I just noticed something strange on the zazzle.com homepage: when I click on any product, it doesn’t take me to the regular product detail page. Instead, it opens directly inside the design tool / edit mode. Is this a new default feature?
The product wasn’t a template, nor is it from my own store—it was just an image I found interesting. After clicking around, I realized all the product links are behaving the same way.
with a click on birtday and no idea what hat…
This one first, click on first
I have noticed this, too. But it only does it for me when I open an incognito browser tab on Chrome on my mobile. I checked on my laptop using chrome and duck duck go and neither of those browsers do it. When I checked using my mobile in the incognito window I searched for wedding invitations. When I clicked on a product in search it took me straight to the “moments” page (no products page). This is terrible because any wedding invitation I clicked on went straight to the vague “moments” page (not directly showing the product but the page where a customer can type in their details and it shows 3 unrelated invitations on the right hand side). I hope this is just some weird glitch that will get resolved.
ETA: I just clicked on another designers card on pinterest and instead of taking me to the product page, it took me straight to this “moments” page with the photo of 3 unrelated Christmas cards showing on the right. This is in Chrome on my laptop. It is the right product page, but even just to look at the card you are sent into the design tool and have to click “Skip the Next Step” to even see the card. On top of that, since it opens the product directly in the design tool, it automatically adds it to your saved versions.
Just to be clear, a pin on Pinterest takes you somewhere other than the product within the pin?
This is a big problem, considering that Pinterest could ultimately ban accounts for having different links to other unrelated web pages. And not only that, customers will see this and leave immediately thinking that Zazzle has something wrong with it.
I tested two different Pinterest links for wedding invitations. I don’t have this problem. I get taken directly to the product page as per the usual way. I’m using Google Chrome.
ETA: I tested from my phone and laptop and I don’t have any problems.
What I am seeing is when clicking on the pin it takes you into the design editor for that product, but I am first met with the generic moments section that you either have to fill out or hit the skip to next button to actually see the product.
I have just had that problem when looking at paper cups on Firefox – it immediately took me to personalizing the product. It is very disconcerting to say the least.
Currently all of my product pages (across all of my shops) aren’t showing the Personalize option at all. All there is is ‘Edit’. I’m so lost. Haven’t been here for a while so I can’t even get my head around the new forum at the moment, lol. Is this something to do with a site redesign? I have noticed Personalize is still an option for other people’s stores?
Alright, once again there’s zero warning about a change, nor any heads-up that this is just a test. Well, I guess I’ll test my own customer loyalty now too, and start being 100% honest about how I view Zazzle—and talk openly about it.
This test is overwhelming my customers, and it’s overwhelming me. Your site layout just isn’t intuitive or clear. On top of that, not every shopper is tech-savvy enough to handle the interface. When someone wants to check out a shirt, they want to see the whole finished product first—not just the raw design file, and definitely not the personalization settings right off the bat.
Yes, the product description/info is placed way too far down the page (you probably realized that yourselves), but defaulting straight to the Designer Mode doesn’t fix it. It makes it worse.
I asked friends and family to test it out, and here’s their unfiltered feedback:
“Oh boy, do I need a college degree just to order a t-shirt? I have no idea what I’m supposed to do here.”
“Where’s the price? I just want to know what it costs and what colors this shirt comes in.”
“What kind of software is this? Am I supposed to design the whole thing myself?”
“Sorry, how do I actually get back to the store?”
“Looks like you put a lot of work into this, but honestly, I have no clue how to actually buy it.”
My takeaway stays the same: Customization might be Zazzle’s core selling point, but throwing people right into the editor is the wrong starting point. It distracts from the product instead of highlighting what makes it special. Nobody wants to put in that much “effort” just to browse. People want casual, frictionless doomscrolling right now. Hitting them with Designer Mode right away just scares them off.
I was in the Zazzle marketplace and found a paper plate that I wanted to share to my pinboard but When I clicked it, I expected to go to the product landing page but instead it opened straight into the design tool. I could swear that in the past, a click meant “view product,” not “start designing.” So now I’m wondering if Zazzle has evolved into bypassing the landing page. It used to be that when you clicked a product thumbnail from search you’d land on the actual product page I’m not sure, but maybe now depending on how the product is listed or tagged marketplace clicks are routing directly to the design tool and skipping the landing page entirely.
Maybe this is tied to Zazzle marking certain items as “template ready,” they’re optimized for quick customization rather than browsing. From a shopper’s perspective, that jump can feel abrupt. A click usually means “I’m curious,” not “I’m ready to design or buy.” Going straight into the design editor interrupts the natural browsing flow. Sure, it’s great for fast personalization, but it might actually turn off customers who just wanted to look, compare, or read more before making any decisions.
Has anyone else noticed this change, and do you think it affects customer engagement or conversions?
I just tested out clicking on a product in the marketplace to see if I could share to Pinterest or elsewhere and it was working as expected. I tried with someone else’s product and also with one of mine. Neither choice opened the design editor. I was using Safari browser on a Mac. I tested using Chrome browser as well with same results as Safari. Perhaps I am not in the A/B test.
Did you find the product in the marketplace? and did you click the text under the thumbnail? that is what I did and it opened to the design editor. I tried different product and all three times that occurred . I thought maybe it was one of those Z tests that they like to run. Since I was not signed in, I think this kind of bypass the product landing page and go right to design editor will hurt conversion. I normally have a couple sales a week, and only sold gift wrapping this week, also my product views are down, wonder if opening to the design editor is why? My link over history is lower also just under 400
thanks for sharing the link its nice to know that other creators are experiencing this also. I was not signed in when I was clicking and really did not like bypassing the landing page. Its really bad for affiliate marketers who just want to learn more about the product and share / promote the the product. I personally think the jump to the design tool will hurt conversion. As a customer I got annoyed and moved away, went to Etsy to see if I could promote their products. My sales are off this week , I went from a couple sales a week to 1 sale .
I found the products in the Marketplace. I clicked on the thumbnail.
I just noticed your posts in this form have the word “Regular” after your profile icon and user name. The other people in this thread do not have any other word beside their user name. Do you know why yours says “Regular”?
I am leaping right into the design phase in Firefox but not in Chrome . . . it is very confusing when it opens right into editing the product when perhaps you just really wanted to learn more about it.
This is what I came here to ask about too, as I have been having this problem for the last couple of days myself while doing my research to figure out which niches it makes sense for me to sell in. It is very frustrating to have the designs keep opening in the editor, and I am also afraid that the annoyance will drive away potential customers, especially since when the design opens in the editor, it sometimes doesn’t even show the product I was looking at but shows a generic picture inviting me to put my information into the editor so that it will automatically fill it in for me on any product I am interested in. I have no idea whose idea that was, but I think it is a very bad one. I design my products so that customers can also change the tagline and verse if they want, not just put in their personal details. This new approach makes it seem like designers only give customers the option to enter things like name and address, with no other customization options.
