All help topics

Templates

In this chapter you'll learn how to create, edit, and use listing templates. A template lets you save the information you'd otherwise retype for every product (category, description, price, variations, shipping, personalization, shared photos) just once. When you open a new listing, you pick the template and those fields come pre-filled.

Templates page

The Templates menu in the sidebar takes you to /templates. This menu appears in every store, whatever the store type. The page title is Listing Templates.

Templates are store-specific: each store has its own templates. When you switch to another store, you see that store's templates.

Tip: As the page subtitle says, fill in the parts that repeat (description, shipping, variations) in the template. Titles and tags are unique to each product; you write those in the listing.

Template card

Each template appears as a card. The card shows the template's name, its category, and, if it has any, the number of variation types (e.g. 2 variation(s) for Size and Color).

  • Clicking anywhere on the card opens the template edit form.
  • The three-dot menu (More actions) in the top right corner of the card offers two actions:
    • Duplicate: Creates a copy of the template with all of its fields. "(copy)" is added to the end of the copy's name.
    • Delete: Asks you to confirm the deletion; Confirm deletes it, Cancel backs out.
  • The Start a listing button at the bottom of the card opens a new listing filled in from the template (see Using a template).

Creating a new template

  1. Click the New template button. The New Listing Template form opens.
  2. In the Name * field, type a name you'll recognize the template by (for example, "Ceramic mug — standard"). The name is the only required field.
  3. Go through the form's tabs and fill in the fields you need (details below).
  4. Click Save Template. The message Template saved. appears.

When you edit an existing template, the form title becomes Edit Listing Template, and saving shows the message Template updated. To leave the form, click Cancel.

Tip: Fields you leave empty also come in empty on the listing; none of them are required. But if you plan to use the AI listing wizard, having the category, price, and shipping in the template speeds things up (see Templates in the wizard).

Form tabs

The form is split into five tabs, in the same layout as the listing editor.

Photos & video

  • Shared photos: Photos to add to every listing created from this template, such as a size chart or a care-instructions graphic. Click the Add box or drag and drop the images. JPG, PNG, and WebP are accepted. Because of Etsy's limit, you can add up to 20 photos.
  • Shared video: A single video to add to every listing. Upload an MP4 or MOV with Add video.
  • Mockups: Appears only in stores whose product type is Print on demand (POD) or Mixed (both). It's covered separately below.

Item details

  • Category: Choose the Etsy category from the picker. The category is saved in the template.
  • Description boilerplate: Description text shared across listings. How to use it with placeholders is explained below.
  • Materials (comma-separated): For example, "cotton, brass".
  • Who made it and When made: The options Etsy asks for. To leave them empty, choose — None —.

Note: On a listing you open with Start a listing, you still need to choose the category yourself; on Etsy, the category is what creates the draft. The category in the template is used directly by the AI wizard.

Price & inventory

  • Default Price and Default Quantity.
  • Variations: The same variation editor as in the listing editor. You can add options like size and color and set the price, quantity, and SKU of each combination.
    • The Prices vary, Quantities vary, and SKUs vary options determine which values change by option.
    • On the Auto-fill from base: row, you can enter a Base price and a Step up, then press Apply to build a price ladder.
    • If there are no variations yet, you can use POD quick-start: apparel sizes × colors to add a Size (S–2XL) × Color (Black, White, Navy, Sand) matrix as a starting point.

Shipping

  • Shipping Profile: The list comes from the shipping profiles defined in your Etsy store. To create a new profile, see the Dashboard and Settings chapter.
  • Shop Section: Choose one of the sections in your Etsy store.
  • Return Policy: Your return policies on Etsy are listed as Accepts returns or No returns.
  • Processing min (days) and Processing max (days): The time until the order is handed to the carrier.

Personalization

  1. Turn on the Enable personalization switch. Buyers can add a note when ordering.
  2. Type the question in the Question for buyers field (for example, "Name to engrave").
  3. Optionally, fill in the Instructions (optional) field (up to 120 characters).
  4. Limit how much the buyer can write with Max characters; if you want it to be mandatory, check Required.

Description boilerplate and {{ }} placeholders

Most of a description template is the same for every product (care instructions, shipping note, shop story). You mark the product-specific part with {{ }}.

  1. On the Item details tab, type your shared text in the description box.
  2. Place the cursor where the product-specific text should go.
  3. Click the Insert placeholder button. {{ special to listing }} is inserted at the cursor.
  4. If you like, change the label inside the braces, for example {{ design details }} or {{ dimensions }}. Each label is filled in as a separate section.

Example:

{{ special to listing }}

Care: Wash inside out at 30°C.
Every item is made to order and ships within 1–3 business days.

When the AI wizard writes a listing with this template, it fills in each {{ }} section for that product and copies the rest of the text word for word. It deletes any placeholder it can't fill; curly braces never reach Etsy.

Warning: On a listing you open manually with Start a listing, placeholders are not filled in automatically; the text {{ special to listing }} shows up in the description as is. Replace that part with your own text before saving.

Adding mockups to POD templates

If your store's product type is Print on demand (POD) or Mixed (both), you'll see the Mockups field on the Photos & video tab. The mockups you choose here are used when you create a listing from a design with this template: your design is placed on each mockup, and the images are added to the start of the listing in the order you chose. The first mockup becomes the main photo.

  1. Click Choose mockups. The Mockups for this template window opens.
  2. Choose from your own mockups. A template can carry at most 10 mockups.
  3. Click Done.
  4. Change the order with the Move earlier and Move later arrows on the mockup tiles; remove the ones you don't want.

Note: The Protsy library appears if this feature is enabled on your account. If it is, a Protsy library tab appears in the window next to your own mockups, and you can also choose from ready-made templates.

If you later delete a mockup, its tile in the template shows Not found; remove it and choose a new one in its place. To prepare mockups, see the POD: Designs, Mockups, and Studio chapter.

Creating a template from an existing listing

If you have a listing that performs well, turning it into a template is the fastest route.

  1. Open the listing in the listing editor.
  2. Click the three-dot menu in the top right corner and choose Create template.
  3. In the Create template from this listing window, type a Template name (for example, "Ceramic mug — standard").
  4. Click Create template. The message Template created appears, and the template shows up on the Templates page.

The following carry over from the listing to the template: description, materials, price, quantity, Etsy category, shipping profile, shop section, return policy, processing time, who made it / when made, variations, photos, the first video if there is one, and the personalization question. The title and tags are copied too.

Note: The template form has no title or tags fields, but the title and tags that came from the listing are stored in the template; they're kept even when you edit and save the template in the form.

Tip: The description of a template created from a listing contains sentences specific to that product. Open the template, delete the product-specific part, and put {{ special to listing }} in its place with Insert placeholder. That way, the wizard rewrites that part for each new product.

Using a template

Manually: Start a listing

  1. On the Templates page, click Start a listing on the template card.
  2. The listing editor opens in create mode; the description, materials, price, quantity, shipping, shop section, return policy, and other fields are filled in from the template.
  3. Choose a Category. As soon as you choose the category, a draft is created on Etsy and the editor switches to the live draft.
  4. The template's shared photos, video, variations, and personalization question are added to the listing once the draft is created.
  5. Write the title and tags, fill in the placeholder in the description, review, and publish.

You can also reach the same flow through the Start from a template option in the New listing window, which opens from the New listing button in the top right corner of the Listings page. For details, see the Listings chapter.

Templates in the Protsy AI wizard

Note: This feature appears if it is enabled on your account.

The AI listing wizard doesn't work without a template: the category, price, variations, and shipping aren't guessed; they come from the template you choose. The AI writes the title, the tags, and the {{ }} sections in the description based on your product.

  • If you don't have any templates, the wizard says You don't have a template yet; Create a template takes you straight to an empty template form.
  • If the template you choose is missing information Etsy requires, the Finish "…" window opens. The fields are pre-filled with the values you use most often in your store. When you press Save & create the draft, this information is also saved to the template, so you won't be asked again.

For all the steps of the wizard, see the Listings and Protsy AI and Insights chapters.

Frequently asked questions

Can I write a title and tags in a template? The template form doesn't have these fields, because titles and tags should be specific to each product. Templates you create from a listing carry the title and tags, and keep them when you save them in the form.

I started a listing from a template, but the category came in empty. This is expected. On a listing you start manually, you choose the category; as soon as you choose it, a draft is created on Etsy. The category in the template is used directly in the AI wizard.

The text {{ special to listing }} was left in my description. Only the AI wizard fills in placeholders. On a listing you started manually, replace this text with your own description. Don't forget to delete the braces before sending it to Etsy.

I can't see the Mockups field in the template form. This field appears only in stores whose product type is Print on demand (POD) or Mixed (both). You can change the product type in the Product type field on the Settings → General tab. If you switch to a physical store, mockups you chose earlier aren't deleted; they just aren't used.

Can I use a template in another store? No. Templates belong to the store they were created in. The shipping profile, shop section, and return policy are also tied to that store's Etsy settings.

The shipping profile list is empty. The list comes from the shipping profiles in your Etsy store. If you don't have a profile on Etsy, create one first (Dashboard and Settings).

Other chapters