Etsy Rolls Out Website Builder Pattern

Etsy is letting its sellers branch out, while, at the same time, keeping them within the fold.

TechCrunch reports that the online marketplace for selling users’ custom-made goods has launched a new service, called Pattern, through which Etsy sellers can set up and operate a website of their own.

The outlet describes a demonstration by Etsy Product Lead Joe Lallouz that took place yesterday (April 5), in which he walked journalists through the process of registering a domain from within Pattern and selecting a website theme from five options.

The benefit to sellers of the Etsy connection, the outlet goes on to explain, is that the online marketplace automatically imports the content and inventory from the Etsy store to the site that they set up via Pattern. From that point, Etsy keeps the offerings on the sellers’ online shops (both Etsy and the site built with Pattern) and offers access to analytics for both in a single dashboard.

Lallouz remarked during the demonstration that Etsy’s goal in launching Pattern is to provide its sellers with “two shops in one.”

In an interview with TechCrunch, Etsy Senior Vice President of Product Mike Grishaver stated that the company’s focus is on “delivering value to existing Etsy sellers. We’ve spent a great deal of time and research to find what are the pain points for an Etsy seller, and we’re building tools to address those.”

One of those pain points that Grishaver acknowledged is some Etsy sellers who already operate their own websites in addition to Etsy (and without Pattern) wishing to integrate those with the online marketplace. Presently, however, Grishaver told the outlet that there are no plans to facilitate such an offering.