In this guide, we will talk about an error you might run into when activating new products
When you activate a product for a marketplace you might get an error message mentioning that the product's description is too long, this can be caused by a few different factors that we will discuss below.
Formatted description
When you write a description in a program outside of Sello, the text might have some formatting added. If you copy this description and paste it directly in Sello's description field, the text will look normal, but there will be a lot of "hidden" formatting behind the scenes.
You can find any hidden formatting by opening the code view for the description like the images below, notice how the description got longer:
Text template
If you are using a text template for Tradera, this could cause the description to be too long. The template will be added alongside the product description, if the description is close to the character limit on Tradera this will cause the text template to go over the limit.
It is also possible for the text template to have a formatted description that is too long, please see the heading for Formated description.
Character limit
The character limit is different for all marketplaces, and a description that is accepted on one marketplace might be too long for another one. One example of this would be Afound with a 7000 character limit and H&M with an 800 character limit.
Make sure to keep track of the character limits, and check for hidden formatting if the cause of the error is unclear!