diff --git a/readthedocs/core/templatetags/core_tags.py b/readthedocs/core/templatetags/core_tags.py
index 3eb9e08beef..15405ca19b3 100644
--- a/readthedocs/core/templatetags/core_tags.py
+++ b/readthedocs/core/templatetags/core_tags.py
@@ -53,44 +53,6 @@ def make_document_url(project, version=None, page='', path=''):
     return resolve(project=project, version_slug=version, filename=filename)
 
 
-@register.filter(is_safe=True)
-def restructuredtext(value, short=False):
-    try:
-        from docutils.core import publish_parts
-        from docutils import ApplicationError
-    except ImportError:
-        if settings.DEBUG:
-            raise template.TemplateSyntaxError(
-                "Error in 'restructuredtext' filter: "
-                "The Python docutils library isn't installed.",
-            )
-        return force_text(value)
-    else:
-        docutils_settings = {
-            'raw_enabled': False,
-            'file_insertion_enabled': False,
-        }
-        docutils_settings.update(
-            settings.RESTRUCTUREDTEXT_FILTER_SETTINGS,
-        )
-        try:
-            parts = publish_parts(
-                source=force_bytes(value),
-                writer_name='html4css1',
-                settings_overrides=docutils_settings,
-            )
-        except ApplicationError:
-            return force_text(value)
-
-        out = force_text(parts['fragment'])
-        try:
-            if short:
-                out = out.split('\n')[0]
-        except IndexError:
-            pass
-        return mark_safe(out)
-
-
 @register.filter
 def get_project(slug):
     try:
diff --git a/readthedocs/projects/forms.py b/readthedocs/projects/forms.py
index fcfc470d12d..74837172a6b 100644
--- a/readthedocs/projects/forms.py
+++ b/readthedocs/projects/forms.py
@@ -174,6 +174,7 @@ class Meta:
     description = forms.CharField(
         validators=[ClassifierValidator(raises=ProjectSpamError)],
         required=False,
+        max_length=150,
         widget=forms.Textarea,
     )
 
diff --git a/readthedocs/projects/migrations/0055_change_help_text_description.py b/readthedocs/projects/migrations/0055_change_help_text_description.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..88c95d6dc31
--- /dev/null
+++ b/readthedocs/projects/migrations/0055_change_help_text_description.py
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+# Generated by Django 2.2.12 on 2020-06-11 23:55
+
+from django.db import migrations, models
+
+
+class Migration(migrations.Migration):
+
+    dependencies = [
+        ('projects', '0054_urlconf_blank'),
+    ]
+
+    operations = [
+        migrations.AlterField(
+            model_name='project',
+            name='description',
+            field=models.TextField(blank=True, help_text='Short description of this project', verbose_name='Description'),
+        ),
+    ]
diff --git a/readthedocs/projects/models.py b/readthedocs/projects/models.py
index 0214a93e846..3ce14ea972a 100644
--- a/readthedocs/projects/models.py
+++ b/readthedocs/projects/models.py
@@ -122,10 +122,7 @@ class Project(models.Model):
     description = models.TextField(
         _('Description'),
         blank=True,
-        help_text=_(
-            'The reStructuredText '
-            'description of the project',
-        ),
+        help_text=_('Short description of this project'),
     )
     repo = models.CharField(
         _('Repository URL'),
diff --git a/readthedocs/rtd_tests/tests/test_core_tags.py b/readthedocs/rtd_tests/tests/test_core_tags.py
index 18fe5098ca2..111be2cf0f6 100644
--- a/readthedocs/rtd_tests/tests/test_core_tags.py
+++ b/readthedocs/rtd_tests/tests/test_core_tags.py
@@ -92,20 +92,6 @@ def test_mkdocs_index_no_directory_urls(self):
         url = core_tags.make_document_url(proj, LATEST, 'index', 'index.html')
         self.assertEqual(url, self.pip_latest_url_index)
 
-    def test_restructured_text(self):
-        value = '*test*'
-        result = core_tags.restructuredtext(value)
-        self.assertIn('<em>test</em>', result)
-
-    def test_restructured_text_invalid(self):
-        value = (
-            '*******\n'
-            'Test\n'
-            '****\n\n'
-        )
-        result = core_tags.restructuredtext(value)
-        self.assertEqual(result, value)
-
     def test_escapejson(self):
         tests = (
             ({}, '{}'),
diff --git a/readthedocs/templates/core/project_details.html b/readthedocs/templates/core/project_details.html
index 205d296cd2a..694f4ddbf9c 100644
--- a/readthedocs/templates/core/project_details.html
+++ b/readthedocs/templates/core/project_details.html
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ <h3>{% trans "Build a version" %}</h3>
 <div id="project_description">
   <h3>{% trans "Description" %}</h3>
   <p>
-    {{ project.description|restructuredtext }}
+    {{ project.description }}
   </p>
 </div>
 {% endif %}