PrestaShop category description: what to write, how much and where to put it
You split a PrestaShop category description into two parts: two or three sentences above the products saying what's in the category, and a longer text below the list that helps people choose. Add a unique Google title and description with the key phrase first. That way customers see the products straight away, and Google gets content your competitors don't have.
Author: The TellMyShop team. A guide for PrestaShop store owners: the cause, the manual fix and the same work in a chat conversation.
Last updated: · 5 min read
Why does a store need a category description?
Because the category page is often the store's most important page in Google. People search for “garden lanterns”, not “Nora lantern 30 cm black”. For general searches like that, Google shows category pages, and a page with just a grid of product names tells it little about how your category differs from ten similar ones in other stores.
A description helps the customer too. Someone buying a solar lantern for the first time doesn't know the difference between a 600 mAh and a 1200 mAh battery. A few sentences in the category answer that better than forty product pages. In its guidance on helpful content, Google asks directly whether a page offers more than other pages in the results.
Description above the products or below them?
Both, but for different jobs. A long text above the products pushes them down, especially on a phone, where the customer sees a paragraph instead of the goods. So a short introduction goes at the top and the rest at the bottom.
| Place | Length | Job | Example for the Lanterns category |
|---|---|---|---|
| Above the products | 2 or 3 sentences | say what's here and who it's for | “Lanterns for the terrace and garden: candle, LED and solar. Most ship within 24 hours.” |
| Below the products | as long as needed | help people choose, answer questions | how to pick a size, solar or battery, how to store them over winter |
| Google title (meta title) | up to about 60 characters | key phrase first, what sets you apart last | “Garden and terrace lanterns · solar and LED” |
| Google description (meta description) | about 140 to 160 characters | a reason to click | choice, shipping time, returns |
PrestaShop 8 and 9 have a second description field for categories, shown below the product list when the theme supports it. In older stores and some themes you need to change the template. Ajit shows how to do it in 1.7 (in Polish), and x13 has a ready-made module for it.
What to write in a category description so it isn't filler
Answers to the questions you hear from customers. A description that starts with “In our store you'll find a wide range” says nothing, because it fits every store and every category.
- What's in the category and what isn't. “Lanterns only; lamps and string lights are separate.”
- How to choose. Two or three criteria that really set the products apart: size, power source, material.
- Common doubts. Will it survive rain, does it work in winter, can you replace the battery.
- Links to subcategories and guides. Customers and Google get further into the store.
- Something your competitors don't have. Your photos from the garden, your experience, your shipping terms.
You write the Google title and description separately. Google describes good practice in its guide to meta descriptions: the description should be unique to each page and say what's on it.
Why do category descriptions keep getting put off?
Because it's work nobody asks for and nobody chases. Products need adding, orders need shipping, and the category description can wait. Sunday, 21:30, you finally do your first category. Top description, bottom description, SEO tab, title, Google description, save, next one. With thirty categories that's several Sundays like this, and by then the first descriptions have started to age.
How to prepare descriptions for many categories with the chat
You point to the categories and give a few facts your chat (Claude or ChatGPT) doesn't know: what sells best, what questions you hear. The chat reads the products in the category and writes both descriptions plus the Google title and description, and you see everything in a preview, with the old version struck through next to the new one.
You: Prepare descriptions for the Lanterns category. People most often ask whether solar ones work in winter. Short at the top, a guide at the bottom.
Your chat: Preview for the Lanterns category (English):
Description above the products: 2 sentences. Description below the products: 4 short paragraphs, including “Does a solar lantern work in winter?”.
I'll save it after your approval. You can also edit any sentence before saving.
Card status: waiting for your “yes”Google title:
old version: Lanterns
new version: Garden and terrace lanterns · solar, LED, candle
Google description:
old version: (empty)
new version: Lanterns for the terrace and garden in three power types. We'll tell you which ones work in winter. Shipped within 24 hours, 30 days to return.
One request covers up to 20 categories in one language. The previous texts stay in the change history, so you can undo each category separately. On Monday morning you approve the first batch before you open your email. Example requests: SEO texts for category pages and Google titles and descriptions across a whole category. If the category also has filters, read why PrestaShop filters aren't working.
Does the category description repeat on later pages?
In many themes it does. A category with 200 products has several pages, and the same description shows on each one. Google doesn't penalise this. Even so, pages 2, 3 and 4 look almost the same as the first one to Google, and a customer on page 3 reads the same guide for the third time.
The fix is to show the longer description only on the first page. It's a single change in the category template that you make once. If you'd rather hand it over, a developer can do it, or the chat in TellMyShop Pro with the Theme switch on for 24 hours. The chat then changes the template in a child theme, which survives theme updates. The details are in the pricing.
Questions and answers
How many words should a category description have?
There's no threshold that Google rewards. A short introduction above the products is two or three sentences. A longer text below the product list makes sense when it answers shoppers' questions: how to choose, how the models differ, what to watch out for. Write as much as that answer needs and nothing more.
How do I move the category description below the product list?
In PrestaShop 8 and 9 a category has a second description field, shown below the product list if your theme supports it. In older versions and some themes you need to change the category template or use a module with an extra description. Then the short text stays at the top and the longer one goes to the bottom.
Does the category description show on every page of the pagination?
In many themes it does, so the same text appears on pages 1, 2 and 3 of the category. Google doesn't penalise this, but the text takes up space and can confuse Google. It's safer to show the longer description only on the first page. That's a one-off change in the theme template.
What are a category's meta title and meta description?
They're the title and description Google may show in search results. You set them on the category's SEO tab. When they're empty, PrestaShop uses the category name and Google picks a snippet of the page itself. A unique title with the key phrase first and a description that invites a click is the simplest way to improve a category's visibility.
Will the chat write descriptions for all categories at once?
The chat prepares descriptions plus Google titles and descriptions in batches of up to 20 categories, one language at a time. You see every text in a preview before it's saved and can edit it. To start, it's worth approving two or three categories, checking them on the site and only then moving on.
PrestaShop is a registered trademark of PrestaShop SA. Claude is a trademark of Anthropic PBC. ChatGPT and OpenAI are trademarks of OpenAI. TellMyShop is not affiliated with these companies.