Most shoppers scan a product page before they read it. Bullet points are where a scanner decides whether to keep going, so they need to carry the main reasons to buy. This guide covers how many to write, how to structure each one, and what to leave out.
What bullets are for
Bullets are a summary, not the whole description. They give a scanning shopper the key facts in a few seconds, and the paragraphs below them do the explaining. For the longer copy, see how to write product descriptions that sell.
- Bullets: The reasons to buy, at a glance
- Description: The detail, the story and the proof
- Specs table: Dimensions, materials, compatibility
Lead with the benefit, back it with the feature
A feature is what the product has. A benefit is what the buyer gets from it. A strong bullet gives both: the benefit up front so it gets read, and the feature after it so it is believable.
| Feature alone | Benefit plus feature |
|---|---|
| 20 oz double-wall steel | Stays cold all day: 20 oz double-wall steel holds ice through a work shift |
| 100% merino wool | No itch, no smell: fine merino wool you can wear for days between washes |
| Removable cover | Easy to clean: the cover zips off and goes in the washing machine |
Any claim in a bullet, such as "all day" above, has to be true for your product. Write what you can back up.
Keep the format tight
A list is easy to scan when every line follows the same pattern. Pick a pattern and hold it across the catalog.
- Count: Three to six bullets. More than that and it stops being a summary
- Length: One or two lines each on a phone screen
- Label: Start with a short bold phrase, then the detail
- Order: Put the strongest reason at the top, the practical details lower down
- One idea each: If a bullet has "and" in the middle, it may be two bullets
What to leave out
Weak bullets cost you the scanner's attention. Cut anything that could describe any product in your category.
- ❌ "High quality" or "premium" with nothing behind it
- ❌ A list of specs with no benefit attached
- ❌ The product title repeated as a bullet
- ❌ Shipping and returns policy mixed in with product benefits
- ❌ Health or performance claims you cannot support
Test your bullets
Cover the rest of the page and read the bullets alone. If a stranger could tell what the product is, who it is for and why it is worth the price, they are doing their job. If not, rewrite the weakest line and check again.
Doing this at scale
Rewriting bullets for hundreds of products by hand takes weeks. ConvertLens scores every product page 0 to 100 on rules that include scannability and benefit vs feature balance, and AI drafts before/after rewrites of weak sections from the page's own copy. You approve each change, and changes are logged and reversible. See ConvertLens.