Etsy has carved a niche in the e-commerce market, offering a platform for artisans, craftspeople and vintage collectors to sell their unique goods. With its established community and vast user base, it provides an excellent starting point for many online sellers. However, complementing your Etsy shop with your own website can unlock a host of benefits and opportunities. In this post, we look at how setting up a website can prove advantageous for Etsy sellers.
- Improve brand identity
While you can personalise your store on Etsy, as a seller, you are limited by the platform’s design constraints. With your own website, you have the freedom to express your brand identity fully. From choosing specific colours, fonts and layouts to creating a distinct look and feel that reflects your brand’s values, a website can be customised to meet your vision and help you connect more deeply with customers and visitors. - Deal directly with customers
Etsy works as an intermediary, facilitating the relationship between buyers and sellers. By having your own website, you can establish a direct line of communication with your customers. Whether this is through newsletters, online chat, comments or feedback forms, a website lets you communicate in the way that best suits the needs of your customers. And by communicating in line with their preferences, you can deliver better experiences, build stronger relationships and encourage loyalty. - Reduced fees
One of the common grievances with third-party eCommerce platforms is the fees associated with listing and selling products. These fees can eat into your margins and, ultimately, your profits. By selling items on your own website, you won’t need to pay these fees, giving you the potential to earn more income. Of course, there is also a cost to maintaining a website; however, with the right strategy, this can often work out to be more cost-effective. - An additional sales channel
Relying solely on third-party platforms for sales can be a risky move. Changes in platform algorithms, increased competition, rising fees and platform downtime can affect your visibility and sales. By having your own website as a secondary sales channel, you not only reduce the risks but also increase the potential to boost your revenue. Who knows, you might find your website selling so well that it becomes your primary outlet. - Get found on search engines
While Etsy does have an internal search engine, having a website allows you to feature in search engine results and reach billions of people searching for products on Google, Bing and other engines worldwide. With proper search engine optimisation (SEO), your products and brand can reach an enormous audience, and this can have an incredible impact on sales. - More marketing opportunities
With your own website, you’re not restricted to the marketing tools provided by Etsy. You can run digital marketing campaigns, send newsletters, use retargeting strategies or even integrate with third-party tools and platforms. This flexibility can be vital in growing your online presence and attracting more customers. - Testimonials and reviews
Though Etsy does have a review system, with your own website you have greater control and tailor your own approach to social proof. For example, you can publish customer testimonials and feedback, post detailed case studies and add videos, photo galleries and portfolios. These can give potential customers a more comprehensive insight into the quality of your products and customer service. - Create a blog
Content marketing is a powerful and widely used tool that can attract, engage and convert visitors into loyal customers. Adding a blog section to your website lets you showcase your expertise with how-to guides, product usage tips and other forms of content, helping to position you as a leader in your field. Over time, this can attract new customers, raise the profile of your brand and increase the value of your products. What’s more, you can share your blog content on social media sites and when users click on it, they are instantly taken to your website.
Conclusion
While Etsy is an excellent platform for sellers to kickstart their online retail journey, a website can take their business to even greater heights. By providing improved brand identity, direct customer communications, greater flexibility over marketing and potential savings in selling fees, a website is the perfect way to complement your Etsy shop and maximise your online potential.
If you are an Etsy seller looking to create your own eCommerce website, check out our Website Builder, WordPress Hosting or Magento Hosting plans. All plans enable you to build professional online shops with ease and provide a range of features and tools to make running your site simple and hassle-free – including 24/7 technical support.
