Random symbols appeared in product descriptions

Shopify Discussion

Topic summary

Issue: Random symbols (e.g.,  ) suddenly appear across many Shopify product descriptions on all devices, but only within the description field. They show between words, at sentence ends, and sometimes replace letters. This began shortly after a product CSV export/import; the store has thousands of long descriptions.

Analysis: Likely a CSV formatting/encoding problem caused by the spreadsheet tool used during export/import.

Key terms: CSV (comma-separated values file used to bulk import/export data). UTF-8 (a standard text encoding); non‑UTF‑8 exports can introduce unintended characters.

Recommended actions:

  • Review the CSV files and re‑export/import using UTF‑8 encoding.
  • If using Excel, explicitly set the file type/encoding before export.
  • Prefer Google Sheets for managing CSVs to avoid encoding issues.
  • Duplicate CSVs before altering formats to preserve data.

Status: Troubleshooting guidance provided; no confirmed fix reported yet. Discussion remains open.

Summarized with AI on January 13. AI used: gpt-5.
1

Hi there any help would be much appreciated!

We have had random symbols appear such as   throughout much of our product descriptions. We have 1000s of products with quite lengthy descriptions. These symbols are appearing in the text in the spaces between words, at the end of sentences, and in some cases replacing letters. They just appeared in the last few days and are showing on every device. The symbols are only appearing in the actual product description part, not other areas of the product listing text.

We exported and reimported our products using csv last week, that is the only recent change that we have made.

Any advise or information would be hugely helpful!

2

Hi @olibrinicombe

Thank you for reaching out about this! This sounds like a CSV formatting issue, which can happen depending on the spreadsheet tool you are using. It is important that your CSV files are exported in UTF-8 format, other formats can create unwanted characters like you are experiencing: Shopify Help Center | CSV files.

If using Excel for your CSV files, you may need to ensure that you are changing the file type before exporting the file. We recommend using Google Sheets for managing your CSV files. I recommend reviewing your CSV files and make sure to duplicate them before trying to alter their format.