This guide is intended for the average eBay seller who desires to create attractive and effective item descriptions without needing to learn HTML.  Some eBay User Tools are designed just for that!

The use of HTML and your own web hosting are the primary means for improvement of item descriptions on eBay.  While it is not necessary to learn all the technical details, it is important to gain a general understanding of what HTML is and how web hosting works.  That understanding plays a major role in helping you decide what tools will best serve your needs.

What is HTML and how does it help to improve the effectiveness of item descriptions?

HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) is the standard formatting language that enables colors, pictures, links, background wallpapers, and design layouts in web pages.  Because HTML is allowed in eBay Store and auction item descriptions, much (but not all) of what is possible with web pages you see on the Internet becomes possible within item descriptions.  Beyond the ability to create attractive presentations you gain the opportunity to:

1. Display of as many photos as you desire in the body of your item descriptions
2. Retain full control over the display size of those photos
3. Place text in proximity to each individual photo to point out and emphasize features
4. Create layouts that enhance readability of text while including more key words to help with search results
5. Promote your other items for sale on eBay, including clickable links

What is “Web Hosting” and why is that important for improving item descriptions?

For most sellers, the single most important way to improve item descriptions is to display more and better quality photos within them.  eBay’s built-in picture services provide the most convenient way to display more photos in your item listings but lack the complete control over photos that is possible when using your own web hosting instead.  For example, if you need to display more than 12 pictures with your item or desire to display them wherever you want in the body of your item descriptions you can not do that using eBay picture services alone.  You need your own web hosting.

Here’s how web hosting works:  When you look at a web page it is natural to think of the images (graphics, background wallpapers, photos, etc.) as embedded physically into the presentation.  Actually they are not.  Instead, via HTML, a place is reserved for them and they are fetched for display from storage locations on the Internet.  Even when you list an item on eBay using only eBay picture services, the process of choosing pictures from your computer consists of them being copied from your computer to a location on the Internet (somewhere on eBay’s servers).  The individual location at which any given image is stored on the web becomes its URL (Uniform Resource Locator).  That URL is the means by which an image is found.

So, using your own web hosting consists of placing your pictures (uploading them) into web space provided to you by your web host.  Then they become available via their URLs for display in your item descriptions.

That all sounds pretty technical.  Thankfully, there are tools to help...

You may take advantage of the power of HTML by use of tools designed for that purpose, including many that avoid the need to learn any HTML.  Depending on the tool, you may also gain support for using your own web hosting to display images in the body of your item descriptions.  There are four basic types of tools available, “HTML Editors”, “Interactive Design Tools”, “Fixed Templates”, and “Adaptable Templates”.   Many tools overlap those categories but it helps to learn the fundamental differences so you are not mislead:

HTML Editors

If you are inclined to learn HTML then an HTML editor will provide helpful support in the form of reference libraries for HTML tags, attributes, and syntax.  What characterizes an HTML editor is a structured work surface on which you type in or select HTML codes.  Basically this type of tool amounts to a convenience for programmers.  You may acquire an HTML editor very inexpensively or even for free.  What boosts an HTML editor into more expensive territory is when it includes any type of design interface such as WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) and/or an interface for including images stored on a web host, in which case I categorize it as an Interactive Design Tool (below).

Interactive Design Tools

What I refer to here as “interactive” covers the entire spectrum of possible HTML generators.  Basically, you are provided with a software or online environment that enables you to interactively create a presentation without using HTML directly.  When you are finished the HTML is generated for you.  At the low end of the flexibility spectrum, eBay itself provides such an environment via the “Design View” in their Sell Your Item form and in TurboLister.  At the high end of the flexibility spectrum is software such as Dreamweaver and FrontPage which are comprehensive web development tools.

An Interactive Design Tool has the most potential for balancing flexibility with ease of use.  More important than price, the primary concern is that the tool is designed to match the scope of your specific needs and goals.  Creating item descriptions using Dreamweaver and Front Page, for example, is much like trying to hit a fly with a sledge hammer.

Fixed HTML Templates

Fixed HTML templates consist of HTML that is provided as a stand alone file.  You'll need to edit that file using a plain text editor, such as Microsoft’s “Notepad”, to type in text and URLs.  I call them “fixed” templates because you are not able to significantly alter the layout without learning HTML yourself.  As a result, a fixed template is not really a tool at all.  I’m mentioning them in this guide simply because “templates” are what sellers often think of first when wanting to improve their item descriptions.  Fixed templates are simple from the point of view of the designer but for the user they leave much to be desired.

Adaptable Templates

Some tools make use of basically fixed templates with the important addition of also providing an interface to a web host.  That enables the easy selection of images to display in the finished item description.  You are not required to edit HTML yourself to enter URLs or add in text.

Popular among eBay sellers are web hosting services that provide an assortment of templates you may choose from to create item descriptions.  If you are happy with the selection of templates offered you save yourself the trouble of needing to acquire your own web hosting separately.  The downside of using templates with hosting services is that they often automatically reduce the size of and/or limit the number of photos that can be displayed in the item description.  Additionally, of course, is the inherent inflexibility of templates in general.  Your ability to present your items for sale is limited to what the template designer has provided for.

Conclusions:  Individual Features to Look For

To take full advantage of the power of HTML in your descriptions, without needing to learn HTML, means acquiring software tools or engaging online services that enable you to create your own layouts including the display of any number of photos.  You should be able to place text in proximity to images so you can point out important features, and you should be able to create your own clickable links to other web pages on eBay such as About Me pages, etc.

A big plus and huge time saver is also being able to save what you create for use as your own templates.  You should be able to load up what you have created previously using the tool, and via the interactive environment provided, swap in different photos and text conveniently while leaving portions that don’t need to be changed unaltered.

Overall, that leaves quite a range of possible tools and services to choose from.  To narrow them down, look for tools and/or services that are specifically aimed at producing item descriptions for eBay as opposed to web pages.  There are a huge number of tools for creating web pages, but relatively few that take into consideration the special requirements of eBay sellers.  In fact, there are a great many techniques employed in the creation of web pages that are either not appropriate for use or not allowed by eBay in item descriptions.  Authors of tools designed specifically for use by eBay sellers have been to the school of hard knocks so you don’t have to.

Finally, for maximum convenience and ease of use, you may further narrow down the choices to the tools provided by hosting services.  Such tools are not usually for sale independently of the hosting but you are often provided with free trial periods or demos so you can experiment with them before making a commitment.   If the tools provided by the hosting service meet the criteria above and you are able to retain complete control over the quality of your photos, then you’ve probably found the ideal solution.

I hope this helps!

Rob
About Me