Product Description Guidelines For ECommerce Merchants (Author: Joe Cole)

When shopping on the internet consumers are fully reliant on the product description provided by the merchant for any relevant information about the product or service they are interested in purchasing. Unlike the typical store-front establishment, where consumers can go in and physically examine the merchandise, in the virtual world of eCommerce this is not possible. Moreover, a physical store offers the opportunity of discussing the product's or service's features with a sales person - a live presence that
many consumers find reassuring (in fairness, many online shoppers prefer eCommerce stores precisely because they offer the opportunity to escape from pushy salesmen).

Many customers do not trust the descriptions that web-based merchants make available on their websites for the products and services they sell. So the question becomes "How do we make an eCommerce website a more consumer-friendly place and how do we make an online product and service description better?" There are simple best practices that can be employed to help address these concerns.

To ensure that your website presents an accurate description of the products and services that you sell and to boost your customers' confidence in shopping at your store, you should consider implementing the following procedures:
Develop clear and comprehensive product descriptions. Try and be as detailed as you can. Provide a PDF or other type of a file with the complete manufacturer product sheet.

Also, remember that the eCommerce is a global industry and your customers can be anywhere. Unless you limit your sales to a local market, you should include in your product description information that domestic merchants can ignore. For example, if you sell electric appliances, you should state their voltage requirements, as they vary around the world. Also, when you provide the products' dimensions you should use both English and metric measures.

Use product photos and images, if applicable. An image of a product is a very powerful marketing tool. Many of us will not consider making a purchase unless we see what it is we are buying. You should use high-quality images and provide shots from various angles of the product.