Who is about what, and I’m talking again about photography. Honestly. I mean the first photo of your product in the Etsy listing. I don’t know which topic I’ve paid as much attention to as this one, honestly.
I’ve counted at least three materials about photos on Etsy on our channel, and now we have an update from Etsy again. Well, again.
Hello, you’re on the Western Bid UA channel, and my name is Victoria Zhidok. I am developing my small business on Etsy, as well as representing the trading agency Western Bid, where we help Ukrainian businesses with international sales and delivery of their products worldwide.
What to understand about photos on Etsy
It is important for us to understand and remember the main thing — that photos should convert into sales. And we, as sellers, understand this, but Etsy always conducts experiments with this. They constantly change things.
A couple of years ago, I talked about another update when Etsy, after conducting research, decided that buyers respond better to square photos of products than to horizontal rectangular ones, and we all immediately started changing the main photo in listings. Well, that was the case.
And now it turns out that the concept is changing again. Currently, vertical rectangular photos are prioritized, but this only seems to be for search. But if you go to any store page, the photos will be displayed in a square. Well, that’s how it is.
Our team noticed this a couple of months ago — initially, vertical images appeared in search on Etsy, specifically in the Etsy mobile app, and recently, the search has been updated for other devices as well.
How will Etsy photos be displayed in 2026
| Display location | Photo format | Seller advice |
|---|---|---|
| General search | Vertical rectangle | It is important that the top and bottom are not too cropped. |
| Your store page | Classic square | The product should be clearly centered. |
| Recommendations (Related) | Horizontal / Square | Extra free space is needed on the sides. |
So what should we do now?
So what should we do now, redo our photos again, and what should they look like to still fit different formats? Well, that’s the question.
To find an answer, I went to see how photos look in different formats in Etsy search, and fortunately, everything is more or less fine. Almost all photos fit nicely into the new format.
However, I would still recommend that all sellers check how your listings appear in search to make sure everything is okay, so you can quickly fix anything that isn’t right.
But this time, Etsy has slightly improved the transition from one image format to another and now even shows us how the main image of our listing will look depending on where the listing is displayed on Etsy. Well, at least like this.
How to check your photos — step by step
Friends, well, look, I took a few different image formats as an example, and I just wanted to show how you can track this on Etsy and, accordingly, understand that your photo will look good in different places where Etsy displays your images.
Again, I want to repeat and emphasize that, in most cases, Etsy quite nicely incorporates photos, yes, meaning we automatically get a pretty good result. But there are nuances. For example, a photo can be quite elongated.
And, in order to do something with it, we can, of course, click Edit and try to do something here, but for now, we won’t make any corrections and will go and see how our thumbnail will look. And this very button is for our first image.
For other pictures, if you add subsequent product photos, this button will no longer be visible.
And we get to see how Etsy will display our product and the corresponding thumbnail formats. And, by the way, Etsy shows us here in which formats your images and products can be displayed — yes, in square form, again, like all items in our store.
Next, as a portrait — this is directly how our products appear in search on Etsy, and this applies not only to desktop computers but also to other gadgets. For example, from the mobile version, all images in search already appear rectangular.
And look, I don’t know why there are so many different formats, but horizontal photos are also used by Etsy and, in some places — on the main search pages, on listing pages themselves. To show a different product, Etsy will display horizontal photos.
Check-list for the perfect main photo
| Parameter | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Aspect Ratio | Square (1:1) or Portrait (4:3). |
| Composition | The object being photographed should be clearly centered in the frame. |
| Free Margins | Minimum of 15-20% background on each side of the item. |
| Check | Use the “Edit Thumbnail” button in the Etsy editor. |
Conclusion
Therefore, we conclude that your image can, in principle, be of any shape — both vertical and horizontal, but there should be enough space at the top, bottom, and sides for Etsy to automatically and correctly fit the picture as potential buyers will see it in different places. Well, that’s the trick.
So, what conclusion can we draw from all of this?
At a minimum, it is guaranteed that Etsy will continue to test different photo display formats. That’s how it will be. So, the team and I decided that we will continue to use square images or vertical images with an aspect ratio of 4:3 for the main image.
Meanwhile, the product should be centered and it is mandatory to leave free space at the top, bottom, and edges in the photo. I hope this will help me and I won’t need to take new product photos every time. Because it already tires me out.
Perhaps you also have observations about this — I would be very glad if you share your thoughts. Wishing everyone success and see you soon!
- Is it necessary to change the main photo in the Etsy listing due to new display formats?
In short — not always. Etsy has previously changed approaches to photo display, and now this is another testing phase. In most cases, your images already automatically adapt to new formats fine. But that doesn’t mean you should ignore it altogether. It’s better to check how your product appears in search: whether it’s not cropped, whether it’s clear what’s being sold. If the picture looks strange or doesn’t attract attention — then yes, you should make a slight adjustment. - How to check if the product photo displays correctly on Etsy?
The simplest way is to use the thumbnail preview directly in the listing editing. Etsy shows how your photo will look in different formats: square, vertical, and horizontal. And here it’s important not just to look but to realistically assess: whether the product is clearly visible, whether it has shifted to one side, or is cropped. Sometimes, just slightly shifting the image makes it look much better in all variations. - Which photo is better to use as the main image on Etsy?
Currently, there is no universal “perfect” format because Etsy is constantly testing something new. But there’s a working approach: either a square or a vertical photo with an approximate 4:3 ratio. The main thing is not the format itself but how the product is positioned in the frame. It should be centered, and it’s advisable to leave some free space around it. This margin allows Etsy to properly adjust the image to different formats so that it looks neat and clear in search and in the shop.
