into plain English.
Let’s say you sell a linen apron.
“Made from 240gsm European linen” is fine. Useful, even. But a shopper might not know if that’s good, bad, thick, thin, itchy, soft, fancy, or marketing fluff. Give it context: “Made from heavyweight European linen that feels soft straight away and gets better after washing.”
Now it means something.
Here’s a handy formula if you get stuck:
- Name the feature
- Explain what it means in normal words
- Say why your customer should care
Like this: “Double-walled stainless steel – keeps coffee hot for about 4 hours – handy if you’re commuting or constantly forgetting where you put your mug.”
That’s a description. Not a spec sheet wearing a fake moustache.
Use sensory details, but don’t get weird with it
You want people to imagine using the product. That’s the job. So give them texture, weight, sound, smell, fit, or feel where it makes sense.
But don’t overdo it. Nobody needs twelve poetic lines about a chopping board.
If you’re selling skincare, talk about whether it sinks in fast or leaves a greasy layer. If it’s a hoodie, mention if the inside is fleece-soft or more lightweight. If it’s a handmade notebook, say whether the paper is smooth enough for fountain pens or better for pencils and ballpoints.
Small details do alot of work.
And they reduce returns, too. A customer who knows a jumper has a relaxed fit and thick knit is less likely to complain that it wasn’t what they expected.
Answer the questions that make people hesitate
Every product has friction. Little bits of uncertainty that slow buyers down.
Your description should quietly remove them.
Think about the questions customers ask before buying, or the messages you’ve already recieved:
- Is it true to size?
- Will this work with my existing setup?
- How long does it last?
- Is it easy to clean?
- What’s included in the box?
- Will the colour look like the photo?
Put those answers on the page. Don’t make people dig.
For a small store with 20 to 50 products, this can take a day or two of proper work. Longer if your catalog is messy. Still worth it. I’ve seen shops get fewer pre-sale emails almost immediately once descriptions answered the obvious stuff.
And yes, your checkout still matters. If people are making it all the way to basket and dropping off there, read Why Your WooCommerce Checkout Is Losing You Sales – And How to Fix It. Product copy and checkout friction tend to gang up on you together.
Don’t write like a brochure from 2009
There’s a certain style of product writing that sounds polished and dead at the same time.
“Crafted with care.” “Designed for modern living.” “Made with the finest materials.” Sure. Maybe. But your customer has read the same line on 37 other websites this month.
Plain language wins.
Instead of “crafted with care,” say “each mug is hand-thrown, so the shape varies slightly.” Instead of “designed for modern living,” say “slim enough to fit in a hallway without eating all your floor space.” Instead of “premium cotton blend,” say “soft, thick fabric that doesn’t go see-through after two washes.”
That’s the good stuff. Concrete. Slightly unglamorous. Believable.
SEO matters, but don’t let it wreck the page
Yes, your product description should help search engines understand the page. You should use the product name, key terms people actually search for, and clear details about what you’re selling.
But stuffing “handmade silver earrings Estonia” into every other sentence? Big mistake.
Write for humans first, then tidy it up for search.
A decent basic setup looks like this:
- Use the main product phrase in the product title
- Include it naturally in the first paragraph
- Add supporting details like size, material, use case, and style
- Fill in image alt text properly
- Write a unique meta title and meta description if your setup allows it
If you’re not sure what people are actually searching for, Keyword Research for People Who Hate Keyword Research is a much less painful place to start than most SEO guides. And if you want ongoing help, monthly SEO support usually starts cheaper than people expect – from €99 in this case – which is often enough for a small shop that needs product page polish and content help rather than a giant campaign.
Format the page so people can scan it fast
Most shoppers don’t read top to bottom. They skim, bounce back up, check the price again, zoom in on the photo, then skim some more.
So help them out.
Break descriptions into short paragraphs. Use bullet points for specs if there are several. Put the key benefit early. Keep the first few lines strong, because that’s what people see before deciding whether to keep reading.
For example, a good product page structure might be:
- A short opening that says what it is and who it’s for
- A second line about the main benefit or feel
- A small bullet list of practical specs
- A final note that handles hesitation – sizing, care, compatibility, shipping, or what to expect
Simple. Clean. Works.
A quick before-and-after example
Let’s say you sell a handmade beeswax candle.
Before:
“Beautiful handmade candle made from natural beeswax. Perfect for any room in your home. A lovely gift idea.”
After:
“This handmade beeswax candle gives off a soft honey scent and a warm golden glow, without the fake sugary smell some scented candles have. It’s a nice pick for bedrooms, dinner tables, or quiet corners where you want low light and no fuss. Each candle burns for around 20 hours, and because it’s made with pure beeswax and a cotton wick, it burns clean with very little smoke if kept trimmed.”
Way better. Still simple. But now the customer can picture it, compare it, and trust it.
You do not need a novel for every product
Honestly, most small shops don’t need 500 words on every single item.
If you sell 47 products and half of them are variations of the same thing, write one strong core description and tailor the details where needed. Color, size, scent, use case. Keep it separate where it matters. Don’t duplicate blindly across every page if SEO matters to you, but don’t burn a week writing literary masterpieces for tea towels either.
For many stores, 100 to 250 words per product is enough. Maybe 300 if the item needs explanation. Service-based businesses selling packages or bookings often need less. Technical or higher-ticket products usually need more.
Use your time where it pays off.
What to fix first if your descriptions are weak
If you’re staring at a whole catalog and feeling mildly doomed, start here:
- Rewrite your top 10 best-selling or most-viewed products first
- Add answers to the top 2 or 3 pre-sale questions on each page
- Replace vague filler words with specifics
- Add dimensions, materials, care info, or compatibility details where missing
- Make the first two lines clearer and more human
That alone can move the needle.
You don’t need perfect copy across the entire store by Friday. You need better copy on the pages that already get traffic.
Sell the product you actually have
That’s really the whole thing.
Don’t try to sound bigger, fancier, or more luxurious than the item really is. If it’s a sturdy everyday notebook, say that. If it’s a small-batch soap that smells strongly of cedar, say that too. The right customers will like honest detail more than glossy nonsense.
Good product descriptions aren’t about sounding clever. They’re about removing doubt. Showing the thing clearly. Helping somebody decide.
And that’s what gets the sale.