Personalization lets your Etsy buyers add their own details to an order, such as a name to engrave, a font to choose or a photo to upload. You set up the questions once in Shuttle's settings, and Shuttle sends them to your Etsy listings.
You can also connect each question to a Shopify product metafield, so every product shows its own details instead of the same text everywhere.
Turn on personalization
You switch on personalization in Shuttle's product settings.
In Shuttle, go to Settings > Products > General.
Find the Personalization section.
Tick Enable personalization on transferred and updated listings.
Add personalization questions
Each listing can have up to 5 personalization questions, which is Etsy's limit. In the Personalization section, click Add personalization question to add a question, then choose its type:
Text: the buyer types an answer. You can set a maximum length.
Drop-down menu: the buyer picks one of the options you list.
File upload with labels: the buyer uploads one file for each label you name.
File upload: the buyer uploads files, up to a number you choose.
Etsy allows only one file upload question per listing. If you add a second one, Shuttle does not send it.
Set up each personalization question
Each personalization question has a few details you can fill in:
A title, which is what the buyer sees, for example "Name to engrave". If you leave it empty, Shuttle uses "Personalization".
An option to make it required, so buyers must answer before they buy.
Short instructions to guide the buyer. Drop-down menus do not have instructions.
A list of choices, for drop-down menus and labeled uploads. You need at least 2.
A Text or File upload question with no title and no instructions is not sent to Etsy.
Connect a Shopify metafield to a personalization question
Connecting a Shopify product metafield lets each product show its own personalization details. Without one, every product that uses your personalization settings sends the same question text.
For example, you could keep a "Font choices" metafield on each product with that product's available fonts, and connect it to a drop-down question. Each Etsy listing then shows its own fonts. For options, use a list metafield or a text metafield with the choices separated by commas.
To connect a metafield, click Select metafield under the field you want to fill (the title, the instructions or the options), then choose the metafield. A few things to know:
Only text metafields can be connected: Text, Multi-line text and List of text. Other kinds, such as file or reference metafields, are not supported and do not appear in the list.
The metafield has to already exist as a product metafield in your Shopify admin. Shuttle does not create it for you.
When a product has a value in the connected metafield, Shuttle uses that value for that product. When the metafield is empty, Shuttle falls back to the text you typed, so you always have a sensible default.
Connect a different metafield to each field. If you connect the same metafield to two fields, they overwrite each other.
How personalization syncs between Shopify and Etsy
Personalization works in both directions. Shuttle sends your questions to Etsy, and saves Etsy's questions back into your connected Shopify metafields.
From Shopify to Etsy
Shuttle sends your personalization questions to Etsy when you transfer a product, or when you update it with the Personalization option selected. Each product uses its own values from any connected metafields, and the text you typed otherwise.
Shuttle only adds personalization questions to Etsy listings that do not have any yet. It never changes or removes questions that are already on your Etsy listing.
To refresh a listing's questions from your settings, remove them on Etsy first. Then update the product from Shuttle with Personalization selected.
From Etsy to Shopify
Shuttle saves a listing's personalization questions into your connected metafields when you bring an Etsy product into Shopify, or when you run an update with the Personalization option selected. This keeps your Shopify data in step with Etsy.
Shuttle fills empty metafields freely, but it is careful with metafields that already have something in them. It only changes or clears those when it is completely sure which question belongs to which metafield. If there is any doubt, it leaves the metafield exactly as it is, so your existing data is never overwritten on a guess.
Include personalization in an update
In the update window, Personalization is its own option, separate from Metafields. Tick Personalization whenever you want personalization included in an update.
Fix common personalization problems
A problem with personalization does not stop the rest of the product. Shuttle skips only the personalization step, and the rest of your product still transfers or updates as normal.
Check these when personalization does not turn out as you expect:
A question shows your typed text instead of the metafield value. The product's metafield is probably empty, or its type is not one of the supported text types. Check that the product has a value, and that the metafield is Text, Multi-line text or List of text.
A metafield is missing when you try to connect it. Only text metafields appear, and the metafield must already be set up as a product metafield in your Shopify admin.
Your Etsy questions did not change after an update. Shuttle does not overwrite questions that are already on a listing. Remove them on Etsy, then update the product again with Personalization selected.
A drop-down question did not appear on Etsy. A drop-down question needs at least 2 options.
What are the limits for personalization questions?
Personalization questions follow these limits:
Up to 5 personalization questions per listing, and only one file upload question.
Question titles are 1 to 45 characters. Instructions are up to 120 characters. Text answers can be up to 1024 characters.
Drop-down menus need 2 to 30 options, each up to 20 characters.
Labeled uploads need at least 2 labels.
File upload questions allow up to 10 files.
Only text metafields can be connected: Text, Multi-line text and List of text.
A connected metafield must already exist in Shopify. Shuttle does not create it.
An empty or unsupported metafield always falls back to the text you typed.
Get help with personalization
If you are not sure how personalization applies to your shop, contact us through the chat bubble.