Etsy vs. Your Own Website: Why You Need Both for Your Business

Do you have any items that got banned from Etsy and you don’t know why they banned your products? Are you thinking about trying a different platform but finding it quite hard to lead traffic? Today, we will explain the differences between Etsy and Shopify and tell you how you can use both platforms to your advantage.

Different Business Models: Complementary, Not Competing

Etsy: Etsy functions like renting a spot in a bustling shopping mall. It’s a marketplace with a built-in audience, which can drive significant traffic to your shop. This is particularly advantageous for new sellers who don’t yet have a large customer base. However, Etsy has limitations; it does not allow you to link directly to external websites, and you have less control over customer data and branding.

Own Website (Shopify): A website built on Shopify, on the other hand, is akin to owning your own branded store. You have complete control over the design, branding, and customer experience. Importantly, you can collect and keep customer information, which is invaluable for future marketing and personalized advertising. Shopify allows you to build a strong, independent brand and run targeted marketing campaigns using customer data.

Why You Need Both

Etsy for Traffic and Exposure: Etsy’s marketplace brings a large volume of traffic to your products, which is ideal for gaining initial exposure and attracting new customers. Since Etsy is a well-known platform, customers trust it and are more likely to make a purchase from a new seller. The downside is the competition; with many sellers in the same niche, standing out can be challenging.

Shopify for Brand Building and Customer Retention: While Etsy is great for visibility, a Shopify website is essential for building your brand. With Shopify, you can create a unique online store that reflects your brand’s identity. You have the freedom to design every aspect of your site and create a seamless customer experience. Collecting customer emails and other data allows you to engage with your customers directly through newsletters and targeted ads, fostering loyalty and repeat business.

Ease of Setup and Use

Etsy: Etsy is known for its user-friendly interface and ease of setup. With just a few clicks, you can create a storefront, list your products, and start selling. The platform's simplicity is ideal for those who are new to e-commerce or looking for a quick start. Integrated seller tools, including inventory management and shipping solutions, streamline the process further.

Shopify: Setting up your own website on Shopify requires more effort but offers more rewards. You'll need to choose a domain name, select a hosting provider, and design your site. Shopify simplifies this with an intuitive setup process, offering numerous templates and drag-and-drop design tools. Additionally, Shopify provides comprehensive guides and 24/7 support to help you through the setup process.

Costs and Fees

Etsy: Etsy charges various fees, including listing fees of $0.20 per item, transaction fees of 5% per sale, and payment processing fees of 3% plus $0.25. These costs can add up, particularly for high-volume sellers. Etsy also offers a 30-day free trial of its Etsy Plus plan, which provides 15 listing credits and $5 in ad spend per month. After the trial, the plan costs $10 per month, offering additional features like discounts, customer restock requests, and more banner options.

Shopify: Running an independent website involves costs such as domain registration (approximately $10-$20/year), hosting fees (starting around $29/month for Shopify), and platform subscriptions. Shopify plans range from $29 to $299 per month, with transaction fees varying by plan. Shopify offers a three-day free trial, followed by a one-month trial for $1. For multichannel retailers, the $79 per month option (paid annually) is ideal, while stores requiring advanced reporting can benefit from the $299-per-month plan. Shopify Lite is available for $9 per month for those who want to add credit card payment capabilities to an existing site. Although there are transaction fees, the overall costs can be lower for high-volume sellers, making it a more cost-effective option in the long run.

Control Over Branding and Design

Etsy: Etsy provides a consistent look and feel across all stores, which can limit your ability to stand out. While you can customize your store's banner and logo, you're still operating within Etsy's design constraints. This uniformity can make it challenging to establish a unique brand identity.

Shopify: With your own website, you have full control over the design and branding. You can customize every aspect of your site, from the layout and color scheme to the fonts and imagery. This freedom allows you to create a cohesive and memorable brand experience for your customers. Shopify offers a variety of professional themes and the ability to use custom HTML and CSS for further customization.

Marketing and SEO

Etsy: Etsy has a built-in audience, which can be a significant advantage for new sellers. The platform also offers marketing tools and advertising options to help you reach potential buyers. However, you're competing with countless other sellers, making it challenging to stand out. Etsy's internal SEO is based on tags, titles, and descriptions, which can limit broader search engine visibility.

Shopify: An independent website gives you complete control over your marketing and SEO strategies. Platforms like Shopify offer robust SEO tools, email marketing integrations, and social media features. You can tailor your marketing efforts to your specific audience, driving targeted traffic to your site. Shopify also supports Google Analytics, Facebook Ads, and other third-party marketing tools to enhance your reach.

Customer Data and Relationship

Etsy: On Etsy, your access to customer data is limited. This restriction can make it difficult to build direct relationships with your customers and personalize your marketing efforts. Etsy handles the majority of customer interactions and communications, which can distance you from your buyers. Additionally, Etsy doesn’t provide customer email addresses, limiting your ability to build a customer base outside of the marketplace.

Shopify: Owning your website means owning your customer data. You can gather detailed insights into your customers' behaviors and preferences, allowing you to create personalized marketing campaigns and build long-term relationships. Shopify provides built-in customer management tools and supports integration with CRM systems to help you manage and analyze customer data effectively. With Shopify, you can collect customer emails (with their consent) and use them for targeted marketing campaigns, ensuring a direct line of communication with your audience.

Scalability and Growth Potential

Etsy: Etsy is perfect for small-scale operations, but it may present challenges as your business grows. The competitive marketplace environment can make it difficult to scale. Additionally, the reliance on Etsy's platform means that any changes to their policies or algorithms can significantly impact your business.

Shopify: An independent website, particularly on a scalable platform like Shopify, can grow with your business. You can add new features, products, and sales channels as needed, supporting your long-term business goals. Shopify supports multi-channel selling, allowing you to integrate with Amazon, eBay, Facebook, Instagram, and more. This flexibility ensures that your business can adapt and expand without limitations. Many Etsy shop owners also host a storefront on platforms like Shopify to leverage both the marketplace exposure of Etsy and the branding freedom of their own website.

Customer Support

Etsy: Etsy provides customer support via email and chat, but getting phone support can be tricky. You must select a phone-based problem within its customer service tree to get a phone number. Most questions will make you email and wait for a response in two to five business days.

Shopify: Shopify sellers can access customer support 24/7 via chat, email, and phone. The platform is known for its excellent customer service, providing quick and comprehensive assistance whenever needed.

Storefront Design

Etsy: While Etsy is simply a marketplace, Etsy Pattern is a way to create your own website working in conjunction with your Etsy Shop. However, it still operates within the constraints of Etsy's design and functionality.

Shopify: Shopify lets you create your own storefront with drag-and-drop design tools. With both platforms, sellers have access to standard templates to use for their policies and procedures, which is beneficial for sellers who don’t know how to articulate shop policies or those who don’t know what their policies should be.

The Biggest Difference Between Shopify and Etsy

A key difference between Etsy and Shopify is Etsy doesn’t give you customer emails, so you can’t build your customer base except through its marketplace. Customers can “heart” your Etsy shop and get notifications of new products, but it’s not the same as being able to send marketing emails to customers. This is a problem should the Etsy platform ever go away. Note that this scenario doesn’t apply if you have Etsy Pattern, which does allow email marketing.

With Shopify, you don’t have that issue; provided your customer opts into emails at checkout, you can send newsletters and store updates. Even if Shopify were to shut down, you’d still have your list of customers to market to.

It’s important to note that many Etsy shop owners also host a storefront on platforms like Shopify and Squarespace. The reason for this is that Etsy is a huge marketplace, and users can get their products in front of many people. They can’t do that with Shopify if they don’t already have a list to market to.

By having dual stores, when you mail a package to an Etsy customer, you can include a business card with a discount code for their purchases through your Shopify store. Once a shop is making enough money through Shopify, they often drop the Etsy store to help save on fees.

Both Etsy and Shopify provide sellers with a way to get their goods in the hands of customers after they’ve made a purchase online. Shopify charges a per-transaction fee and a monthly plan fee. Etsy charges multiple fees per sale and for listing items but charges no monthly fee for its base service. If you’re new to selling and don’t have a list of customers already, use Etsy if you sell handmade goods or artisan services. Shopify is great for retail sellers with an established customer base.

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