BOSS Sequence Product Descriptions

The enclosed document defines the sequence and format for product title descriptions. In the past, BOSS have restricted descriptions to 40 characters as this was the limit on many Systems. This resulted in many abbreviations which may be acceptable on picking notes and invoices but their use on the Internet should be avoided. All the main Software Providers have confirmed that their Systems can now accept longer title descriptions, it is however recommended that these are kept to a maximum of 60

BOSS defines the sequence and format for product title descriptions. In the past, BOSS have restricted descriptions to 40 characters as this was the limit on many Systems. This resulted in many abbreviations which may be acceptable on picking notes and invoices but their use on the Internet should be avoided. All the main Software Providers have confirmed that their Systems can now accept longer title descriptions, it is however recommended that these are kept to a maximum of 60 characters.

The Amazon Product Title sequence is a little different. There is no overall standard on the Internet and every large Web based retailer defines slightly different requirements. That said, very few major players on the Internet are currently enforcing their standards but we should expect this to change over time. In order therefore to "future proof" your data and to be able to output to different standards and sequences, you should be looking to hold product data in a granular format, so each piece of information or attribute is held in a separate data field. It is then comparatively straight forward to rebuild (concatenate) the descriptions in whatever order is required with the minimum of human intervention.

Most importantly, product titles and descriptions, especially when used on the Internet must be totally clear and unambiguous. Does the description inform the customer exactly what is being offered for sale, including the size, colour and quantity?"

BOSS Sequence Product Descriptions