As an Etsy store owner, you’re used to being under control by these market places. It’s time to take control and make your own store, which is yours to completely control. Why should you have your own store? What are the benefits of an Etsy store owner having their own website? What is the best way to build your website? What is the most cost-effective way of doing it?
Why Etsy is great
- No setup costs!
Anyone can set up an Etsy store at any time for basically nothing. You pay a small fee per listing and transaction but there are no domain or hosting fees. So there is nothing stopping anyone from starting. - Short set up time
You can set up and start selling on Etsy is less than an hour, you just need a name, listings, pictures and description. There is no faff with having to design your own website. - Search engine for sellers
Having your shop instantly gives you access to millions of search, which gives you a much better chance of people finding your store. - Instant Trust
People trust Etsy, they have their own customer service system. Payment protection and a trusted platform all means people aren’t afraid of buying from you. - Reliable
You won’t have to worry about technical issues like website bugs, or slow loading times. Everything is ran on Etsy so there is very little chance of down time. - Community
There is a great community on Etsy of other artists and makers that it’s nice to be a part of and you can easily find yourself making friends and expanding your connections. - Here’s a great article able Etsy store Pro’s and Con’s https://www.forafinancial.com/blog/industries-we-serve/pros-cons-starting-etsy-store/
Downsides of Etsy
- Selling fees
Any payment processor, like Paypal or Stripe, will take a small cut, even on your own eCommerce website. However, Etsy takes a larger cut of each item you sell, because they don’t charge a setup fee for creating a shop. They also automatically run Etsy ads, which can increase your sales but you don’t have much choice in the matter and this takes a large chunk out of your profits. - Highly competitive
Unless your products are super niche and completely unique it can be very hard to stand out and get found on Etsy. Much like Google, Esty is a sort of search engine for small shop owners, it can be very hard to rank high. You need to constantly stay up to date on your Etsy SEO listing otherwise you will fall down the rankings making it harder for people to find your products. - Limited brand awareness
On your Etsy shop page, you can set your logo, shop name, background picture but that’s about it. This lack of customisation makes it very hard for your shop to stand out. You won’t be able to establish any brand identity. With your own website you can pretty much do anything you like. - No ownership = more risk
Having your shop in Etsy and only Etsy is a risky game. If something happens to Etsy or they decide to bad you (which does happen) then your business could be gone over night.
Why should you have your own website as an Etsy store owner?
Building a stand-alone site for your Etsy store is a big step forward. Many of you probably started your business on Etsy so it’s might sound intimidating to make your own. And while Etsy is great, the amount of competition on there will make it hard for your business to grow. As well as this you won’t be able to build any brand awareness and make your business stand out. Many people that shop on Etsy won’t remember your brand, and when people buy from you, they will simply say “I got it on Etsy” instead of your brand name.
If you only have your business on Etsy you are surrounding your business with competition constantly, which will always lead to people buying elsewhere or at the lowest price. Etsy offers limited to design but with your own website, you have unlimited possibilities on what you can show your customers. You basically have unlimited design options and as much space as you need to creatively get your brand across. You use as much copy as you need to hook the customer in and tell them your story, and use imagery to get across the mission and personality of your business.
You also have a lot more say in store policies. Customer service is a big part of any business so having your own ecommerce store allows you set your own returns policy, refunds, and shipping. On top of this you will have a higher profit margin because their will be less fees (like Etsy fees) to pay, and you will only have to pay payment process fees. On top of this you can also add to your business by adding blogs, events, memberships and a lot more.
Basically having your own website gives you unparrelled control of your brand and business.
Some areas you might want to consider when making your own eCommerce website
Time and Cost
Making a website can be pretty time consuming, getting the design right, adding all of your products, learning the CMS or website builder that you chose. You could opt to hire a website developer like us to do it for you. Our prices start from just £35 a month with no upfront cost. This was you can focus on building your online store rather than having to learn how to make it first. Our package also includes hosting so you won’t need to worry about monthly costs, saving you time and money.
Maintenance
Looking after your website can also be fairly difficult if you don’t know-how. Adding products to your store, updating the design and adding discount codes. We can also help you
Having your own website gives you amazing freedom but you need to take into consideration but you need to bring traffic to your website. This could be in the form of SEO, Paid advertising, directly through social media. Once you establish yourself on your website, I highly recommend creating a blog on your site. This will draw more search engine traffic and give it an extra personal touch.
If you are looking for a website to be built for you we can do this for as little as £35 a month. We make your website, host it and make any changes you would like each month. Contact us for more info.
Best Website Builder for Etsy Shop
If you are used to Etsy then you might not want to make a website from scratch so we’ve put together a helpful list of easy ways to make your website and the best website builder for etsy shops.
- Let us make your website for just £25 a month. This is a great option if you just want it taken care of and you don’t want the bother of making it yourself. We have no set up fees and we’ll just do the whole website for you. We sort out the website hosting, domain names and everything you need to start selling online using your very own website. You literally don’t have to do anything. Shopify also costs £25 a month but you have to make it yourself, we’ll do it all for you! Click here to find out more, https://developerrocket.com/pay-monthly-websites-landing/
- Shopify: this platform was made specificy for online stores. They make it very easy to make a website and it has tonnes of integrations. It’s definatly one of the best platforms out there for Etsy shop owners. The only issue is it can get a little complex for new users and it doesnt offer a huge range of customisation.
The takeaway
Having both your own Website and Etsy store is the ideal scenario, having your products out there wherever you can is the best advice I can give. Etsy is an amazing place to start your business as it’s free to set up and gets your product in front of millions. But your own website will set you apart from other small business owners and allow you to customise your brand as much as you like!
If you would like more info about how to make your own website and more I recommend these posts