Running your own Etsy store means handling everything from product copy to banner images, but what can you do if those images aren’t displaying the way you want them to? Why is your Etsy banner blurry or fuzzy, and how can you fix it?

Etsy has a minimum standard size and quality requirement for their banners of various sizes. If your banner is blurry or fuzzy, that generally means that your image is either too small, and you need to replace it with a larger image, too large, and you need to replace it with a smaller image, or in the wrong format.

Here’s what you need to know about creating a clear Etsy banner image, and how you can troubleshoot some of these common banner quality issues.

Why Your Etsy Banner is Blurry or Fuzzy

Like most sites that allow customization, Etsy has a standard for the dimensions of images uploaded to a user’s profile for various uses such as profile pictures, product icons, and, of course, banner images. This is so that the image you choose matches the template already in place for the website’s display.

For big banners – the banners that span the top of your Etsy store page – the minimum recommended size is 1200 x 300 pixels, while the optimal size is 3360 x 840 pixels, according to Etsy themselves. Mini banners – which shift listings higher up on the desktop – should be 1200 x 160 pixels. These don’t display on mobile screens.

If your banner is showing up in your shop as blurry or fuzzy, the most likely reason behind this is that your image is too small. This means that the image is being stretched and distorted to fill the available space in the website’s template.

Alternatively, your image may be too large. Etsy has a 1MB threshold for images. Anything larger than that will cause issues with upload speeds and may be compressed to fit into the template, causing the image to become distorted.

You may also have an image in a file type that isn’t retaining as much detail as you would like. While Etsy supports JPG, PNG, and GIFs, it doesn’t support animated GIFs or transparent PNGs. If your banner includes those, it may display incorrectly or refuse to display at all.

How to Fix a Blurry or Fuzzy Etsy Banner

The easiest way to fix a blurry or fuzzy Etsy banner is to upload a larger image file so that it appears in higher resolution. If you do not have a larger image file, you may need to create a new banner that fits the image size requirements for the site.

If you have trouble creating a large file, stick to a simpler design. Minimalist banners with blocks of color and text rather than complicated designs or photographs have less detail to carry over and so can sometimes be managed with the minimum file size.

If, on the other end of the spectrum, your image is too large, you can compress your image before uploading it to get the proper resolution. This might involve exporting it in a smaller size from the original creation program, as running the existing image through compression software runs the risk of lowering the resolution manually.

If your issue isn’t the size of your file but its format, consider converting it. PNG files will carry the most detail over, but will also be the largest files, meaning they might cause slower loading times. JPGs don’t have quite as much detail, but are more compact, meaning your image will load more quickly and with fewer problems.

Determine how much detail you need in your image and select the best file type from there.

Conclusion

Your Etsy banner image is one of the first things that your customers are going to see when they encounter your shop, so you need to make sure that you leave them with a good impression. You can achieve this by having a clear, cleverly designed banner.

If you need help creating a correctly formatted Etsy banner, Placeit.net is here to help. Placeit.net has hundreds of Etsy Banner Templates that you can use to create a customized banner for your shop in just a few minutes. The sizing and image quality are handled for you, so all you have to worry about is the design.

Ready to make a banner that stands out from the crowd? Head over to Placeit to make a free account and start designing today.