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Free KDP book description HTML generator
Write in plain text, get clean HTML that Amazon KDP’s description field actually accepts — with a live preview, a copy button, and a character counter against the 4,000-character limit (markup included).
Syntax
#### Heading→ <h4> (##### → h5, ###### → h6) · **bold** → <b> · *italic* → <i> · - item → bulleted list · 1. item → numbered list · blank line → new paragraph
Preview (roughly as Amazon renders it)
One night. One locked room. Seven suspects who all have something to hide.
When retired detective Mara Voss agrees to one last dinner party, she doesn't expect the host to be dead before dessert.
What readers are saying
- "Kept me guessing to the very last page"
- "A locked-room mystery worthy of Christie"
Perfect for fans of The Thursday Murder Club and classic whodunits.
Scroll up and grab your copy today.
Generated HTML
<p><b>One night. One locked room. Seven suspects who all have something to hide.</b></p> <p>When retired detective Mara Voss agrees to one last dinner party, she doesn't expect the host to be dead before dessert.</p> <h4>What readers are saying</h4> <ul><li>"Kept me guessing to the very last page"</li><li>"A locked-room mystery worthy of Christie"</li></ul> <p>Perfect for fans of <i>The Thursday Murder Club</i> and classic whodunits.</p> <p><b>Scroll up and grab your copy today.</b></p>
491 / 4,000 characters (HTML markup included)
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Why the description (and its HTML) matters
Your description is sales copy, not a synopsis. Browsers on Amazon skim it in seconds, and Amazon only shows roughly the first few lines before the “Read more” link — so the opening line carries almost all the weight. A wall of unformatted text loses skimmers; a bolded hook, short paragraphs, and a scannable list keep them reading to the buy button.
KDP lets you format the description with HTML, but only a small whitelist of tags. Anything else — headings above h4, links, images, inline styles, whatever Word pastes in — gets stripped, which is how descriptions end up as one mangled paragraph.
HTML tags KDP supports
| Tag | Use for |
|---|---|
| <p>, <br> | Paragraphs and line breaks |
| <b> | Bold — your hook and promise |
| <i>, <em> | Italics — titles, emphasis |
| <u> | Underline (use sparingly) |
| <h4>, <h5>, <h6> | Section headings (h1–h3 are not supported) |
| <ul>, <ol>, <li> | Bulleted and numbered lists |
Not supported: <h1>–<h3>, <a>, <img>, inline styles, and scripts — they’re stripped or disallowed. The limit is 4,000 characters including the markup.
Three structure tips
1. Hook line first.The first sentence is the only one every visitor sees before “Read more”. Make it the book’s sharpest promise or stakes — bolded — not “In this book, you will learn…”
2. Short paragraphs. Two to three sentences each, with a list where it helps. Amazon pages are skimmed on phones; dense paragraphs get scrolled past.
3. Bold the promise, not random words. One bolded hook at the top and one bolded call to action at the bottom outsell a description peppered with bold phrases — when everything is emphasized, nothing is.
Common questions
What HTML does the KDP book description field allow?＋
KDP supports a limited set of tags: <br>, <p>, <b>, <em>, <i>, <u>, <h4>, <h5>, <h6>, <ol>, <ul>, and <li>. Heading tags <h1> through <h3> are not supported, and <img>, <a>, inline styles, and scripts are stripped or disallowed.
Why did my formatting disappear on my Amazon book page?＋
Any tag outside KDP's supported set gets stripped, and the text inside is either flattened or mangled. Descriptions pasted from Word or Google Docs also carry hidden styling that KDP discards. Paste only clean HTML built from the supported tags — that's exactly what this generator outputs.
How long should a KDP book description be?＋
The hard limit is 4,000 characters including the HTML markup, but most strong descriptions run 150 to 250 words. Amazon shows roughly the first few lines before the 'Read more' link, so the opening line does most of the selling — front-load your hook.
Does the 4,000-character limit include the HTML tags?＋
Yes. Every character of markup — <p>, <b>, </li>, all of it — counts against the 4,000-character limit, not just the visible text. That's why the counter on this page measures the generated HTML, not your draft.
Can I put links or images in my KDP description?＋
No. <a> and <img> are not supported in the description field; they get stripped. If you want to point readers somewhere, use your Amazon Author Central page, A+ Content, or the book's own front and back matter.