PrestaShop short description: what to write next to the price and how to fill empty ones
The short description of a product in PrestaShop is a few sentences the customer sees next to the price and the Add to cart button. You enter it on the product page, in the field above the regular description. Two or three sentences or a short list work best: who the product is for, what sets it apart and what's in the box.
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 the short description shows in PrestaShop
In the Classic theme the short description sits below the product name, next to the image, above the variant choice and the Add to cart button. It also appears in the quick view on the product list. Other themes may put it elsewhere, so check one product in your store.
| Field | Where it shows in the store | What to write in it |
|---|---|---|
| Short description (Summary) | next to the price and Add to cart, in quick view | 2 or 3 sentences or a list: who it's for, what sets it apart, what's included |
| Description | lower down, on the Description tab below the images | details: materials, dimensions, use, care |
| Meta description | in Google results under the title | one sentence that invites a click, 140 to 160 characters |
| Features | on the Product Details tab, in filters | data for comparison: material, size, power |
PrestaShop's developers describe the structure of the product form in version 8 in the product page documentation. For older stores, the guide to managing products in PrestaShop 1.7 is useful.
How to enter the short description on one product:
- Open Catalog → Products and click the product.
- On the first tab, find the short description field. It's above the regular description.
- Enter the text in each store language. The flag next to the field switches language.
- Save the product and open it in the store to see how the text looks next to the price.
What to write in the short description
Write what the customer wants to know before clicking Add to cart. The short description isn't the place for your brand story or a list of keywords.
A good short description answers three questions:
- Who or what is it for? “Nitrile gloves for kitchen work and cleaning.”
- What sets it apart? “0.1 mm thick, powder-free, latex-free.”
- What do I get? “Box of 100, sizes S to XL.”
The values in these examples are illustrative. Only write what's true in your store and what you can show in the description or the features.
Before and after for the same product:
- Before: “High-quality gloves. Welcome to shopping in our store.”
- After: “Nitrile gloves for the kitchen and cleaning, latex-free. 0.1 mm thick, powder-free. Box of 100, sizes S to XL.”
In its guide for online stores, Google advises that product pages should have their own descriptive content and clear product data. The short description is a good place for the most important part of that data. You'll find more on writing descriptions for Google and for customers in MyPresta's guide to product descriptions.
The most common short description problems
Empty description. The customer sees only the name and variants next to the price. With similar products, they don't know which to pick. These empty fields are usually left after a CSV import when the supplier's file didn't have that column.
The same text in the short description and the description. The customer reads the same thing twice. Keep what sets the product apart in the short description and move the details lower.
Too long. When the short description runs to a dozen lines, the Add to cart button slides down the screen, especially on a phone. Cut it down to the key sentences.
Wholesaler text. Every store that sells the product then has the same description. Write your own, even if it's just two sentences.
Missing translation. In a store with several languages, the short description is often filled in only in the main language. A customer on another language version sees an empty field or text in the wrong language.
Hundreds of empty short descriptions: filling them in batches
With a few products, the product page is enough. With several hundred, it's many evenings of opening one product after another.
With the TellMyShop module, you ask your chat (Claude or ChatGPT) in one sentence. The chat finds products with an empty short description, reads their names, features and regular descriptions, then shows two or three samples so you can approve the style. Once you're happy with it, it prepares batches of up to 50 products. You see each batch in a preview before anything is saved.
You: Fill in the short descriptions in the Work Gloves category. Keep them short, no sales words.
Your chat: In the Work Gloves category, 37 products have no short description. Two samples so you can approve the style:
You: Good. Add the sizes where they're in the features.
Your chat: I'll add them. I'll prepare a preview of the whole batch of 37 descriptions. I'll save it after your ‘yes’.
Card status: waiting for your “yes”Black nitrile gloves, 100 pcs
old version: (no short description)
new version: Nitrile gloves for the workshop and cleaning, latex-free. Box of 100, sizes S to XL.
Latex-coated gloves
old version: (no short description)
new version: Gloves with a latex coating on the palm, for building and garden work. They grip wet and slippery objects well.
The chat takes facts from the product data. When the name, features and description don't include a detail, it doesn't make one up. It leaves that product with a question for you. Example requests are in the use cases filling in empty short descriptions and rewriting descriptions in your brand's tone.
In the free TellMyShop Free version the chat finds products without a short description and suggests texts, but saves nothing. In TellMyShop Pro it saves descriptions straight after the licence is activated, with no extra switches to turn on. Each batch goes into the change history and you can undo most changes with one request. Prices and plans are in the pricing.
If you'd also like to improve the long descriptions, read our guide to bulk editing product descriptions. We cover Google descriptions in our post on the meta description in PrestaShop.
Questions and answers
How is the short description different from the regular description in PrestaShop?
The short description is a few sentences next to the price and the Add to cart button. Customers read it before deciding whether to scroll further. The regular description sits below the images, on the Description tab, and holds the details: materials, dimensions, how to use it.
How many characters can the short description have?
PrestaShop has a limit you set in Shop Parameters → Product Settings. The default is 800 characters. In practice two or three sentences or a short list are enough, because the description sits in a narrow column next to the image.
Does an empty short description hurt in Google?
It isn't an error in itself. It hurts the customer more, who can't see next to the price how the product differs from similar ones. When both the short and regular descriptions are empty or copied from the wholesaler, the product page has little content of its own.
Can I copy the first paragraph of the description into the short description?
You can, but the customer will then see the same text twice on one page. It's better to put what decides the purchase in the short description and leave the details in the description below.
Will TellMyShop Free fill in empty short descriptions?
No. The free TellMyShop Free version only reads the store: it shows products without a short description and suggests texts. Saving with a preview and undo from the change history works in TellMyShop Pro.
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.