It’s been an exciting run up to the holidays for performance here at Etsy. The Engineering Team has been hard at work launching some big features and tightening things up in preparation for the holiday shopping season. At the same time, we’ve been making a number of improvements in engineering and operations that have helped bring some of our performance numbers down across the board. Things are looking quite a bit different than what we observed in the last Performance Report. Today I want to give you a quick update on our progress.
In the last Performance Report, we talked about why we measure server side times, which pages we focus on, and how we’re measuring. We gave you the time to generate listing pages, profile pages, search pages, shop pages, and the personalized homepage on August 2. We shared both the average and the 95th percentile, which we look at to get a feel for what most visitors to Etsy are experiencing.
Today we’ll compare those numbers with the measurements taken November 15, a Tuesday as before.
As you can see, most pages have seen a decent improvement. It’s also worth noting that at this point we’ve already seen a significant increase in traffic as we approach peak holiday season. We promised in the last Performance Report that we’d be taking a look at the homepage, and it’s clear from this chart that the homepage saw the most improvement, the majority of which can be attributed to the removal of the “You Might Like” module. Its poor performance was one of the factors that led to the decision to remove it. Now that the homepage is at an acceptable level, our next target will be search. Search is a complicated beast and very important for our members. Given that it is currently hovering at the limit of what we consider acceptable, we’ll be looking for opportunities to improve its performance over the coming months.
Ed. Note: This chart has been updated to fix a measurement error, the one originally published can be found here.
58 comments
Sign in to add your ownbuffalogirls says:
Ok, now I understand why you took out You might like. It was the loading time. It is all about finding a good compromise between load time, function and aesthetics. I do not envy you. Thanks for the report.
1 year ago
BenjaminKrudwig says:
Looks like great improvements to me! can't wait to see how other features are going to be optimized! Thanks for working so hard engineering team!
1 year ago
OnceUponAGem says:
Thanks for the report. I'm glad that search will be next as complicated as it is. Thanks
1 year ago
jacarandadesigns says:
That's major improvement on the home page - very encouraging. Thanks
1 year ago
closencounters says:
If being syndicated is required to have Google pick up a shop, and Etsy chooses which shops to syndicate and only after the shop has a number of sales - please consider making this available for shops with little or no sales - we are the ones who would benefit the most, or rather, are in need of this trafic to our shops the most. And thank you for the improvements so far!
1 year ago
jbeaudet says:
Thank you for the improvements! I'm wondering if my photos are too large, does that effect the page loading for viewers?
1 year ago
Ebrown2503 says:
This is a wonderful diagnostic tool. I'm so glad to see the end of the 'you might like feature.' In future, no one really wants items shoved under their nose, so to speak. Shoppers like to hunt, find and discover. Your job is to facilitate that without being obvious--not an easy task! LOVE the changes you've made.
1 year ago
compassionmalas says:
Cool! Keep up the good work.
1 year ago
HouseHoldWords says:
Thanks for the update. Much appreciated.
1 year ago
Jalycme says:
Awesome! Thank you for the update!
1 year ago
sethwalker says:
jbeaudet: Good question! We show visitors optimized versions of listing images, so the uploaded size is not a concern. I'll talk in the next post about how images and other components that the browser has to download impact performance and some of the ways we handle that.
1 year ago
AntwarePottery says:
Thanks. Optimizing searches is an excellent choice.
1 year ago
inkadinkadoodle says:
Great update - thanks!
1 year ago
whatanovelidea says:
Good to have some improvements for the upcoming xmas season! Happy selling all.
1 year ago
JudyStalus says:
So if the You Might Like was such a flop (and I would certainly agree) why is it now on the bottom of every search page being even more annoying?
1 year ago
Mclovebuddy says:
i signed up for the infinite scroll on search results beta. it's cool so far. would love to see that speed up, too.
1 year ago
stevenjameskeathley says:
Good info. Thanks for the update, Seth!
1 year ago
BizzieLizzie says:
Seth, Thanks for the update!
1 year ago
ImprimereGraphics says:
Thank you for the report. Seeing posts like this really makes me love Etsy even more. I love that you share with the community and don't just make decisions in a vacuum without opening these decisions with the community. Now if only our government... and even facebook would follow suit .... Thank you again!
1 year ago
GardenHomeArt says:
Thank you for the update
1 year ago
CreamNoSugar says:
Appreciate all the hard work!
1 year ago
CreamNoSugar says:
P.S. It is very helpful to read these posts.....to understand more about the workings of Etsy - Thank You!
1 year ago
VeronicaRStudio says:
Thank you for the update! The home page looks a lot better without the You Might Like module. I'm really looking forward to search improvements!
1 year ago
StelmaDesigns says:
OK, that is looking very good; thank you!
1 year ago
patspottery says:
Ah ha, that explains it!
1 year ago
romanticcrafts says:
Load time is important, the quicker, the better!
1 year ago
shadowjewels says:
Thank you Seth! I appreciate your updates.
1 year ago
ImagineStudio says:
great work!
1 year ago
SimpleThymePrims says:
Thank you for the performance report, thanks for all you do to continue to make improvements here on Etsy.
1 year ago
DesignsbyHarriet says:
Thanks for the report. Can't wait till you work on the search function. Hope you report on what you have done when the time comes.
1 year ago
SouthernBelleOOAK says:
Thanks for the update Seth! Looking forward to your report on your most challenging job of improving SEARCH.
1 year ago
austinbaubles says:
Yes, thanks Seth. It is wonderful to know the minds of Etsy. Keep up the fantastic work. I marvel at all the improvements Etsy has made.
1 year ago
deltamoonsoap says:
I'm so glad you guys are always looking for ways to improve the Etsy experience for all of us! :-)
1 year ago
DivineinTime says:
Sigh
1 year ago
diddle47 says:
curious to know how some people can sell multiple items that are neither vintage or handmade,,new from china,,,
1 year ago
wirely says:
Great job guys! Sergey, WebPerfCrafter ;)
1 year ago
IsabelleKnits says:
Terrific news.
1 year ago
Squier says:
Interesting! I like the removal of "you might like" for esthetic reasons and better performance is an excellent bonus.
1 year ago
DovelySells says:
Why have you removed ALL methods of viewing what is selling? People shop in trends. It can be the color or item type or material. How and why they do it has puzzled many a long time retailer. Many times I have gone to Pounce & Time Machine to see what was selling at that given time. It could be 9 out of 10 items are pink or they could be buying pin-up art. I would check many times a day and if I had anything like what was selling I relisted it to get it right out there. AND YES I GOT A LOT OF SALE FROM IT. It's also where I have done most of my etsy shopping. Don't tell me to check my stats. My stats only tell me where I came into the picture. Not what they are buying in real time. Stats tell me what they are thinking about buying... e.g. this month my wedding gowns are getting dozens of views and favs. This tells me I'll be answering at least two dozen emails about wedding gowns this month. I only actually sell about 6 gowns a year. I live off my smaller sales. So why did you remove this extremely valuable tool and what are you going to do about replacing it? http://www.TheBohemianGoddess.etsy.com http://www.DovelySells.etsy.com
1 year ago
JackieDoremus says:
That is awesome!!
1 year ago
TidBitz says:
Sounds good to me!
1 year ago
amberstudios says:
Thanks for your update!!!
1 year ago
misanthropycreations says:
Yey!
1 year ago
WaterburyJewels says:
Way to go!
1 year ago
custombybernolli says:
Thanks for the info and thanks for all you do! Can't wait to see your other features about searching!
1 year ago
FineFollyGlassworks says:
.•:*¨*:•.THANK YOU.•:*¨*:•.THANK YOU.•:*¨*:•.THANK YOU.•:*¨*:•.
1 year ago
jewelryplace says:
Thanks for the update!
1 year ago
mystic2awesome says:
Good info in an easy to read format...Carry On sethwalker!
1 year ago
finefeatheredfinds says:
Thank You!
1 year ago
Yummilicious says:
I'm not really sure where the appropriate spot is to leave this comment anymore...i feel really frustrated by the way the forums have changed. so not user friendly. =/ I was also recently disappointed to discover that Pounce had disappeared. I LOVE to pounce! This was my tried and true way of discovering new items and shops when I wasn't looking for anything in particular, i just wanted to browse and have something jump out at me. i also miss the treasuries being on the homepage. there was always such a variety. Now the items matching my taste never do, and even taking the taste test doesn't change it, becuase all the same types of items show up there. no variety. I am very sad about these changes, and though I love etsy it is no longer so much fun to just come here to "window shop".
1 year ago
siobhanok says:
Yes; I find the listings based on my 'tastes' are a waste of space, nd very limited; the 'engine' that generates it is too narrow. I thik it's great to try new things and see what works with your home page but I agree with Dovelysells regarding access to trends. I am new here and a lot of aspects, I like but your home page has dulled since I was last here (several months back) and does not entice me to look; Keep up the good work; you're not there yet.
1 year ago
siobhanok says:
oh...and how can I sign as my shop? sokadelix?
1 year ago
worldwideoddities says:
Thanks!!!
1 year ago
Mistimade says:
Sounds awesome, looking foward to it. Thank you for the update.
1 year ago
VenerablePastiche says:
While I am overall pleased with my shop performance here at Etsy - Go Vintage! - I must say that I was entirely frustrated when I discovered more than 1/3 of my items had completely fallen off of Google Shopping mid November. Countless emails to admin (who linked me to info on syndication - which I have had for quite some time) were unhelpful. Finally, a fellow seller suggested I deactivate and reactivate my shop - which i did and within 24 hours, and views picked up. I missed out of small biz Saturday and cyber Monday completely as my shop "virtually" disappeared from internet. I now watch my views obsessively, and the moment they start to falter, I head over to Google to check my stats. Unfortunately I'm still unclear as to why this ever happened, but my research and attention was justified when I sold a candelabra a few days ago. The buyer was a first time Etsyer who found the piece when she Googled what she was looking for, and mine appeared at the top of the page. Please help us help ourselves, but share info - this IS a partnership. We need each other.
1 year ago
nicoahsmeem says:
Thanks for the research update. Agreat tool to help us all. Keep up the good work. We all benefit from this.
1 year ago
adornablevintage says:
Thank you for this! I live in an area with slow internet and loading time is definitely an issue.
1 year ago
Debbie from UpcycledSwag says:
thk u soooooooooooo much
1 year ago