Etsy's New Web Service Is Its Answer to Wordpress and Squarespace Sellers on the ecommerce platform can now set up their own customized websites.
By Nina Zipkin
Etsy has stitched its way into the custom website space.
The ecommerce marketplace yesterday rolled out a new way for its users to showcase and sell their products. Using Pattern, a custom website creator that links up with existing Etsy shops, sellers can select a custom domain and all the information from the seller's existing Etsy shop -- listings, product descriptions and images, inventory and current orders -- will be added to a new mobile-friendly site.
Related: This Teen Paid for College by Selling on Etsy. Here Are 5 Ways She Did It.
The company says that over a third of Etsy users are interested in a site of their own, and with this new option, the platform is competing with other website creators such as Squarespace, Wix, Wordpress and Weebly while establishing a new revenue stream and adding to its suite of services.
The tools that Etsy has in place for payment processing, checkout and shipping will remain the same, and Pattern provides analytic statistics. There are no storage limits for the sites. For the launch of the service, Etsy is offering a 30-day free trial and then afterwards, sellers pay $15 a month.
Related: New Feature Enables Etsy Sellers to Shoot and Edit Product Videos From Smartphones
The emphasis that the company is putting on reaching customers through mobile is in line with the January release of a video editing feature on the Sell on Etsy app. That feature allows users to edit and upload video content they film on their smartphones to their shops.