Settings and Configuration Guide

1. Overview

SmartDescribe Lite provides a small set of configuration options that control how Google Gemini AI generates alternative text (alt text) for your WooCommerce product featured images.

Configuring these settings helps you produce descriptions that suit your store’s brand, product range and accessibility needs.

This guide explains the available settings and provides practical recommendations for configuring SmartDescribe Lite.

2. Open the Settings Page

1. Log in to your WordPress administration dashboard.
2. Locate SmartDescribe Lite in the left-hand menu.
3. Click Settings.

The settings page contains the Google Gemini API key field, writing tone selection and character limit control.

3. Google Gemini API Key

The API key connects SmartDescribe Lite to Google Gemini so the plugin can request AI-generated alt text.

Configure Your API Key

1. Obtain an API key through Google AI Studio.
2. Open SmartDescribe Lite → Settings.
3. Enter your API key in the Google Gemini API key field.
4. Save your settings.
5. Click Test Connection to check whether the connection works.

Important: Save your settings before testing the connection.

If the connection test fails, check that the key is correct and that your Google account and API project have the required access.

Keep your API key private. Do not include it in public support requests, screenshots or website content.

For detailed instructions, see SmartDescribe Lite — AI Provider Setup and API Configuration.

4. Writing Tone

The writing tone setting influences the style of the generated alt text.

SmartDescribe Lite offers four options.

Professional

Produces a straightforward, businesslike style.

Suitable for: Professional retailers, specialist product stores and businesses that prefer neutral descriptions.

Friendly

Encourages a more approachable and natural style.

Suitable for: Handmade businesses, artists, craft sellers and independent stores with a welcoming brand voice.

Descriptive

Encourages descriptions that communicate useful visual details.

Suitable for: Decorative items, handmade products, artwork and products with distinctive visual features.

Concise

Encourages short, direct descriptions.

Suitable for: Stores that prefer minimal wording and straightforward image descriptions.

Choosing the Right Tone

Choose the tone that best suits your business and customers.

For example, a handmade craft store might prefer Friendly or Descriptive, while a specialist equipment store might prefer Professional or Concise.

The tone setting influences the generated wording; it does not guarantee a particular writing style or make an inaccurate description correct.

5. Character Limit

The character limit setting controls the intended length of the generated alt text.

The available setting range is 50–500 characters.

How to Choose a Limit

Consider the type of images in your catalogue.

• Shorter descriptions: Useful when the image can be explained clearly in a few words.
• Moderate descriptions: Useful when colour, shape, material or decoration helps identify the product.
• Longer descriptions: May be useful for visually complex products when additional detail is necessary.

A longer description is not automatically better. The goal is to provide useful information without unnecessary wording.

For many product images, start with a relatively concise limit and review the results before deciding whether to increase it.

Important Considerations

The character limit is a configuration setting for the generation process. Always review the generated text to ensure it remains accurate, readable and useful.

Do not add unnecessary keywords simply to use the available character allowance.

6. Save Your Settings

After changing the writing tone or character limit:

1. Review your selections.
2. Click the settings page’s save button.
3. Wait for the settings to be saved.
4. Return to the Products screen.
5. Test your updated preferences on an individual product.

Saving the settings before running an optimisation helps ensure that your next request uses your intended configuration.

If the results do not reflect your changes, revisit the settings page and confirm that the new values were saved.

7. Recommended Settings for Different Stores

The following are starting points, not mandatory configurations.

Store type	Suggested tone	Suggested approach
Handmade and craft products	Friendly or Descriptive	Include useful visual details that distinguish each item.
Artwork and decorative products	Descriptive	Emphasise visible colours, patterns and distinctive features.
General retail	Professional	Keep descriptions clear and product-focused.
Minimalist product catalogue	Concise	Prioritise the most important visual information.
Large mixed catalogue	Professional or Friendly	Test a representative selection before bulk optimisation.

Your ideal configuration will depend on your products, images and brand voice.

8. Test Before Bulk Optimisation

Before applying your settings to a large selection of products, test them on a few individual products.

Choose products with different visual characteristics, such as:

• A simple product image.
• A colourful or decorative product.
• A handmade or one-of-a-kind item.
• A product with existing alt text.

Review the generated descriptions and consider whether the selected tone and character limit produce useful results across your catalogue.

If necessary, adjust the settings, save them and test again.

Once you are satisfied with the results, you can proceed with bulk optimisation.

9. What SmartDescribe Lite Settings Do Not Control

SmartDescribe Lite’s settings focus on the AI provider connection and generated alt text.

They do not provide the advanced configuration features available in SmartDescribe Pro, such as multiple AI provider choices, category-specific templates, scheduled optimisation, optimisation history and undo, or SEO plugin integrations.

SmartDescribe Lite is designed to provide a straightforward way to generate alt text using Google Gemini.

10. Common Settings Problems

The API Connection Test Fails

Check that your API key is correct, save the settings and try the test again.

If the problem continues, check Google Gemini access, usage limits and any error message returned by the plugin.

The Writing Tone Does Not Seem to Change the Results

AI generation can vary, and the selected tone is guidance rather than a guarantee.

Test several products to see whether the results consistently suit your store. Review the product information and image quality if the descriptions are not appropriate.

The Generated Text Is Too Long

Open SmartDescribe Lite → Settings, reduce the character limit and save the settings.

Test the new configuration on an individual product.

The Generated Text Is Too Short

Consider increasing the character limit if additional visual information would help customers understand the image.

Avoid adding detail that cannot be verified from the image.

Changes Do Not Appear to Take Effect

1. Return to the settings page.
2. Confirm that the new values are selected.
3. Save the settings again.
4. Run a new optimisation on a test product.
5. Review the resulting alt text.

11. Best Practices

For reliable results:

• Keep your Google Gemini API key secure.
• Choose a writing tone that matches your brand.
• Use a sensible character limit.
• Test settings before bulk optimisation.
• Check that generated descriptions accurately represent the images.
• Avoid repetitive keyword insertion.
• Preserve existing alt text separately if you may need to restore it.
• Review important products after optimisation.

Remember that useful alt text should describe the image, not simply repeat the product name or attempt to include as many search terms as possible.

12. Final Checklist

Before optimising your catalogue, confirm that:

• Your Google Gemini API key is saved.
• The connection test succeeds.
• Your preferred writing tone is selected.
• Your character limit is appropriate.
• You have tested the settings on individual products.
• The generated descriptions are accurate and readable.
• You have preserved any original alt text you may need.

13. Summary

SmartDescribe Lite keeps configuration straightforward: connect Google Gemini, choose a writing tone and set your preferred character limit.

A small amount of testing before bulk optimisation can help you establish settings that work well across your product catalogue.