Write useful product descriptions

Write a product description from an approved fact sheet, not from the product name or a competitor's page. A useful description helps someone decide whether the specific item suits their needs and understand which details still need checking.

Separate what the item is, what the supplied facts support and what you cannot responsibly claim. This is especially useful when a catalogue contains many similar variants.

Start with a product information sheet

Fictional teaching data: Fieldnote is an imaginary notebook used throughout this example. These specifications have been invented for the exercise. There is no product for sale and no connection to the former shop on this domain.

A real sheet should identify the specification source and its version. Check which facts apply to every variant and which change with the selected option.

Turn a feature into a supported benefit

A useful benefit describes a plausible use without adding an untested promise. Do not assume that a paper weight proves ink performance, or that a binding method proves an item lies completely flat.

The useful distinction is between describing the item and promising an outcome. Your reader can judge whether a known size or layout is suitable; you should not make an unverified decision for them.

A complete example description

Fictional teaching copy:

Fieldnote A5 ruled notebook

Keep meeting notes, lists and longer handwritten entries together in an A5 ruled notebook. The 148 × 210 mm pages have 6 mm lines, with 160 pages in each notebook.

Fieldnote uses 90 gsm uncoated paper, thread-sewn binding and a flexible card cover. Choose a blue or rust cover; the page size, paper and ruling are the same for both colours.

Each pack contains one notebook. Pens and other items shown alongside a notebook in an illustrative setting would not be included unless the product information explicitly said otherwise.

Check the dimensions against the space where you intend to carry or store it. Paper weight alone does not establish how a particular pen and ink will behave. No ink-performance test is supplied in this example, so the description makes no bleed-through or fountain-pen suitability claim.

Specifications

Give variants their own accuracy check

A colour selector, product photograph and description must refer to the same choice. If one size has a different page count, do not copy the common text into every variant. Keep the source data clear enough that the person updating the catalogue can see those differences.

Avoid using colour alone to identify an option. The W3C image guidance explains how image alternatives should reflect the image's information or function. On a real product page, a photograph and its text should help identify the actual selected item.

Keep commercial information current

A descriptive article cannot establish live stock, delivery dates or the price a retailer will charge. In a real shop, provide those facts through the maintained product and fulfilment information, and make material conditions available before purchase.

Similarly, do not invent care instructions. Use the maker's applicable guidance where available. If the source pack does not establish a cleaning method, adding one for completeness can create a new unsupported claim.

Review every sentence against the sheet

Mark which source supports each specification and benefit. Ask whether you have introduced a new promise, extended a fact to the wrong variant or omitted a limitation that changes suitability.

Then compare the page with the reader's questions: what is it, what is included, how large is it, what choice is being made and what has not been established? Remove generic adjectives if they take the place of those answers.

The complete product-page example adds layout, image decisions and an evidence review to the notebook description. Use the content brief worksheet when handing a similar assignment to a writer.