How to create an online marketplace like Etsy
Etsy is a makers’ marketplace: independent creators open a shop, list what they make, and buyers come for things they cannot find in a chain store. The platform earns a fee on every sale. Here is how to build that model for your own community of makers on Kreezalid.
The short answer
A website like Etsy is a multi-vendor marketplace for creators: each maker has a shop with a name, a story and their own listings; buyers browse by category and material, and the operator earns a commission on each sale. On Kreezalid you build it from a handmade template, give every seller a storefront, and open it when the first makers have listed — no code.
The five features it needs
- A shop per seller. Every maker gets a public page with a cover, a description and all their listings.
- Attributes that fit handmade goods. Material, technique, dimensions, made-to-order: fields buyers filter on.
- Variants on a product. One mug in four colours, one print in three sizes, each with its price and stock.
- Reviews on shops and items. Photos and ratings from buyers are what sell a handmade item to the next one.
- SEO on every listing. Clean URLs, titles and structured data so a listing can rank on its own.
- a month to build it in private, on the Build plan
- €39
- from a template to a marketplace you can open
- ~7 days
- of free trial, no credit card
- 14 days
What Etsy actually does
Etsy chose a narrow domain — handmade, vintage, craft supplies — and built the mechanics around the seller rather than the product.
The shop is the unit
Buyers follow shops, not SKUs. Each seller has a name, a banner, an “about” story and policies; the listing page always points back to the shop.
Listing fees plus commission
Sellers pay a small fee to publish each listing, then a percentage of the sale. Visibility inside Etsy is sold separately as ads.
Attributes and variations
A handmade listing carries material, colour, size and whether it is made to order; variations let one listing cover several options.
Personalisation and messaging
Buyers ask for an engraving or a size in the conversation before they order; the seller confirms, then ships.
Reviews with photos
A review on Etsy is often a photo of the item in the buyer’s home. Shops live and die on their star rating.
Search as the front door
Most Etsy sales start from a search — on Etsy or on Google. Titles, tags and categories on each listing are what the seller optimises.
Etsy is a trademark of Etsy, Inc., with which Kreezalid is not affiliated. This page describes Etsy's publicly visible model so you can build your own version of it.
How to build it on Kreezalid, in 7 steps
Etsy’s model maps onto a products marketplace whose sellers are small makers. These are the seven settings that make the difference.
Pick your makers, and the handmade template. Ceramicists in one region, independent jewellers, illustrators selling prints: Etsy grew by being specific. Start from the Handmade & artisan template.
Build the categories and attributes. Categories by object (home, jewellery, art, supplies) and attributes buyers filter on: material, technique, colour, dimensions, made to order. Sellers list into that structure.
Give every maker a shop. Each seller has a public page with their listings; the Enhanced Vendor Stores app adds a cover image and a description of the business — the “about” page that sells handmade.
Add variants and options. The Product Variants app lets one listing carry several sizes or colours, each with its own price, stock and SKU. Listing Add-ons & Options covers paid extras such as gift wrapping or engraving.
Connect payments and set the commission. Stripe Connect splits every order: the buyer pays once, your commission is kept, the maker is paid out. Set the rate globally, per category or per seller. Sell visibility with featured listings.
Switch on reviews, wishlists and the inbox. Reviews on items and shops, a wishlist, and buyer–seller messaging for the “can you make it in blue?” conversation that precedes a handmade order.
Work the SEO, brand it, open. Clean URLs, editable titles and descriptions, structured data and an XML sitemap on every listing and shop; then colours, fonts and pages in the theme editor, your domain, and Launch.
Multilingual marketplace, several currencies? Both are built in: see every feature.
What Etsy’s model needs, and how Kreezalid covers it
The makers’ marketplace mechanics, sorted by what every plan includes, what an app adds, and what is not on offer.
Native on Kreezalid
- A public page per seller with all their listings
- Categories and custom attributes — material, technique, dimensions
- Reviews on items and sellers, moderated from the back office
- Buyer–seller inbox for requests before the order
- Clean URLs, editable titles and descriptions, structured data
- Stripe Connect split payments, commission per category or seller
- Featured and paid listings
- Digital products delivered instantly, physical items shipped by the maker
- Multilingual storefront and multi-currency
With an app, a theme edit or the API
- One listing, several sizes or colours — Product Variants app
- Shop cover image and “about” story — Enhanced Vendor Stores app
- Paid extras such as gift wrapping — Listing Add-ons & Options app
- Wishlist, discount coupons, listing tags — apps
- Rich snippets and XML sitemap per listing — apps
- Seller subscriptions — Paid Memberships or Stripe Subscriptions apps
- Maker on holiday — Vendor Holiday Mode app
- Product feed to Facebook and Instagram — Meta Catalog app
Custom development or out of scope
- An advertising marketplace with offsite ads
- A platform-funded purchase-protection programme
- Photo uploads inside a review — check with the team
- Etsy-style buyer traffic: yours to build
What you will not get
Honest limits, so the first maker you recruit hears them from you rather than discovering them.
Etsy’s buyers
Makers join Etsy for its traffic. On your marketplace, the traffic is yours to build — which is also why a maker who already has an audience is your best first seller.
An advertising marketplace
Etsy sells ads inside and outside its site. You can sell featured positions on your own pages; there is no ad auction or offsite ads programme.
A purchase-protection programme
Etsy refunds eligible orders from its own programme. On your marketplace you set the return and dispute policy and arbitrate cases yourself, with the payment held by the platform as your lever.
Unlimited listings on the opening plan
Launch carries 100 sellers and 2 000 listings. A marketplace with thousands of makers moves to Grow or Extend, where sellers and listings are unlimited.
Building something closer to another platform?
Each of these pages maps a well-known platform onto the same building blocks.
- Build a marketplace like Amazon →A multi-vendor product marketplace: shared catalogue, seller onboarding, one basket split per seller, commissions and shipping rules.
- Build a marketplace like eBay →A C2C second-hand marketplace: listings by individuals, fixed prices with offers, payments through the platform, seller reviews — no auctions.
- Build a marketplace like Airbnb →A booking marketplace: availability calendars, duration pricing, deposits, host profiles, two-sided reviews and payouts after each stay.
- Marketplace templates →24 starting points by sector and model, each with its pages and its booking or checkout flow configured.
Go further
Three guides for a marketplace whose sellers are makers: the niche, the sellers, the design.
- Why niche marketplaces win →How a narrow focus beats a general catalogue, and how to pick yours.
- Onboard your first sellers →Recruiting makers and getting their first listings live, without a sales team.
- What Amazon, Etsy and Airbnb got right →Marketing, a solid platform and a seller recruitment plan: the three things the big marketplaces share.
Building a marketplace like Etsy: FAQ
How do I create a website like Etsy without coding?
Start from Kreezalid’s Handmade & artisan template, create your categories and attributes, give each maker a storefront, connect Stripe Connect and set your commission, then brand it in the visual theme editor. No developers are involved.
How much does it cost to build a marketplace like Etsy?
€39 a month on Build while it is private, €129 a month on Launch when it opens, after a free 14-day trial without a credit card. Payment fees and marketing come on top.
Does each seller get their own shop page?
Yes. Every seller has a public page listing what they sell; the Enhanced Vendor Stores app adds a cover image and a description of their business.
Can a listing have several sizes or colours?
Yes, with the Product Variants app: each variant has its own price, stock and SKU. Paid extras such as gift wrapping use the Listing Add-ons & Options app.
Can I charge makers a listing fee like Etsy?
You can charge a commission on each sale, sell featured listings, and sell seller subscriptions through the Paid Memberships or Stripe Subscriptions apps. A per-listing publication fee is possible through paid listings.
Can buyers leave reviews with photos?
Buyers review items and sellers after a purchase, and you moderate reviews from the back office. Photo uploads inside a review are not a standard feature; check with the team if they are essential to your niche.
Can I sell digital downloads as well as handmade goods?
Yes. Digital products are delivered instantly after payment, alongside physical items that the maker ships.
Your makers’ marketplace could be live this week.
A shop per creator, variants, reviews and SEO on every listing: start from a template and open in about 7 days.
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