In April of this year we launched Pattern, a custom website service for Etsy sellers that takes advantage of all the work they’ve already put into their Etsy shops. Pattern imports listings and content from Etsy shops, syncs inventory and orders, and leverages familiar tools for checking out and shipping. We’ve been really encouraged by the response to Pattern so far - Pattern sellers have told us they love how easy it is to use and how great it is for branding their shop, on their own domain. In the six months since we launched Pattern we’ve kept busy, regularly releasing important updates, including: four new themes, new search and image display options and, most recently, the ability for Pattern users to host a blog and share their stories right from their Pattern sites. Today we’re announcing our biggest update to Pattern yet - Guest Checkout. For the first time, visitors to Pattern sites will not need to have an Etsy account to make a purchase. Pattern sellers can also now communicate directly with interested buyers to keep them up-to-date on shop news thanks to a new integration with leading email marketing service MailChimp. We’ve been listening to our sellers’ input on features that would help them get even more out of Pattern and we think they’re going to be really excited about today’s updates. Here are the highlights:

Guest Checkout: All Pattern sites will now allow buyers to make a purchase without having an Etsy account, giving sellers the ability to reach a whole new audience of buyers. Those buyers will be presented with the option to check out from Pattern sites as a guest by simply providing their email address, shipping address and payment method.

MailChimp Integration and Email Forwarding: Sellers now have the option of connecting their Pattern site to a MailChimp account, which will allow buyers to sign up for shop newsletters via a signup field at the bottom of their site. With this functionality, Pattern sellers will be able to let their customers know about new items, deals and more. Sellers who purchased a domain through Pattern can also now set up a business email alias for their domain (such as info@yourdomainname.com), which can be redirected to a seller’s existing email address.

Announcement Banners: Pattern sellers will now be able to post a promotional message or shop announcement at the top of their Pattern site. This is separate from their shop announcement on their Etsy shop, and gives Pattern sellers yet another way to communicate important information like sales or coupon codes, new/seasonal items and new blog posts to buyers.

We’ll be gradually rolling out Guest Checkout to buyers over the next two weeks, so some may begin seeing the option as soon as today. The other exciting new features, along with some additional redesigned experiences, are all available starting today. We’re looking forward to seeing the ways our sellers will take advantage of these new features. We’ll continue to listen to feedback and launch new features that help our sellers grow their creative businesses with Pattern – keep tabs on the latest updates to Pattern here.