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IN THIS CHAPTER

❯❯ Exploring the header bar, categories, and Search tool on Etsy’s home page

❯❯ Seeing more ways to shop

❯❯ Perusing the Etsy Blog and tracking Etsy campaigns

❯❯ Finding out more about Etsy and checking out the footer links

❯❯ Viewing the home page on the Etsy app

Home. It’s a word with many meanings. It’s where you live. It’s where your heart is. It’s where you hang your hat. It’s where the cows finally come. Simply put, it’s a place to which you always long to return.

Etsy’s home page is no different. As you use the site, you’ll often find yourself returning home – to the home page, that is. Whether you’re buying or selling, exploring or researching, Etsy’s home page is your home base. In this chapter, you explore the various features of the page and find out how to navigate from it.

Home Sweet Home: Etsy’s Home Page

Etsy’s home page (see Figure 3-1) is the page that appears when you type “www.etsy.com” into your web browser. You can also access the home page by clicking the Etsy logo in the upper-left corner of each Etsy Marketplace page or by clicking the Home link in the header bar. The Etsy home page includes several sections. We delve into several of these sections in this chapter.

Source: Etsy.com

FIGURE 3-1: The Etsy home page offers easy access to myriad site features, and it’s easy on the eyes.

If your home page doesn’t exactly match what we discuss here, don’t freak out. Etsy regularly experiments with the layout of its home page.

Tonight’s Head(er)liner: Exploring the Header Bar

To enable you to easily access the tools you need, every Etsy Marketplace page, including the home page, contains a header bar with several links. The appearance of the header bar differs depending on whether you’re signed in to your Etsy account. If you’re not signed in, the header bar contains the following links:

❯❯ Etsy: No matter where you are on the Etsy site, you can return to the home page by clicking the Etsy logo on the left side of the header bar.

❯❯ Sell on Etsy: For quick access to tools and resources for sellers – including a helpful guide to how fees work and info about what you can and can’t sell on Etsy – and to set up your own shop, click the Sell on Etsy link. (Parts 2 through 4 of this book are devoted to selling on Etsy.)

❯❯ Register: Click this link to register with the site (see Chapter 2).

❯❯ Sign In: If you already have an account, click the Sign In link to log on (see Chapter 2).

❯❯ Cart: Click this link to view items in your shopping cart.

When you sign in to the site, the following links replace the Register and Sign In links (refer to Figure 3-1). (The Sell on Etsy link will remain until you create your Etsy shop, discussed in Chapter 8.)

❯❯ Home: If you’ve navigated away from Etsy’s home page to another page on the Etsy Marketplace site, you can click this link to return. (Or, as mentioned, you can click the Etsy logo in the upper-left corner of the header bar.)

❯❯ Favorites: Etsy enables you to bookmark your favorite items and shops by adding them to your Favorites. To view your Favorites, click this link. For more on adding Favorites, see Chapter 22.

❯❯ Shop Manager: After you set up your Etsy shop (see Chapter 8), this link appears in your header bar. It offers easy access to all the tools you need to manage your shop.

❯❯ You: Access your Etsy account from this drop-down menu. Options include View Profile, Conversations, Purchases and Reviews, Account Settings, and Your Teams. Or choose Sign Out to log off your Etsy account. (You get the scoop on managing your account in Chapter 4. For help with your profile, see Chapter 2.)

The rest of this chapter assumes that you’ve signed in to your account and created your shop. (If you haven’t yet, that’s okay; just be aware that you may not see all the home-page features discussed here.)

Etsy’s header bar includes one more important feature: a Search bar. When you know just what you’re looking for – say, Kermit the Frog suspenders or a reclaimed barn wood unicycle – you can search for it here. Simply type in a relevant word or phrase and press Enter or Return on your keyboard or click the Search button. (For more info on searching, see Chapter 5.)

Category Eight: Browsing Etsy’s Category Links

At last count, Etsy featured roughly 1.7 million active sellers, all with their own shops. Don’t worry, though: The items in these shops are organized into broad categories – eight, to be exact – so you can easily find what you’re looking for. Categories include Clothing & Accessories, Jewelry, Craft Supplies & Tools, Weddings, Entertainment, Home & Living, Kids & Baby, and Vintage.

Clicking a category reveals a menu of subcategories and even sub-subcategories to help you narrow the field, as shown in Figure 3-2. When you select one of these, Etsy displays listings for related items (see Figure 3-3). Whether you’re after a bit of jewelry or some vintage awesomeness, Etsy’s categories can help you find the item that’s just right.

Source: Etsy.com

FIGURE 3-2: Drill down to the items you want to see.

Source: Etsy.com

FIGURE 3-3: Etsy displays listings in the chosen category, subcategory, or sub-subcategory.

But Wait! There’s More! Exploring More Ways to Shop from Etsy’s Home Page

Remember in When Harry Met Sally… how Sally had her own unique way of ordering at a restaurant? “I just want it the way I want it,” she explained. The same is true with shopping on Etsy. Not everyone wants to do it in the same way! Fortunately, Etsy offers several ways to enhance your shopping experience, right from its home page.

Viewing personalized picks

Etsy’s home page features a few special areas with listings just for you.

Some of these areas may not appear, depending on whether you’ve viewed or favorited any listings or shops. If not, you may simply see an additional Categories section, which, like the links along the top of the page, offer easy access to various Etsy categories. The same goes if you’re not signed in.

❯❯ Recently Viewed: This section of the Etsy home page offers you quick access to the items you’ve viewed most recently. Simply click an item to open its listing. Or view additional items by clicking the See More link. (You’ll see a similar link on several parts of the Etsy home page.)

❯❯ Recently Favorited: Anything you’ve favorited lately appears in this part of the home page. Figure 3-4 shows the Recently Viewed and Recently Favorited parts of the Etsy home page.

❯❯ Our Picks for [You]: Based on listings you’ve favorited, Etsy generates a personalized list of items that just may pique your interest.

❯❯

New from Your Favorite Shops: Etsy doesn’t limit you to favoriting listings. You can also favorite shops. When you do, fresh items from those shops appear on Etsy’s home page. As always, simply click an item to open its listing.

You can also keep up with your favorite shops by perusing the Updates from Shops You Like feed. It’s kind of like an Instagram feed. Shop owners use it to share news, reveal works in progress, highlight new items, and show different ways to use their products (among other things). Figure 3-5 shows the New from Your Favorite Shop and Updates from Shops You Like sections of the Etsy home page.

❯❯ From People You Follow: Etsy enables you to follow other site members, kind of like how you can follow people on, say, Twitter. For example, you could follow the owner of a shop you love or a friend you’ve made on the site. When someone you follow favorites an item on Etsy, that item appears in the From People You Follow area of the home page. (You can find out more about following people on Etsy in Chapter 22.)

Source: Etsy.com

FIGURE 3-4: Revisit recently viewed and recently favorited listings here.

Source: Etsy.com

FIGURE 3-5: Keep up with shops you like.

Perusing more suggestions from Etsy

In addition to offering you personal picks, the Etsy home page includes sections with additional suggestions. You’ll see the same suggestions regardless of who you are, whether you’re signed in or not.

❯❯ Shops Worth Exploring: This section features a handful of shops that, in Etsy’s estimation, deserve a look.

❯❯ Browse Our Latest Collections: Here, you find links to collections compiled by Etsy’s editors – or, as Etsy says, “daily discoveries from the most discerning and best-dressed people who work here.” If the ones shown don’t catch your interest, click the See More link.

❯❯ Shop for Gifts: Not sure what to buy your dog for Valentine’s Day? Check out the Shop for Gifts section. Here, you find links to yet more collections from Etsy’s editors. Clicking See More reveals the One-of-a-Kind Gift Ideas page, which features several key gift-giving categories. Figure 3-6 shows the Browse Our Latest Collections and Shop for Gifts sections on the Etsy home page.

Source: Etsy.com

FIGURE 3-6: See listings hand-picked by Etsy’s editors in the Browse Our Latest Collections and Shop for Gifts sections.

The Velvet Blog: Reading Etsy Blog Posts

To view new blog posts at a glance, scroll down to the Fresh from the Blog section of Etsy’s home page (see Figure 3-7). There, you find headlines from newly posted content on the Etsy Blog, ranging from craft how-tos to tips for sellers and beyond. If you see a headline that looks interesting, click it to read the post. Or click the Read the Blog link to land on the main page for the Etsy Blog, where you can access additional posts. (We discuss the Etsy Blog in more detail in Chapter 21).

Source: Etsy.com

FIGURE 3-7: Keep up with the Etsy Blog.

Campaign Promises: Tracking Etsy Campaigns

From time to time, Etsy’s home page features links to information about various campaign initiatives, like the one shown in Figure 3-8. This campaign, #DifferenceMakesUs, “celebrates the many ways that Etsy allows every one of us to express our originality.” The campaign features a series of videos designed for dissemination on social media “to highlight how Etsy fits into the daily lives of people around the world.” By the time you read this book, you may see a different campaign in action (or none at all).