Moving from Etsy to your own website: a guide

Moving from Etsy to your own website gives you lower fees per sale, your own customer list and full control of your brand. But Etsy brings shoppers to you, and your own site won’t. The safest approach is to build your website alongside your Etsy shop, move customers across gradually and only scale Etsy back once your site sells on its own.

This guide covers when it makes sense, the costs on both sides, and a step-by-step plan.

Why sellers move from Etsy to their own website

• Fees. Etsy charges on every sale, and the costs add up as you grow.
• Customers. On Etsy, buyers are Etsy’s customers. On your own site, you can build an email list (with consent) and sell to them again.
• Control. Your own design, your own rules, and no sudden policy or search changes outside your control.
• Brand. People remember “I bought it on Etsy” more than they remember your shop name.
• Competition. On Etsy, similar products from other sellers sit right next to yours.

Why you might keep Etsy too

Etsy’s biggest strength is traffic: shoppers arrive already looking for handmade and vintage items. Your own website starts with no visitors at all. Many sellers end up keeping a smaller Etsy shop for discovery and using their own site for repeat customers and their full range.

Compare the costs properly

As of October 2026, Etsy’s published fees for UK sellers include:

• A listing fee of $0.20 per item (charged in dollars), renewing every four months or when it sells.
• A 6.5% transaction fee on the order total, including delivery.
• Payment processing of 4% plus £0.20.
• Offsite Ads fees of 15% (or 12% for larger shops) on sales that come from Etsy’s ads on other sites. Shops above a sales threshold can’t opt out.
• A small regulatory operating fee in the UK.

Etsy changes its fees from time to time, so check its current fee page before you do your sums.

On your own site, you typically pay:

• A monthly platform fee (and possibly a per-sale fee, depending on the platform).
• Payment processing fees.
• A domain name each year.
• Marketing. This is the big one. You’ll need to bring visitors yourself.

A step-by-step plan

1. 1Choose a platform and a domain. Pick a short, memorable shop name you can use everywhere.
2. 2Export your Etsy listings. In Shop Manager, go to Settings, then Options, then Download Data. You’ll get a spreadsheet of active listings with titles, descriptions, prices, tags and image links.
3. 3Download your photos. The export contains links to images, not the files themselves, so save your originals.
4. 4Rebuild your product pages. Don’t just paste in Etsy text. Rewrite titles and descriptions for Google, not Etsy’s search.
5. 5Set up payments, delivery and legal pages. On Etsy, some of this was handled for you. On your own site you need your own terms, privacy notice and returns policy.
6. 6Test thoroughly. Place real orders, refund them, and check every email.
7. 7Launch, and keep Etsy running. Point your social media and email list at the new site first.
8. 8Review after a few months. Compare where sales come from and decide what to do with Etsy.

Customers and reviews

Your Etsy customers and reviews are valuable, but handle them carefully.

• Customer details. You can’t add Etsy buyers to your email list unless they’ve agreed to it. UK data protection law and Etsy’s own rules both apply.
• Messaging buyers. Etsy restricts using its messages to promote other sales channels. Read the current seller policy first.
• A note in the parcel. Many sellers include a card with their own web address. Check it’s allowed under Etsy’s current rules before you do.
• Reviews. Check Etsy’s terms before copying reviews onto your site. If you do show any, keep them word for word and say where they came from. Fake or misleading reviews are banned under UK consumer law.

The cleanest approach is to start collecting reviews on your own site from day one, with an automatic request a little while after each order arrives.

Bring visitors to your new site

This is where most of the effort goes. Ways that work well for former Etsy sellers:

• Your social media. Change your profile links to your own site and post your new launch.
• Your email list. If you already have one, tell them first, perhaps with a small welcome offer.
• Google Shopping. Free product listings and paid Shopping ads show your products to people searching for them.
• Search engine optimisation. Helpful product pages and a few useful articles build free traffic over time.
• Craft fairs and markets. Hand out cards with your web address, not your Etsy shop name.
• Repeat customers. A thank-you note and a reason to come back directly.

Choosing a platform after Etsy

Look for something that keeps the simple, low-admin feel of Etsy but gives you your own brand. Check the total monthly cost, any fees per sale, how easy pages are to edit, and whether it sends review requests and order emails for you.

Merchella is one hosted option. It charges no fee on your sales, sends automatic review requests after each order, and has a 30-day free trial with no card needed.

In short

Moving from Etsy to your own website can cut your fees and give you a real brand and customer list, but only if you can bring in visitors. Build your site alongside Etsy, move your loyal customers over first, put your Etsy fee savings into marketing, and let Etsy shrink only when your own site is pulling its weight.