When you transfer or update products between Etsy and Shopify, you may not want every image to arrive exactly as it is. Shuttle lets you choose which images are sent, in what order, and what alt text they get.
Where to find the image settings
The image settings are in Settings > Products. Open the Etsy → Shopify or Shopify → Etsy tab and go to the Images section.
Each direction has its own image settings. If you transfer products both ways, set up both tabs.
Choose how many images to transfer
The Images to include setting controls how many images Shuttle sends. You'll find it in the Images section of each tab:
Include all images: Shuttle sends every product image.
Include only the first image: good for simple listings that don't need extra images.
Include only the first 2 images up to Include only the first 8 images: Shuttle sends only that many images, counting from the first.
Include all except the last image: useful when your last image is a promotional image meant only for Etsy. This option is only on the Etsy → Shopify tab.
Don't include images: Shuttle sends no images, so you can add them yourself after the transfer.
Shuttle applies the Images to include limit last, after it removes any excluded images and reorders the rest.
Skip specific images
You can skip images by their position, which helps when some images, such as promotional ones, don't suit the other platform. Enter the positions as they appear on your source product, separated by commas. For example, to skip the first and fourth images, enter 1,4.
This field is called Excluded images on the Etsy → Shopify tab and Image positions to exclude on the Shopify → Etsy tab. The field is hidden when Images to include is set to Don't include images.
Move images to a different position
You can move an image to a different position on the other platform. On the Etsy → Shopify tab this is called Reorder images, and on the Shopify → Etsy tab it is called Image mapping.
Click Add mapping row.
Enter an Etsy image # (from 1 to 10) and a Shopify image #.
Add more rows as needed, then save your changes.
For example, map Etsy #5 to Shopify #2 to make a detail shot the second image in Shopify.
A few rules apply to mapping rows:
Both directions share the same mapping rows. A row you add on one tab also shows up on the other tab and applies to transfers both ways.
Each Etsy position and each Shopify position can only be used once.
On the Shopify → Etsy tab, you can't map a Shopify position that you have also excluded.
Choose the main image on Etsy
The First image setting on the Shopify → Etsy tab picks which image becomes the main image of the Etsy listing:
Use Shopify image order: keeps the order from Shopify.
Prefer square images first: moves a square image to the front.
Use last image as first: moves your last Shopify image to the front.
Set custom alt text for your images
Good alt text helps shoppers find your products in search and makes your listings more accessible. Under Customize alt text, enter a Custom alt text template with placeholders, and Shuttle fills them in for each product.
On the Etsy → Shopify tab, you can use:
[TITLE]: the product's title
[SHOPNAME]: your Etsy shop name
[SECTION]: the product's Etsy section
[CATEGORY]: the product's category
[MATERIALS]: the product's materials
On the Shopify → Etsy tab, you can use:
[TITLE]: the product's title
[TYPE]: the product type
[VENDOR]: the product vendor
[SHOPNAME]: your Etsy shop name
[CATEGORY]: the product's category
For example, [TITLE] - [SHOPNAME] gives alt text like "Handmade Necklace - MyEtsyShop".
When the alt text template is used
For Etsy → Shopify transfers, Shuttle only uses your template for images that have no alt text yet. To apply it to every image, tick Overwrite existing alt text, which appears once you have entered a template.
For Shopify → Etsy transfers, Shuttle first gives the product title to every image that has no alt text. So your template is only used when Overwrite existing alt text is ticked.
If you leave the Custom alt text template empty, Shuttle keeps each image's existing alt text. Images with no alt text get the product title.
Choose which option gets variation images on Etsy
Etsy shows variation images for only one option on a listing. For example, if a product has Color and Size, Etsy can show images for one of them, not both. Shuttle picks the option whose images differ across its values.
You can stop Shuttle from ever adding images to an option. On the Shopify → Etsy tab, enter the Shopify option name under Variation images and click Add. This helps with options that describe size or quantity rather than how the product looks.
Give PNG images a white background on Etsy
Etsy fills transparent PNG backgrounds with black, which may not look the way you want. To avoid this, set PNG background on the Shopify → Etsy tab to Transfer PNG images with a white background, and Shuttle sends these images with a white background instead.
If Shuttle can't get a white-background version of an image, it sends the original and Etsy fills the background with black. If your images are already JPEGs, you don't need the PNG background setting.
Add extra images to Etsy listings
For Shopify → Etsy transfers, you can also add extra images to listings based on a collection, tag or section.