What a Minecraft server description has to do
Players scroll past dozens of servers before they pick one. In the few seconds your description gets, it has to answer three questions: what kind of server is this, what makes it different from the others, and is it for someone like me. A description that answers all three gets clicks. One that lists plugins does not.
The same description shows up in more places than most owners expect, each with its own amount of space.
| Place | Room | What to use |
|---|---|---|
| Short description on a server list | One or two sentences | Your one sentence |
| Long description on a server list | A few paragraphs | The sentence, then features, rules and how to join |
| MOTD in the multiplayer menu | Two short lines | The game mode, then news or a hook |
| Discord invite and welcome channel | A short paragraph | The sentence plus where to start |
| Your server website and search results | One line of about 155 characters | The sentence, shortened if needed |
| Video and social posts | The first line before it is cut off | The sentence, then the address |
The one sentence formula
Most good server descriptions follow the same pattern, even when they do not look alike. Start with the game mode, add the thing that makes your server different, and end with who it is for or what a player gets.
| Part | Question it answers | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Game mode | What do I play here? | A whitelisted survival world |
| The difference | Why this one and not another? | with no resets and a shared market town |
| Who it is for | Will I fit in? | for adults who like slow building |
Put together, that becomes: a whitelisted survival world with no resets and a shared market town, for adults who like slow building. It is plain, but a player knows straight away whether they want in.
- Leave out claims any server can make: no lag, friendly staff, lots of plugins, the best server ever.
- Leave out new server looking for players. Say what is new instead, such as a season that just started.
- Name real things players can do, like a weekly build contest, rather than words like fun and unique.
- Skip capital letters for emphasis and rows of symbols. They make a description look like spam.
- Only mention features you actually have today, not the ones planned for later.
24 Minecraft server description examples
Each example below is a short description for a different kind of server. Swap in your own features and keep the structure: game mode first, then the difference, then who it is for.
Survival and SMP
- Small whitelisted SMP
A whitelisted survival world for adults who like slow building, with no resets, a shared market town and a Discord where neighbours actually talk.
- Vanilla survival
Pure vanilla survival on the latest version, with only land claims and a few quality of life commands, so it feels like single player with friends.
- Survival with an economy
Survival with player shops, jobs and a monthly town building contest, where the richest players got there by trading.
- Crossplay survival
A friendly survival world that Java and Bedrock players share, so you can join from a PC, a phone or a console and still build next to your friends.
Skyblock and oneblock
- Classic skyblock
Start on a tiny island in the void, grow it into a floating base and race other islands up the weekly top ten.
- Oneblock
One block under your feet that keeps turning into something new, from dirt all the way to the End, on an island you can share with friends.
- Co-op skyblock
Skyblock made for teams: build an island together, trade in the shared market and finish island challenges as a group.
- Relaxed skyblock
Skyblock without the grind, with no island resets, quick generators and a community that helps new islands get going.
Factions and PvP
- Seasonal factions
Raid, build cannons and defend your base in two week seasons, with a fresh map and a fair start for all factions at the end of each one.
- Hardcore factions
Factions for players who want real stakes: full loot PvP, TNT raiding and a faction leaderboard that resets each season.
- Kit PvP
Pick a kit and fight within seconds. Balanced kits, nothing to buy that helps you win, and a ranked arena that shows who is really the best.
- Survival with PvP zones
Peaceful survival where you choose your fights: PvP is only on in the wilderness and the arena, never inside a claim.
Prison
- Classic prison
Mine your way up from the first cell block to freedom, with custom pickaxes, a player run market and gangs to rank up with.
- Prison with prestige
Prison where the climb keeps going: reach the top, prestige and start again with better enchantments and a new title.
- Casual prison
A calm prison server with short mines, quick rank ups and no need to log in every day to keep up.
- Prison with events
Weekly mine events, a gang leaderboard and a new cell block each season keep prison fresh long after your first rank up.
Creative and building
- Plot creative
Get your own plot on a flat world, build anything you like with WorldEdit and show it off in the monthly build contest.
- Builders community
A creative server for builders who want to get better, with themed contests, feedback from experienced builders and a gallery of winning builds.
- Redstone creative
Creative plots for redstone fans, with fast clocks allowed, a shared test area and a channel full of working machines to learn from.
- Creative for beginners
A patient creative server for new builders, with simple tools, a weekly theme and staff who help you get started.
Minigames and networks
- Minigame network
Bed wars, skywars and parkour on one address, with short queues, fair teams and new maps each month.
- Parkour server
Parkour courses from easy to nearly impossible, with checkpoints, times to beat and a new course every week.
- Event server
A server built around weekly events, from hide and seek to build battles, announced on Discord a few days before they start.
- Small network hub
One address and three worlds: survival, creative plots and a minigame lobby, with one rank and one friends list across all of them.
A long description for server lists
Most server lists have room for a long description under the short one. Players who read it are already interested, so this is where you give them enough to join with confidence. Keep paragraphs short, because many of them read it on a phone.
- Open with your one sentence, word for word.
- Describe three to five things players can do, each in a line or two.
- Say what kind of community it is: the age range, the language and how strict the rules are.
- Explain how to join: the address, the versions, and whether Bedrock players can join too.
- End with your Discord and your website, for players who want to look around first.
| Weak | Better |
|---|---|
| Best server ever!! Join now!!! | A whitelisted survival world with a shared market town and no resets. |
| No lag, friendly staff, lots of plugins. | Survival with player shops, jobs and a monthly build contest. |
| New server looking for players. | A new season started this week: claim land early and help build the first town. |
| We have factions, skyblock, prison and creative. | Skyblock with shared islands and new island challenges every week. |
The other fields on a server list, such as tags, the banner and voting, are covered in the section on server lists and voting of the guide to getting players.
Write a MOTD for the multiplayer menu
The MOTD, short for message of the day, is the text under your server name in the multiplayer menu. It has two lines and sits next to your server icon, the player count and the ping. Players who added your server see it every time they open the menu, so it is also the easiest place to announce news.
- Use the first line for your server name and game mode, so it still makes sense months later.
- Use the second line for something that changes: a new season, an event this weekend or open applications.
- Use one or two colours at most. Colour everything and nothing stands out.
- Check how it looks in the game before you share the address. Long lines are cut off.
- Add a 64 by 64 pixel server icon named server-icon.png, because an empty icon looks like an abandoned server.
| Line 1 | Line 2 |
|---|---|
| Maple SMP: whitelisted survival | Season 3 has started, applications are open |
| Skyblock with shared islands | New island challenges every Monday |
| Factions: two week seasons | Map reset on Friday, claim early |
| Plot creative and build contests | This month's theme: floating castles |
The MOTD is set with the motd line in server.properties, or in the proxy config on a network. The MOTD generator shows a preview of both lines with colours and gives you the text for server.properties, MiniMessage and BungeeCord.
Use the same words on Discord and your website
A player who reads your description on a server list and then opens your Discord or website should recognise the server straight away. When the three say different things, it looks like nobody is keeping track, and players move on.
- Put your one sentence at the top of the welcome or about channel on Discord, followed by where to start.
- Use it as the first text on your website, right under the server name.
- Keep the same server name everywhere, spelled the same way. The guide to server names helps if you are still choosing one.
- Update all of them on the same day when something big changes, such as a new season or a new game mode.
On your website, the description also does work in search results. Search engines show the page title with a short description below it, usually cut off after around 155 characters. If your one sentence is longer than that, write a shorter version for the website and keep the long one for server lists.
How to put your server description on your website
In the website builder, the Description of the first hero or intro section on a page is also the description search engines get for that page. When a page has no such text, the Tagline from Site settings is used instead. This is how you put your one sentence in both places.
Open the website editor
Go to Website in the server panel of Astroworld Hosting or minecrafthosting.cc and open the editor.
Set the site name
Open Site settings and fill in the Site name exactly as it appears on your server lists. It is shown in the header and the browser tab.
Write the tagline
In the Tagline field, paste your one sentence. It is a single line of up to 160 characters, used for search engines on any page without a hero or intro text of its own.
Edit the hero on the home page
Click the hero section at the top of the home page and put your description in Description. Visitors read it first, and search engines show it for your home page.
Add your Discord link
Back in Site settings, paste your invite under Discord link, so visitors who read the description can join the conversation.
Publish the changes
Press Publish. After the automatic content check and a review by our team, usually within a few hours, the new description is on your live site.
Questions about Minecraft server descriptions
How long should a Minecraft server description be?
The short description should be one sentence, ideally under 155 characters so it fits in search results and list previews. A long description for server lists can be a few short paragraphs, around 150 to 300 words.
What should I write in my Minecraft server description?
Start with the game mode, then the one thing that makes your server different, then who it is for. In a long description, add what players can do, what the community is like and how to join.
What is a good MOTD for a Minecraft server?
A first line with the server name and game mode, and a second line with something current, such as a new season or an event. Keep both lines short and use one or two colours at most.
Should I use colours and symbols in my server description?
In the MOTD a little colour helps your server stand out in the multiplayer menu. On server lists and websites, plain text reads better, and rows of symbols or capital letters look like spam.
Can I use the same description on all server lists?
Yes, and it helps players recognise your server. Keep the one sentence the same everywhere, and adjust only the length to fit each list.
How do I make my server description stand out?
Name something specific that other servers do not have, such as a shared market town, two week seasons or a weekly build theme, instead of general claims like no lag or friendly staff.
More server website guides
Get players on a Minecraft serverServer lists, voting, Discord, a website and a first hour that makes people stay: twelve ways to find players and keep them.
Minecraft server name ideasSixty name ideas sorted by game mode, what makes a server name easy to remember and how to check it is still free.
Minecraft server FAQThirty questions players ask about joining, rules, ranks and support, with example answers and tips for a FAQ that saves your staff time.
Minecraft whitelist applicationTwenty questions to ask, a form players can copy, how to review applications fairly and how to add accepted players to the whitelist.