Etsy listing photo size
Etsy's help asks for listing photos at least 2,000 pixels on each side, and says the first photo should be at least 635 px wide and tall to avoid appearing lower in search. Third-party guides recommend a 4:3 or 1:1 shape and suggest keeping files under about 1 MB for fast loading; that is a recommendation, not an Etsy limit. This preset sets a 2,000 px long edge and aims under 1 MB.
Thumbnails crop to square
Etsy shows listing thumbnails in search and shop pages cropped to a shape you can adjust when you list. Keep the product centred with space around it so any crop works. For a consistent shop, shoot every product the same way and crop them all to the same ratio.
Shooting products
- Use daylight from a window, with white card opposite to fill shadows.
- Use a plain background; white, grey or a simple texture that suits your brand.
- Shoot several angles plus a detail shot and an in-use shot.
- For a clean white background, the product photo preset removes the background and centres the product.
Why 1 MB?
Buyers browse on phones. Large files load slowly, and Etsy re-compresses what you upload anyway. A 2,000 px JPEG at quality 85 is usually 400 KB to 1 MB and looks identical on screen.
Batches
Drop a whole product shoot in at once (ten free, 500 with the batch licence) and download a ZIP ready to upload.
Uploading to Etsy, step by step
- Open the listing in Shop Manager.
- Add photos; Etsy lets you adjust the thumbnail crop for the first one.
- Upload the compressed images in the order you want them shown.
- Preview the listing on a phone, where most buyers browse.
Checklist before you upload
- First photo shows the product clearly on a clean background.
- At least 2,000 px on each side, per Etsy's help.
- Consistent lighting and angle across your shop.
- Detail, scale and in-use shots after the first.
If Etsy rejects the file
- Too large: lower the target a little (some systems count 1 KB as 1,000 bytes) and run it again.
- Wrong type: make sure it is a .jpg; some systems refuse WebP or HEIC.
- Too small or blurry: start from the original photo rather than a screenshot or a copy sent through a messaging app, which are already compressed.
- Sideways: the photo relied on an orientation tag; the tool applies orientation, so re-run it from the original if needed.
The limits used by this preset are the commonly quoted ones and are flagged for checking in the sources below; if Etsy states a different figure on its upload screen, change the target above the button to match.
Lighting that sells
Natural window light is the most flattering light for most products. Shoot near a window on an overcast day or with sheer curtains, with a white card on the opposite side to lift shadows. Avoid mixing daylight with warm indoor bulbs, which gives an orange cast that is hard to correct.
Consistency across a shop
A shop where every first photo has the same background, angle and crop looks professional in search results and on your shop page. Shoot a whole range in one session with the same setup, then process the batch together with identical settings.
Private by design
The image never leaves your device. It is decoded in your browser, processed in a background worker by open-source codecs compiled to WebAssembly (MozJPEG, libwebp, libavif and OxiPNG, via the jsquash project, plus pica for resizing) and handed back as a download. There is no upload, no account and no server copy to delete. You can confirm it in your browser's developer tools: the Network tab shows the page's own files and the codec files loading, and nothing carrying your image. After the first visit the tools work offline.