How do I edit a PrestaShop product's search metadata?

Definition: In PrestaShop 8 documentation, as of 17 October 2026, product search metadata is edited through the Meta title and Meta description fields in the product editor's SEO (search engine optimization) tab. The same tab contains Friendly URL, the field for the readable words in the product's web address.

Key facts

• PrestaShop's Managing Products documentation places product metadata in the SEO tab, alongside a search result preview.
• The SEO and URLs guide requires server support for URL rewriting before friendly URLs work.
• The new product page guide distinguishes Save from Save and publish in the editor's footer.
• Google's snippet documentation explains that search result descriptions can vary with the search query.

Where are the fields, and how are changes saved?

PrestaShop's product management guide locates products under Catalog. Opening a product and selecting its SEO tab gives access to Meta title, Meta description, and Friendly URL. The product's language selector changes the language being edited; the documentation calls for translating fields into each supported shop language.

The new product page documentation for PrestaShop 8.1 describes the footer controls: Save stores a new or offline product, while Save and publish stores the product and publishes it in the shop. The footer also offers previewing changes.

What belongs in the title and description?

The Managing Products guide recommends a factual Meta title unique to the product within the site. Meta description provides a brief presentation of that specific product and should also be unique. The guide recommends fewer than 155 characters for this description.

Google's description guidance sets no fixed maximum length for a meta description; it truncates the displayed snippet as needed, typically to fit the device width. Google's title link documentation also identifies multiple sources for the clickable search result title, including the page's title element and headings. The editor's preview therefore serves as an editing aid; the displayed search result depends on the search engine's selection.

How is the friendly URL edited?

The product guide instructs merchants to enter the desired words in Friendly URL, separated by hyphens. Reset URL generates a value from the product name, which remains editable afterward.

The SEO and URLs documentation gives a product address containing this readable value:

printed-chiffon-dress

Its example address is /summer-dresses/7-printed-chiffon-dress.html. The complete address also depends on the shop's URL route configuration. The documentation states that the product identifier remains in the address by default.

URL rewriting is configured in SEO & URLs, under Set up URLs. The same guide names Apache's mod_rewrite as an example of server support and warns that enabling friendly URLs without compatible hosting can make the shop unavailable.

Related terms

• How do I enable friendly URLs in PrestaShop?
• How do I edit metadata for PrestaShop system pages?
• How do I translate PrestaShop product descriptions?
• Does Google require a fixed meta description length?

FAQ

Can I regenerate the friendly URL from the product name?

Yes. PrestaShop's product guide documents Reset URL for generating the value from the product name. You can edit the generated value afterward.

Does Google always display my meta description?

Google's snippet guide says snippets primarily come from page content. Google sometimes uses your meta description when it provides a more accurate summary for the search.

Sources

1. PrestaShop Project, "Managing Products", undated
2. PrestaShop Project, "SEO and URLs", undated
3. PrestaShop Project, "New product page (PrestaShop 8.1)", undated
4. Google Search Central, "Control your snippets in search results", updated 20 April 2026
5. Google Search Central, "Influencing your title links in search results", updated 10 December 2025

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