What are the current best practices for listing image sizes and aspect ratios?

[GlyphGrain]

Hi all,

What are the current optimal aspect ratios and sizes for listing images or photos that minimize distortion, clipping, and/or cropping when viewed across various devices? I've previously read that a 1:1 aspect ratio and a size of 2000 x 2000 pixels were recommended. However, this information may be outdated. To be safe, I've been leaving a 300-pixel margin on each side, keeping important content out of this area or leaving it empty depending on the image, essentially creating a safe area of 1700 x 1700 pixels. What is the up-to-date best practice you follow to ensure listing images display as intended across all devices and platforms?

Thanks in advance for your input!

Necdet

[ChillwolfArt]

Hi, This is from Help. Hope it's what you need.
https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles/115015663347-Requirements-and-Best-Practices-for-Images-in-Y...

[GlyphGrain]

It doesn't specify any optimal or recommended aspect ratio, other than a recommended size for one side - 2.000 px. I need a 1-size-and-and-1-aspect-ratio-fits-all-devices approach, as much  technically as possible, to make sure that my listing images would show as intended, e.g. with minimum distortion or clipping, if applicable, since I don't and can't have various devices to check it.

[CryzalisMasksUK]

2000 x 2000 pixels is recommended 

[GlyphGrain]

Thanks but no 1:1 ratio or 2000 x 2000 px is nowhere mentioned, nor recommended - except "the shortest size", which cannot be interpreted as 1:1 ratio or 2000 x 2000 px. It was just a recommendation from a successful, well-established Etsy seller in her blog that I came across a while ago and noted it. It may be outdated, may not be the best practice,  hence my question.

[CraftyCornishMaids]

minimum 2000x2000px

square

min 72 PPI

under 1mg

etsy's announcement from last summer here

https://community.etsy.com/t5/Announcements/We-re-making-updates-to-size-and-ratio-for-listing-image...

[GlyphGrain]

Thanks, but it just mentions the shortest size as 2000 px. See my above reply.

[CraftyCornishMaids · Accepted solution]

@GlyphGrain 

It says SQUARE, if you don't do square, etsy crops it, so you miss the sides, or it's topped-and-tailed

Good news! We've learned that buyers are more likely to make a purchase when a shop displays square photos*.

So starting in early August, listing images in your Shop Home will display in a square format, matching the photo format across other areas of the site, like market pages. 

...

and it says

and a resolution of 72PPI.

and it says

keep it under 1MB for faster uploading.

. 

[LastCentury]

and yet etsy still recommends 4:3 horizontal images in their guide here:

https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles/115015663347-Requirements-and-Best-Practices-for-Images-in-Y...

• Avoid square crops. Upload horizontal or landscape images.
• Use an aspect ratio of 4:3.

ain't that confusion great?

[PristinityJewelry]

@CraftyCornishMaids  @LastCentury  @GlyphGrain 

I started a new thread here.  Perhaps sellers can get a current/definitive answer.

https://community.etsy.com/t5/Photography-Tips/MurphyGardens-Updates-to-size-and-ratio-for-listing-i...

[GlyphGrain]

@ CraftyCornishMaids 

Ah, my bad, I have just scanned the numbers by eyes, and found "2000px for the shortest side", which contradicts with a kind of recommendation in the same blog post you have quoted from. A similar or the same recommendation, 2000px for the shortest side, was made in a more recent news/update from Etsy, if I remember correctly. But at least I have now an official, kinda, reference for creating listing image with 1:1 ratio. Anyway, thank you for your quote!

[StickersOnlineUK]

There is no specific size or ratio recommended by Etsy. It used to be min 1600px then increased to min 2000px on the shortest size. 

However, what they did was to display square thumbnails in search results and that caused landscape images to be cropped on each side on search results. 

You can either upload 1:1 images or use any ratio as long as the product is central and it won’t be affected when the image is cropped to square. 

The higher the resolution the better because it helps the customers to zoom in and see the the detail of the product. 

[PieceByNumberQuilts]

Etsy SAYS square, but I’ve had the best luck with a 3:4 ratio.  Square image with white space either side.  Not sure if this is still true, but Etsy was displaying images as non-squares in several places even after they supposedly went to squares.  I really didn’t want my squares cropped into rectangles, so I kept white space at the sides to prevent this.  Every image in my shop is 2000 x 2666 to meet Etsy’s current standard. 

I don’t notice any display issues for my images with this practice.  Other sellers use a different ratio, but 3:4 is what I’ve used now for over 16 years here.

[GlyphGrain]

Thank you, 16 years of experience is amazing! I will try the 3:4 ratio for a couple of future listings and see the result., maybe I'll have the luck, too.

[FancyTogs]

Etsy's help page and announcement are full of errors.

It should be:

• minimum recommended width of 2000px. That was the trigger level for the small image warning message. Bigger is better to reduce the relative size of compression artifacts after Etsy aggressively compresses the image. Etsy store the master at upto 3000px square, if you upload anything bigger it is automatically resized to fit in 3000px square.
• when the articles were written the thumbnail aspect ratio and listing page image was 5:4 (not 4:3). The thumbnail is now 1:1 on the website, still 5:4 (height restricted) on the listing page and they've recently been playing with a portrait aspect ratio thumbnail on the Apps.
  5:4 still works well for listing images, as it fills the listing page image space on the website. I've given up trying to work out what Etsy are doing with the Apps, they had been displaying a landscape format on portrait device and portrait image on landscape device. 
  First image: If you don't want bits of the 1st image image cut off in thumbnails (many sellers are really particular about it) then there is currently no right shape, but square is probably the best at the moment. You don't have to use square. Keep the important area of product in the middle of the shot and with some background space around it to let it breath visually, and to allow for Etsy's auto cropping.
• Etsy's listing edit page thumbnail adjustment tool was recently updated to square apparently, but I've not tested it yet.
• PPI / DPI is irrelevant. It does not matter. It is totally superfluous, and the whole requiring 72ppi for the internet is a myth based on DTP layouts using Apple monitors & printers in the late 1980s.
• images need to be saved in the sRGB colourspace (officially referred to as IEC 61966-2-1:1999). Etsy strips out the EXIF data without applying the embedded colour profile, so if you use any colourspace other than sRGB (eg. iphone or Adobe default colour profiles) the colours will be messed up.
  This also applies to video, which should be in the Rec.709 colourspace (the video equivalent to sRGB). Etsy will ignore embedded colour profile data and display as if Rec.709 even if saved in a different colourspace. Apple devices default to their HDR which is Rec.2020, the HDR video setting needs to be disabled before filming, or the video converted to Rec.709 before upload.
• 1MB is tosh, the file size limit is 10MB, plenty big enough for a 3000px square jpg image at full quality (no compression). Bigger images without compression may be a problem, but most phones apply compression by default, it's only likely to be a problem if uploading full size uncompressed images straight from a real camera without resizing. You are unlikely to be able to upload a 3000px square tif, bmp or png image due to their larger file sizes.
• don't compress your image before upload, Etsy's compression on top of your compression can get nasty.

Did I miss anything?

Lawrence (Clare's other half)

[PieceByNumberQuilts]

@FancyTogs   Interesting that you say the 1MB is rubbish, because I have been compressing some of my images to get just under that.   (And that’s with 2000px shortest side only). Yet listing videos can be as much as 100MB (!) per their guidelines.  Nice to know I have a bit more leeway.

That said, I don’t want large high resolution images of my work out there any more than they already are.  (I once found a game app in the Apple Store using 10-12 of my images.  Of course I thought it was adorable, but filed a takedown all the same.)

[FancyTogs]

I suspect that the Etsy articles were written by someone non-technical, who did 5 minutes of research on Google .

The 1MB may just be a typo. Alternatively it could be a carry over of obsolete Etsy info from before the images were increased to 3000px (in 2017), or even from before the increase to 1500px (2015?).

https://community.etsy.com/t5/Announcements/Announcing-5-additional-photos-on-your-listings/m-p/1560...

Lawrence

[GlyphGrain]

Thank you, such detailed reply, full of info! The tip about sRGB and Rec.709 color spaces I found especially useful. From now on, I will definitely save the images and the videos in these.

[CatsWhiskersCurios]

I use a 5:4 ratio on all my images, with sufficient space at the sides in the first image to display correctly when square. That seems to work best, as you say.  They are approx 2800 x 2300 px, 72dpi and way, way larger than 1MB. None have been flagged as requiring attention in the new visibility info. 

[ThatFancyShopUK]

Here is a good video on what happens at some ratios and an explanation on what and why to choose the correct one for you.

I choose 4:3 but put the item inside the square 1:1, so the item is still in shot for square size, and that leaves the outside for background props or other stuff if needed,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ks9RlNwjvGA

[GlyphGrain]

thank you but there is no talk about the sizes and ratios?? Have I missed that part in the video?? Could you please specify the exact time where she starts to talk about the ratios and sizes?

[ThatFancyShopUK]

My apologies for the wrong video. Its this one

Says 2023 but still relevant today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oS_ch_GIPao

[GlyphGrain]

@ThatFancyShopUK  Thank you, very informative video, I'm almost convinced that 4:3 is the optimum ratio and works well in most cases, as she  nicely discusses in there. I just need to make sure if Etsy transitions anything ratio to 1:1, as she predicted at the time recording the video.

[GlyphGrain]

And this is an updated version of the video, though 5 months old. At some point, she recommends the 4:3 ratio and putting the product in a square area in the center. @ThatFancyShopUK  You might want to know about the updated version.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Y1EnGNgg0c

[ModJose · Accepted solution]

Hi, all! Thank you for sharing your questions regarding photography and its impact on search ranking. We’ve updated our FAQs in our Forums announcement to provide more clarity.