Shopify VS Etsy - Which one should you choose?
Stop Letting Etsy Be Your Boss: Why You Need Your Own Site
If Etsy is your only shop, congratulations—you’re basically working for free…for Etsy. Sure, it’s convenient, it drives traffic, and maybe you’ve made some sales. But every click your followers make? Not yours. Every email they open? Not yours. Etsy owns it all, and your marketing sweat is basically going into someone else’s pocket.
It’s time to take control of your business. Your traffic. Your brand. Your growth. Your profits. Here’s why having your own e-commerce site changes everything.
Own Your Traffic (Stop Giving It Away)
When you sell on Etsy, you’re essentially renting a tiny plot of someone else’s empire. Every visitor is at Etsy’s mercy, and their algorithms decide if they see your shop—or your competitor’s.
Meanwhile, your “effort clicks” on Instagram, TikTok, or Pinterest? Etsy can grab those fans for themselves. They retarget, they email, they show competing shops, and all your hard work? Gone. Poof.
On your own site, you own your traffic. Every subscriber, every repeat customer, every click belongs to YOU. No gatekeepers, no middleman, no surprises.
Branding & Customization (You’re Not a Template)
How often have you heard someone say, “I got it on Etsy”? That’s your brand—secondary, diluted, forgettable.
On Shopify (or any self-hosted site), you control everything: colors, layout, messaging, your vibe. Your customers remember YOU, not “Shop #239 in the Etsy marketplace.”
Your brand deserves to stand out. Not blend in.
Scalability & Growth (Hamster Wheels Are Overrated)
Etsy lets you make sales, sure, but growing beyond a small bubble? Tricky with limited tools, limited retargeting, limited control.
And sure, you’ll hear about the “Etsy unicorns”, shops making thousands a day or millions a year. I’m not saying it’s impossible—but it’s rare, and usually comes with massive effort poured into gaming Etsy’s system, not building their own brand. Imagine what those same shops could do if all that energy went into their own website instead of feeding Etsy’s machine.
Here’s the kicker: even when customers are thrilled with their order, they don’t say your shop’s name. They say, “I got it on Etsy.” Or worse—“Just search for X on Etsy, a bunch will come up.” Your brand becomes secondary, if it’s remembered at all.
Bottom line? Even your happiest customers aren’t really your customers—they’re Etsy’s. On your own site, you stop being a footnote and start being the brand.
Pricing & Policy Control (Call the Shots)
Etsy fees change, policies shift, algorithms update. What worked last month? Not guaranteed to work now.
You’re playing by Etsy’s rules, and they don’t always make sense. First and foremost it was supposed to be a handmade marketplace. But if you want to stay visible in search results? Etsy’s advice is to “add new products often.” Great in theory… until you realize no human alive is handmaking a quilt, a piece of pottery, or custom jewelry and getting the photos taken and the listing up every single day. What they’re really rewarding is mass-production, not craftsmanship.
It’s no wonder so many sellers feel pressured to crank out filler products, or many shops that bulk order stuff to sell in their shop, just to keep their shops alive. That’s not what handmade was supposed to be about.
And you do all that just to wake up to your Etsy shop being shut down for some random reason!
Your site? You set the rules. You decide pricing, policies, shipping, and promotions. Maximize profits without worrying about a platform deciding your fate overnight.
Marketing Freedom (Finally, Some Fun)
Etsy gives you basic tools. Shopify gives you EVERYTHING: SEO, abandoned cart emails, social integrations, analytics. You can attract customers, keep them, and build repeat buyers.
No more relying on Etsy’s whims. No more working for someone else’s audience.
The Bottom Line
You don’t have to abandon Etsy entirely. Think of it as “extra traffic,” not your foundation. If you find it worth posting your wares on Etsy and letting them send you some business, great! But make sure your packages are going out with post cards and notes and stickers and anything else you can cram in letting them know about your social media and your website.
But leave it at that! Don’t put your ad dollars into Etsy, don’t point your social media to Etsy, don’t keep giving them any extra effort. Keep that to yourself.
If you want control, growth, and real profits, your own site is the only way forward.
Want to stop giving away your traffic? Grab the Website Prep Checklist and start building your empire today.
