Changes to eBay template rules.

Recently ebay released the “Spring Seller Update 2016” announcing significant changes to what they require within listing template. This involves removing “Active content” which includes JavaScript, form actions and flash.  It also requires listings to be mobile friendly.

These are significant but positive changes, if you’re wondering why? Well...

1. They’ll help search rankings. With changes to Google’s Algorithms in 2015, sites that load slowly or aren’t mobile responsive took a huge hit in search rankings. This effected eBay listings in Google searches dramatically.

2. It’ll improve the customer experience. Given over half of internet traffic is on a mobile device, it’s more likely the consumer viewing your listing is using a smart phone. If the listingis slow, the consumer is going to be less likely to wait around for it to load and even less likely to buy from it. The same is true if the text is tiny, a common occurrence on smaller screens when pages aren’t properly formatted for mobile browsing.

Flash, Javascript and Forms Actions are what eBay are concentrating on here because they load slowly on mobile devices, it’s worth noting that Flash isn’t supported on Chrome and  iOS phones at all. On a mobile network these elements will dramatically slow down a listings load time so eBay are doing away with them.  eBay have stated“The use of active content in listings, including JavaScript, Flash and form actions can inhibit purchases on mobile devices and can lead to abuse in the marketplace. From spring 2017, we’ll limit the use of active content in all new listings across all devices and it will not appear by default. Later in 2017, we plan to remove or block listings with active content. We encourage you to limit your use of active content now“.

The security aspect is probably the most important. Sellers have, in the past, used tools to add in functionality to their listings that eBay didn’t support. Unfortunately scammers use similar code for malicious purposes.

eBay have suggested removing active content now because in 12-24 months, listings with active content will have the active content blocked or the whole listing removed. You’ve got plenty of notice. If your listings contain active content; now’s the time to get started making changes.

So what can I do?

If you’re using any kind of listing template, chances are it’s using JavaScript. You can check it by copying item number into this checker to see what needs changing.

If you only use plain text in your listings, they may still considered not mobile friendly for a variety of reasons. Either way, right now, 2017 is months away and there’s plenty of time. Check your listings for active content and mobile compatibility. If you’re at all unsure about the implications of these changes to your listings; speak to a professional. Make sure your listings are compliant to the new rules before they come into effect.