Your own WEB Page ?!

[RainbowMittens]

Hey! Do you have your own web page - or online store - where you sell your product?
- I'm wondering maybe I should have one - But I have no Idea Is it worth it !

Maybe you can share your selling methods outside etsy!?

[Former_Member]

Hahaha, our teeny website just links right back to our etsy store:
www.knotageek.com

I did see an awesome one that also linked back to the store, but it made it look more like you were ordering from an online catalog. I was in total awe. They're a big shop, though, and probably have the income to spend on a webpage like that.

[Former_Member]

I use weebly: http://nicolefergusonjewellery.weebly.com/
It links back to my shop and it's free.

[MyDestashery]

I built my own online store just recently (http://www.jordanisarreal.com). It's linked to my paypal account and what not, but I've found that etsy still brings me the most sales. You have to remember that with your own website, you need to build your own traffic and that's hard to do without a budget. Plus, I think shoppers feel more comfortable buyingnfrom a place like etsy where it's well-known and has a good reputation.

Right now, it's nice having a website where in can refer people and they can view my products, but my sales from the website are mostly local because I don't have a marketing budget. Those customers are probably people I already know or friends of people I already know.

Overall, I don't think having yourown website is a bad idea. Maybe you can focus it more toward wholesale orders if you're interested in that. Just make sure you have the time for it and it doesn't take away time from potential sales that are already built in here on etsy.

[Former_Member]

JordaniSarreal, your site is beautiful!

[Former_Member]

I think it is definitely worth having your own website!! I built mine myself which took a year to get it to the stage it is now, with lots of mistakes inbetween... I just couldnt afford a proper website but there are plenty of good designers or 'website templates' right here from sellers on etsy if you have less patience/cash too! :)

My website stats are around the same as my etsy shop, and I try to work the two together. It adds to my SEO, I can blog on it (link to my blog) customers have an opportunity to find out more about me other than just what my shop announcement says, etc.

Mine is www.houseofistria.com if you want to have a look.

I used Moonfruit to create it and I pay £5 a month (around $10 dollars) which I think is entirely worth it, according to my Google analytics.

xx

[Former_Member]

I built mine using Wordpress.

Both of my websites are self hosted, meaning I own my own domain name, and can put pretty much whatever I want on it... so long as I can figure out how to do it!

In fact, I JUST changed hosting service to HostGator and I'm very happy with them. I had really awful experience with my old hosing provider, FatCow, and I'm very glad I made the switch.

While I was at it, I did a mini site re-design for my photography tips website, http://PareAndFocus.com . I re-vamped the banner and made some other minor adjustments that I'm pretty happy with.

My other website, the one that's connected to my Etsy shop, is at http://DaintyChain.com if you're interested in taking a look.

Wordpress takes a bit of time to learn, because you have to deal with a lot of HTML, CSS, and PHP coding as well as some others. But I've almost never had to write anything from scratch, and I've been able to find free Wordpress plugins to give my sites a lot of functionality.

If you're up for a little challenge, I highly recommend Wordpress (NOT wordpress. com... but the self hosted version available through most hosting providers or through http://wordpress.org)

[sweetpeadesignUK]

Hi Dainty chain,
You have a great website and fantastic products.
How long did it take you to set up your website with wordpress. I have my own domain name but Im not using it at the moment.

I have a little bit of knowledge with html but not alot do you think wordpress its simple enough to pick up.

[Former_Member]

Hmm... that's a tough question to answer! It took me about 3 months to learn how to use wordpress with NO prior knowlage using HTML or anything else. But that was three years ago and building a different (now non-existent) website.

Now that I know what I'm doing, it took me about a week and a half to build DaintyChain.com and about 2 weeks to build PareAndFocus.com. At this point I can build a basic website in about a day or two.

It's worth a shot because it's SO flexible and you can do so much with it... but on the other hand it can also leave me frustrated since I'm not a programer and I don't have hours on end to learn this stuff.

Maybe you could try setting up a Wordpress.com website as a test?

Wordpress.com is free, but it's not self hosted (you choose a sub-domain rather than a domain name... if I set up a site there it would be called daintychain .wordpress. com).

They offer almost the same interface as a stand alone, self hosted Wordpress website. The only differences are theme and plugin limitations, and you don't have direct access to the Wordpress files and code.

It would be an easy way to try out Wordpress and see if you like it before trying to build your site on your own host.

[sweetpeadesignUK]

Thanks daintychain for you advice.

I will have a read around on the internet and make a final decision. I know exactly what you mean about time. I need more of that especially with christmas coming up.

Wordpress sounds great I've heard a few of my friends mention it but I wasn't sure how fair you could go with customising it. I want my website to tie in with my blog and etsy. Its defiantly worth a look though.

Thanks again.

[ZehOriginalArt]

I have two websites. As a visual artist, I've needed a website and have had one since 2003, but it's undergone major changes since then. My HTML site that has PayPal buttons is http://zehoriginalart.com. I get some sales from it, but mostly commissions.
The other one is a wordpress site: http://zehland.com. I made both of them myself and pretty much taught myself how to do them, so I keep them both up myself. Both of them link to my two Etsy shops.

The more sites you have, the more links going from one to another which helps your ranking. http://flavors.me is site where you can build yourself a page for free to use for links to your shop, Facebook page, YouTube channel, blog etc. This is mine: http://janetzeh.com

[Former_Member]

I've pooled my tumblr and blog into www.artCain.net and have nearly everything integrated in some fashion. haha. I like it as a virtual doodle pad for my thoughts and projects.

[Former_Member]

I have a website through ipage - www.sweetestbugbows.com. It's just one page but it has links to my etsy shop and photo albums on my business facebook page. I don't know if it really has brought me many sales, but it is nice to have a website to put on my business cards and easier for people who aren't familiar with etsy to remember.

[Former_Member]

I have this blog: http://youfimo.blogspot.com/ It only has some pictures of my crafts, but i think people like watching more about you and your stuff!

[MyDestashery]

@/KnotaGeek: thank you very much!

[Former_Member]

Having your own website is a great idea from a branding perspective, plus the more place potential customers and search engines can find you online the better. I've got a site with a built in shopping system through BlueHost and running Magento. We've also just started a blog which has increased our visibility on the web. Etsy is still our main source of sales, but at least we get ourselves out there more on the website.

http://www.storybuildertoys.com

[Former_Member]

I have one that is linked to my etsy shop :)

http://www.inspiredbyoceans.com

[Former_Member]

Mine links back to my Etsy shop for now, but as I build up my customers here and start doing craft shows, I'll most likely use my website to sell separately. I haven't decided quite yet, though.

http://www.lotusbathandbody.com

[Former_Member]

Search engines love to see lots of referrer links to a page, so having a blog and a website and a twitter, etc, is a good way to build back links to your shop page.

I built my website with weebly, too. www.ArtsiBitsi.com

[Former_Member]

Thank you so much Daintychain for taking the time to post all of this. Your pictures and websites are beautiful. I'd like to make the jump and do one, but time is an issue...so is money for that matter. I will not give up and use some of the great tips I have found to help me. Thanks!

Angie

[Former_Member]

I recently heard about a site called www.soupsee.com. Honestly I don't know much about it, because I already have a website built by my computer nerd husband:) www.bodhihandmade.com
But from what I gather, Soupsee is a good way to put together a simple website without having to know how to write code etc. It might be worth checking out.

[RainbowMittens]

Thanks everybody! :)

I think I will go for it!

[Former_Member]

I have a website, but it's not a store, it's for my art portfolio.