Etsy listing photos: how many, what size, and how the crop works

Etsy takes up to 20 photos and 2 videos per listing, and its help center says a weak main photo can push a listing down in search. Here are Etsy's numbers and rules.

How many photos and videos

Each listing takes up to 20 photos and 2 videos. Etsy gives no target number: its Listings manager flags "Too few photos" without saying where "few" ends. What Etsy does say: "Having multiple clear, high-resolution images in your listing is an important factor for your listings' quality."

Size and file type

• Size: "We recommend your listing photos have a width and height of at least 2000 pixels or more." The form warns when a photo is under 2000 pixels wide, but Etsy calls that a suggestion and you can still publish.
• First photo: at least 635 pixels wide and tall "to avoid showing up lower in searches."
• File types: .jpg, .gif, .png, .svg or .heic. Animated GIFs and transparent PNGs are not supported, and transparent areas appear black.
• Color: convert to sRGB before uploading so colors match your originals.

Ratio and the thumbnail crop

Etsy names no single aspect ratio for listing photos. The crop tool offers suggested sizes, or you drag the corners to pick your own. The rules Etsy does give concern the first photo, which becomes the thumbnail:

• It "should be horizontal (landscape) or square", so the center of the image survives the cropped thumbnail views. The thumbnail advice is blunter: "Avoid square crops. Upload horizontal or landscape images."
• It "dictates the shape of the photos that follow", so keep every photo the same shape.
• The thumbnail shows in three views, and you need "enough of a border that they can be cropped to square, portrait, and landscape thumbnails without losing some of the product."

In the listing editor, choose Adjust Thumbnail and zoom until the subject is clear in all three views. Crop first, because "you won't be able to undo the crop after you save it"; the fix is to upload the original again. To change which photo comes first, drag it to the front.

What the main photo does to search

Etsy's search visibility page says an active listing needs to meet certain requirements for "a chance to receive priority placement". For photos, that means at least one image, a primary photo of 2000 pixels or more, "a singular image of a finished product (no collaged or stitched together images)", and a primary photo that is clear and well lit. The Listings manager reports photo issues such as a blurry or low quality main photo, a main photo that is too dark, too few photos, and a main photo that is a collage. Etsy says these "may result in your listings appearing lower in search results."

Video

Etsy says listing videos "can also help improve how your listings appear in Etsy search." Limits: 2 per listing, 100 MB each, in MP4, MOV, FLV, AAC, AVI, 3GP or MPEG. Length is 3 to 15 seconds (the create-a-listing article says 5 to 15, so use 5 or more). Audio is removed on upload. Minimum resolution is 500 pixels, ideal is at least 1080 pixels, and Etsy gives the aspect ratio as 2:1 or 1:2.

Alt text

If your shop language is English, each photo can carry an image description of up to 250 characters. It does not show on the page. Etsy says it lets search engines outside Etsy read the image and "might also positively impact" SEO. Describe the item's look, texture and scale.

Checking photos with Listrank

On a listing page, the Listrank panel shows that listing's photo count beside its price, shop rating and description length. It cannot show a competitor's photo count, because Etsy's search results do not include it. The shop audit flags any listing in your CSV with fewer than 5 photos. That 5 is Listrank's own cut-off, not an Etsy rule, and neither tool judges quality. For the other listing quality checks, see how Etsy search ranks listings.