PrestaShop meta description: templates, before and after examples, filling in batches
In PrestaShop you enter the meta description in the product's SEO tab, and for categories and CMS pages in the meta description field. A good one has about 120 to 160 characters and says what the product is, what sets it apart and what the customer gets. Google may replace it with a snippet from the page, but a specific one often appears.
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
Where do you enter the Google description in PrestaShop?
In three places, depending on the type of page. A product has the field in Catalog > Products, in the SEO tab. A category has a meta description field in Catalog > Categories. CMS pages, such as Delivery or Returns, have it in Design > Pages. Where the fields are is shown in the PrestaShop products documentation and the categories documentation.
When the field is empty, Google picks a piece of the page itself. Often it's the start of the description, the price or text from the menu. Rarely is it something that makes people click.
Sunday, 9:40 pm. The Sofas category, product 31 of 120. You open the product, go to the SEO tab, count the characters and save. Then the next product, and so on to the end of the list.
Which meta description templates work in a store?
A template saves time, because you don't invent the description from scratch. Each page gets its own specific features in it.
| Type of page | Template | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Product | what it is, 2 features, a benefit or delivery | Malmo 3-seater sofa, grey woven fabric, 214 cm wide. Removable covers, shipped in 5 working days. |
| Product with variants | name, range of variants, use | Nitrile work gloves in sizes 7 to 11. For garden and workshop jobs, resistant to oil and grease. |
| Category | what's here, how much choice, what sets it apart | Metal and glass lanterns for the garden and terrace. Over 60 models, including LED candle and solar. |
| CMS page | the answer to a customer's question | How much delivery costs and when your parcel arrives. Courier, parcel locker and collection, free shipping over €200. |
Google explains the rules in its guide to snippets in results. Tebim also writes about product copy for PrestaShop stores (in Polish).
What does a description look like before and after a fix?
The difference is usually in the specifics. Three typical examples:
- Before: “The best sofas at attractive prices. Come and shop with us.” After: “Malmo 3-seater sofa, grey weave, 214 cm. Removable covers, shipped in 5 days.”
- Before: a wholesaler description cut off mid-sentence after 160 characters. After: two short sentences with the material and a dimension.
- Before: the same text on 40 products in a category. After: a shared template, with each product's own features.
Duplicates are a separate problem, often alongside repetitive titles. We cover it in the post on duplicate meta titles.
What to avoid in a Google description
Generic lines that fit any store. “Top quality at an attractive price” tells the customer nothing about the product. Also avoid repeating the product name twice and listing bare keywords separated by commas.
Watch out for promises the store doesn't keep. If the description mentions shipping within 24 hours and the product is made to order, the customer goes back to the results disappointed. Remember the language versions too. Each language has its own description field. A store with a German version needs descriptions in German, not copies from the main language.
How to fill in meta descriptions in batches
In batches, by category, starting with the products that sell.
- Make a list of pages with no description, or with one that's too short, too long or duplicated.
- Sort it by sales or by visits from Google.
- For each category, choose a template from the table and the features you'll include.
- Write descriptions for one category and read them side by side.
- Check the length of each description and that no two are identical.
- After a few weeks, see in Google which descriptions the search engine shows.
Categories also have a description above the product list, which matters more to customers than the meta description. It's covered in the post on the category description in PrestaShop.
How the chat writes Google descriptions for a whole category
You ask for descriptions for a whole category, and your chat (Claude or ChatGPT) reads the product data: name, description, features. From that it writes a Google description for each product and shows it in a preview with the character count.
You: Write meta descriptions for the products in Sofas that don't have one. Up to 160 characters, include the material and a dimension.
Your chat: In Sofas, 23 products have no Google description. Preview, the first two:
All 23 descriptions are between 85 and 154 characters, and no two repeat. I'll save them after your approval.
You: Save them.
Your chat: Saved. You can undo the whole batch from the change history with one request.
Card status: waiting for your “yes”old version: (empty)
new version: Malmo 3-seater sofa, grey weave, 214 cm. Removable covers, shipped in 5 working days. (85 characters)
old version: (empty)
new version: Oslo corner sofa, left-hand, bottle green velvet, 260 x 170 cm. Sofa bed with storage. (86 characters)
One batch is up to 50 products in one language. Finding missing and duplicate descriptions works in TellMyShop Free. Writing and saving is TellMyShop Pro, described on the pricing page. The use case Google titles and descriptions for a whole category has the request ready to copy.
Questions and answers
How many characters should a store meta description have?
Google doesn't give a fixed limit, because it cuts the description to the width of the result. In practice 120 to 160 characters works well. A shorter description wastes space; a longer one gets cut off mid-sentence. Put the key information, what the product is and what sets it apart, in the first hundred characters.
Why does Google show a different description from the one I entered?
Google picks a snippet to match the query. When it decides a piece of the page answers the customer's question better, it shows that instead of your description. This is normal and doesn't mean anything is wrong with the store. A good, specific description with product features is used more often than a generic line repeated across a category.
Does the meta description affect rankings in Google?
Not directly. It affects whether a customer clicks the result. A description with the material, a dimension and delivery time attracts people looking for exactly that product. More clicks from the same position means more visits to the store. That's why it's worth writing for products that get traffic.
Can I use the same description for a whole category?
Better not. The same description on many pages is a duplicate, and Google replaces it with its own snippet more often. A shared template is fine, as long as each product gets its own features in it. The template helps you write fast, and the different features keep descriptions from repeating.
Can TellMyShop Free fill in missing descriptions?
No. TellMyShop Free only reads the store. It shows products, categories and pages without a Google description, and descriptions that are too short, too long or duplicated. It's a good list to start with. Writing and saving descriptions works in TellMyShop Pro, with a preview of every change and undo from the change history.
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.