Handmade Code: CraftLaunch

Great option for seller looking to host their own sites. Thanks for sharing!

As a fellow Austinite, and as someone who has declared 2012 her year, I am really stoked about this! I am getting geared up to really get my stuff together, and I was just thinking that something like this would be really great. Thanks!

It would have to bring in a lot of extra sales to justify 15 dollars a month...

I'm looking forward to doing something like this once my shop is stocked and profiting. As a new Etsy seller, I can't justify the expense at this time.

Sounds like a great idea. I already have my own website but I'm going to look into this.

Interesting, though not something I'd immediately jump into. I wonder if there are any SEO implications, since you'd have the exact same listing in two places.

The Vintage Boutique site is so great...very streamlined! I just might set one up fo my shop too and i already own my domain. I guess this could serve as a landing site as well. thanks! love all these apps that work so well with Etsy sellers.

Interesting!

will check it out. thanks!!

This is a great idea. I'm definitely interested in moving my website from the google site it is now to something better. Do you support multiple etsy shops going into one site? I have a sister shop I'm planning on launching in a week or so and would want both of them accessible from one website.

Interesting!

Interesting indeed, off to check it :)

I will check it out! I've tried to sign up with other website builders and it was a bit confusing for me. Maybe this will be the easy one!

Very interesting! :)

I will have to check this out. Thanks! =)

thanks! this is great!

This sounds really great! It would also solve the problem of having to constantly update your inventory if you have a separate website and Etsy. If you already own a URL with another hosting company, how do you get it switched over to this?

It looks nice and I honestly really like the idea of it. However $15 a month seems a bit much when you do not have your own independent shopping cart (it redirects you to Etsy's check out). I LOVE Etsy and clearly have an account so this would not be an issue for me. But what would this do for new customers that do not have an Etsy or PayPal account? It seems this would only confuse them. The check out line is no time to have potential customers debating whether or not they want to bother with setting up new accounts-especially on websites they weren't even directly trying to purchase from. Again, love the idea so I'm not trying to be a Debbie downer, just seems a bit expensive for the service. It would be great to see more options from them.

I have been doing this for several months. Even though I worked with the SEO tags, etc as well as paid someone to submit the info, I never break more than 5-10 people a day. Most it is between 0-3. My etsy numbers for the same time frame are about 300-500 unique visitors daily. Hope this helps anyone who is looking at this. Hugs Beth

Good points mygreatauntsophie and Beth. Thanks for sharing.

As a fellow austinite I am thrilled to see such a cool start up that is started in Austin. This looks like a great opportunity! I'm going to check it out.

Very informative- will check this out!

Please let us know if you need help! We're happy to answer questions or inquiries at info@craftlaunch.com. @calloohcallay - We are not looked at as duplicate content. This is considered syndicated content (just like google and amazon products). We are feeding directly from the Etsy API and all products link back to the original source. Our product does allow you to change the meta tags for better SEO. @fbstudiovt - We don't currently support multiple shops, but are working to add this feature. @taylorcuster - We've got instructions for transferring your domain over to Craftlaunch (http://bit.ly/y8mJnF). We try and make it as painless as possible and are happy to walk you through the process! @mygreatauntsophie - Just to be clear, customers don't need a separate Craftlaunch account because they will be checking out through Etsy. @bethcote - We're sorry you haven't seen very many visitors to your site. Have you setting up meta tags for your Craftlaunch pages (http://bit.ly/xGy648)? We've got some other tips for increasing your traffic and optimization here: http://bit.ly/zLme2Z.

I do like the idea of this, but $15 a month really seems expensive. I will probably sit down and figure it out later this week to do a try out, I am hoping there is a way to tell what sales come directly from it to see if it is worth it.

What an interesting idea

Please let us know if you need help! I'm happy to answer questions or inquiries at jacqueline@craftlaunch.com. @calloohcallay - We are not looked at as duplicate content. This is considered syndicated content (just like google and amazon products). We are feeding directly from the Etsy API and all products link back to the original source. @fbstudiovt - We don't currently support multiple shops, but are working to add this feature. @taylorcuster - We've got instructions for transferring your domain over to Craftlaunch (http://bit.ly/y8mJnF). We try and make it as painless as possible and are happy to walk you through the process! @mygreatauntsophie - Just to be clear, customers don't need a separate Craftlaunch account because they will be checking out through Etsy. @bethcote - We're sorry you haven't seen very many visitors to your site. Have you setting up meta tags for your Craftlaunch pages (http://bit.ly/xGy648)? We've got some other tips for increasing your traffic and optimization here: http://bit.ly/zLme2Z.

I am very interested!!!! I have looked into having my website built. It is expensive and confusing. And I mean expensive($400 and up). As I am new to selling on Etsy, this would save a great deal of time and not to say MONEY! $15.00 per month is a steal!!!

I agree with mazedasastoat . That is more money per month than hosting and your own URL with Godaddy or any other web hosting service. And Google analytcs is a free service from google.

Although $15 per month can be a little too much money for a recently opened shop, I think this is a great idea, and it's something that I would like to try in the near future.

...interesting. thanks

i am sure this will be very successful, it looks like a wonderful idea!

It is very interesting nut expensive. Not for the monthly fee but for the monthly fee...ETSY fees...Paypal fees...packaging costs...material costs to make what you make. Whats left at the end of the day?

I also have my own website, but I am going to look into this when my shop has grown enough to afford the extra promotion.

$180.00 USD hmmm to much....

I am very interested and want to increase my shops visiblity. I am not computer sauvy so I always hesitate to try new things. I need help! Will definitely check you out.

I like the idea of direct integration... if most of your business comes from selling on Etsy - then this would likely be more effective than simply running a blog.

$15 a month is an absolute steal if you have ever advertised on Google. I regularly spend $100 a month to run ads on Google where you are bidding against everyone else for ad placement within your category and paying for every click on your ad, whether they purchase or not. Advertising is a necessary, tax-deductible, business expense like fees and packaging and should be treated as such. If you can't afford it you are not charging enough for your product and time. Do not short change yourself. Customers will pay for quality and service.

very interested to read up on this! Thanks

good point, @bixlerandjohnson!

Very interesting idea but why should I use CraftLaunch at $15 per month when there are applications such as shopsee that offer the same service for much less? Just curious...

interesting but..expensive..

I have 8 sales on Etsy after a year and a half. How could I ever justify spending $15 a month on a website that is going to show the same jewelry that I can't sell on Etsy. I would have to be crazy to do this.

I am just getting started and love all the feedback I will continue to watch this and see how much traffic I even get on etsy.

I agree with DesignsbyHarriet. Also don't really understand the necessity of synchronizing a site with Etsy. What's the point? It's still going to redirect here. Running a blog with the same Etsy links is free (or cheaper), and there's nothing to built either (unless you prefer having a custom made blog).

My sales have been very slow on Etsy and I certainly cannot justify paying that amount each month for so few sales.

Oh my, this is awesome. I have wanted to create a website while still supporting Etsy in the process - it's the best of both worlds! I'm in FortWorth Texas, so not too far from you.

This sound like is it worth giving it a try.

I will check it out!

Sounds really great, but I don't think I'm established enough to put that much money in it. :-( One day maybe I will have a lot of success with my etsy sales, I will definately remember this avenue for pumping things up!

I can't wait to try this out once I have enough product stock-piled to launch properly. So exciting. Thanks for sharing (I'm in Austin too!) :-)

Hmmmm...very interesting.

I guess I'm not following well or understand it all. Would this be something for vintage sellers also? I'm having pretty good sales & not really sure what extra it will bring to my shop. Is it mostly for allowing more traffice b/c of tags on the internet? I have a link for my shop from Etsy. Isn't that pretty much the same thing?

This looks like a fabulous option for those of us who would like more of a web presence but don't necessarily have the time and/or skills needed to maintain a website. The one caveat I have is that buyers are still required to create an Etsy account in order to complete the purchase. I do think this step does deter certain buyers from completing the sale. I haven't been able to find an answer to why Etsy requires this step, since they still receive the same profit from the sale whether the buyer registers or not. I think if this step were removed I would be more inclined to create an outside site that links directly to Etsy for the purpose of making a sale.

Good idea, but I don't think that I could afford this service at this time. My shop has been open since July 2011 and I've only made 1 sale. I really need help to get more visibility for my shop using more cost effective methods.

Brilliant idea! I'm off to take a look now!

Looks very interesting. Maybe I will try :)

This sounds pretty exciting. I will definitely check this out!

I am recently new to Etsy myself. I love the idea of the integration between CraftLaunch and Etsy. I still am in the negative when it comes to what I have put into my business to create my items to sell and what I have made from sales. Once I at least break even, I am going to definitely investigate this option as it can't help to have more of a web presence! Thanks!

Great idea! Thank you!

It was about time! Excellent idea! Well Done Craftlaunch!!!

It sounds good, but costly at this time since my Etsy shop is new. Do you support multiple etsy shops going into one site? I am considering another shop and would want both of them accessible from one website. Any chance of your offering a less costly version for those of us just starting out?????

yea, sounds viable

I am not in a financial position to pay for a website, however, I will be sooner than later. ETSY.com has afforded that opportunity to my business and love the association this site has with ETSY. I will try the app for 15 days and then provide input based on my needs. My needs are most likely going to be similar to others.

I'm definitely considering this. I do share the same concerns DownEastAttic mentions: buyers are still required to create an Etsy account in order to complete the purchase. I do think this step does deter certain buyers from completing the sale. Buyers have to have both an Etsy & Paypal account? Frankly, this is too many steps for a consumer to complete an online transaction.

this sites look great when they are done. i was very impressed. i'll look into it further for sure! thank you!

I love the connection with etsy, and I'm all for making things easier and getting out there more on the web. As for buyers having to take the extra step and register with etsy for a sale...I've had buyers in the past that found my jewelry somewhere else on the web and had to register with etsy to buy from me. I guess it boils down to the buyer. If they really want your product, they will take the extra step.

This service is really SPENDY!! If the monthly rate goes down, I'd happily give it a try. Otherwise, it's not cost effective for me to spend $14.95 a month on the off chance that I *might* make a sale.

This looks great, I have built a website myself which I'm pretty happy with but I like these ease of how this works with Etsy. I'm going to take a look...

I just created mine today and love it! I have tried to create my own site several times and failed. But this was so easy and fast and it matches all my many other sites. www.maggielouise.com

I have my own website that I created, but it is not doing what I expected it would do, so I just may try this to get more business to come my way.

Sounds intetesting. I'm always looking for ways to build my business outside of etsy. However, I just started using stitchlabs for inventory and its just a tad less than this service so right now my $ goes to them. Definately a must if keep stock and well worth it in my humble opinion. They are also integrated with etsy and list items automatically etc will all these apps play nice together? Just seems like so so much its a little overwhelming sometimes for this old lady. W have Google syndication, mini etsy on FB, my blog, links from my blog to etsy and FB. So much to learn. So for $15/mo I get my domain hosted, a template w a few pages, and the convenience of having a few links to products on my site but no shopping cart in and of itself? Im assuming for the price I get some kind of report that will show me stats on how well its working? I might try it on trial basis but my money goes to my inventory until I can justify adding yetanother bill.

I currently curate two shops on etsy. I initially launched my vintage shop in order to sustain my handmade shop. My vintage does rather well, however, I put many hours into marketing and promotion. Perhaps this would allow me a few more hours a month of creativity and less time spent on marketing? Hmmm...

Thanks for sharing, I am signing up as we speak! Sounds like a great idea, I am always open to new ways to promote my business - still early days, and still got a LOT to try out, and learn. Will let you know how I get on! Katie. xxx

I've just set up my trial website, and I think the price is fantastic! The whole point is that you can set up a great looking, professional website in minutes, that makes your products look even better than they do on etsy. Everything is simple and effective. Shoppers can quickly find out something about you, your personality, style, products. They can then peruse your shop through the website, with it's brilliant, bright, colourful graphics, and click to buy - which takes them right through the etsy process. You can also link your blog, twitter, facebook. I haven't come across something that works so efficiently and painlessly before, and I fully embrace it! Plus for less than $2 extra a month, you can have your own domain name. I would be proud to print my Craft Launch website address on a business card and have people come to my little space. Double thumbs up, I highly recommend. Katie. xxx

Thanks! This is great.

This is exciting! Just what I was looking for!

I just wish we could pay using paypal.

It sound like a good idea to sellers who are looking to have their own web site And do not have the skills to build one. I have couple questions. Do you promote CraftLaunch? And how my SEO will improve. Also, many people on this discussion have a point when they said it is a litlle too much for a customer to creat paypal and etsy account for the purchase. We would like to make it easy to check out and not to turn check out to a project. This can be discouraging to potential buyers, not a good thing. As far as $15 a month it is a little expensive for most buyers.

This is a fantastic idea and a clever way to allow Etsy users to create their own websites. I've had my shop for about a year and a half now and am still gaining enough presence through Etsy to justify $15/month towards other expenses in my business. Once I'm well established this is something I would definitely LOVE to try!

My shop is still in the early stages but I would definitely be interested in trying your service once I build my inventory.

It is so reassuring to see that other's are just in the start-up mode with Etsy and have yet to see a profit.............the majority of us are watching our pennies and must consider if the cost can be justified with increased sales. I think that sharing our trials and tribulations is the best part of this experience so far!!!!! Don't get me wrong - I love creating items but as my s.e. abstract artist brother told me (he's sold on a worldwide basis) it is 10% art and 90% business!!!! - this is discouraging news but may in fact be the truth!

I am a relatively new seller on Etsy like many others and I think that craft launch is a helpful tool that could save time and money on marketing. When more sales are made this could be an affordable creation which I would like to try hopefully in the near future.

I am also a new Etsy seller, once my site gets rolling I may just have to look into this, sounds great...thanks

Might be worth a try! Not making any sells on Etsy yet, doing much better locally.

Exciting! Worth looking into! Thanks!

Need to check this out! Thank you

Building a website for our items is on my list of to-dos; found a site for free webpage but will be double the work to post pics on Etsy and website. However it's free and since we're new to Etsy sales haven't kicked in so $14+ is tough to budget right now. But great idea to have posts linked--will keep you in mind if business picks up . Cheers

This looks very interesting indeed! I started a website over a year ago but it's been difficult to keep up with the blog, new inventory, new pics, etc. on top of listing on etsy. I do most of my business on etsy and facebook now. To switch hosting over to you guys for my website sounds like it would be a great option for me. The integration looks great!

Hi Jaqueline!

I've been looking for something like this! And, yes, it's time to jump in.

This may have SEO advantages as well

I have tried setting up a web site by myself and it was frustrating and I dropped it for now. Already have a domain name. I am new on Etsy and so the cost (15.00) seems like a lot to a beginner such as myself (havent' sold anything yet on Etsy). Seems like a good idea and I love to have things organized and integrated. I think a 30 day trial would be a bigger indication of how sales are being generated by your service.

If only THIS had been available BEFORE I had my website rebuilt last year! Darn it!

Can one 'migrate' ones existing web page when the present hosting sites fee expires which will be in 2014?