There is an Amazon HTML ban coming into force on the 8th of June 2021, which will end the use of any HTML on product detail pages. Amazon already strongly discourage the use of HTML but the 8th of June is the final day where any will be allowed.
Amazon say that this is for two reasons – In order to provide security for our customers as well as versatility to list products on non-HTML devices.
It’s debatable how many merchants the Amazon HTML Ban will actually impact, for most merchants it’s likely that you have no HTML on your product detail pages anyway. However if you have inserted HTML in your descriptions then you will need to remove it before June. If an HTML tag is used in any line of a product description, the line will be removed or shown without HTML formatting, depending on the usage of the tag from the 8th of June.
Amazon HTML Ban special use case
There is just one HTML code that Amazon allows as a special use case and that’s a line break. Other than that, Amazon mandatae that you do not use HTML, DHTML, JavaScript or other types of code in your product detail pages.
As a special case, you can use line breaks (</br>) as necessary in the description.
Amazon also remind merchants to comply with the relevant style guide for the product you are listing. You can find links to all Amazon style guides for UK listings here.
For more information about Amazon Product Detail Page requirements, visit the help page on Amazon here.
3 Responses
Although it is agreeable that all of the random bullet point emojis should go, or be standardized, a “bold” header at the top of the description and a decent and relevant “bullet points” list are in my opinion essential for a neat and easy to read description.
These very basic html tags have always been “acceptable” up until now, I see no reason why those basic tags should not be welcomed by Amazon going forward….strange.
You still can use bullets according to guidelines here https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/G/01/Lite_Inventory_Templates/Selling_on_Amazon_Quick_Start_Style_Guide.pdf
Key features
(bullet points)
Highlight the top five features that you want customers to consider. For example:
o Dimensions
o Age appropriateness
o Country of origin
o Warranty information
Begin each bullet point with a capital letter
Write in fragments and do not include ending punctuation
Write all numbers as numerals
Separate phrases in one bullet with semicolons
Spell out measurements, such as quart, inch, or feet
Do not use hyphens, symbols, periods, or exclamation points
Do not write vague statements; be as specific as possible with product features and attributes
Do not enter company-specific information; this section is for product features only
Do not include promotional and pricing information
Do not include shipping or company information. Amazon policy prohibits including seller,
company, or shipping information
Yes, these are the Key Features at the top of the detail page, but a lot of sellers will have used bullets and line breaks within their Product Description which is lower down the page.
It’s unclear whether line breaks will still be permitted. The Amazon News page points to the Help page which says you can use .
“As a special case, you can use line breaks () as necessary in the description.”
Confusingly, in some of the style guides it says you can use so it’s not clear which is still allowed, if any.
“the line will be removed or shown without HTML formatting, depending on the usage of the tag”
– it would be good to understand where the text will be removed.
Some further clarification from Amazon would be good on this.