Engineering notes
Production-grade thinking on AI integration, secure deployment, and technical SEO — from the Specifek engineering team.
Etsy & E-commerceHow to Price Handmade Products on Etsy in 2026: The Formula, the Fees and a Worked Example
A four-step Etsy pricing method for UK sellers: real cost per item, target profit, the 2026 fee formula (divide by 0.868, or 0.688 with Offsite Ads) and a worked example that shows where a £31.95 sale's money goes.
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Etsy & E-commerceE-Invoicing Mandates for E-commerce Sellers: The EU Timetable and the UK’s 2029 Deadline
What an e-invoice is, which EU mandates bind whom (established businesses only), what the UK's 2029 Peppol mandate means for consumer and business orders, and the data work an online seller should do now.
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Etsy & E-commerceSelling from the UK to the EU in 2026: IOSS, the €3 Duty and DDP Explained
What an EU-bound parcel is charged since July 2026 (destination VAT, the €3 per-item duty, carrier fees), how IOSS and DDP change who pays, and how to set up Etsy and Shopify so the buyer is not charged at the door.
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Etsy & E-commerceReverse Charge and the Customer’s VAT Number on Shopify Invoices (2026)
When the reverse charge applies to a Shopify store, what the invoice must show (customer VAT number, 'Reverse charge' reference), how to verify the number, and three ways to get it into Shopify so the invoice is right automatically.
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Etsy & E-commerceGPSR and REACH for Jewellery Sellers: Nickel, Cadmium, Lead and the Paperwork (2026)
What GPSR and REACH require from a handmade jewellery seller before opening EU sales: nickel, cadmium and lead limits, where nickel really comes from, how to test five material flows instead of every design, labelling and UK hallmarking.
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Etsy & E-commerceEtsy GPSR Guide for UK Sellers: Selling to the EU and Northern Ireland in 2026
When GPSR applies to a UK Etsy shop, how to choose an EU Responsible Person, what goes on the label and listing, and a step-by-step roadmap before you open EU sales.
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Etsy & E-commerceUK VAT Invoice Requirements for Shopify Stores: 2026 Checklist
What a UK VAT invoice must show in 2026, where Shopify's own invoices fall short, and a 10-point checklist before e-invoicing becomes mandatory in April 2029.
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Etsy & E-commerceEtsy Offsite Ads for UK Sellers: Opt Out or Stay In? The Numbers Behind the Decision
Offsite Ads is the only Etsy fee you can switch off — until you cannot. Here is what it really costs per order, the margin test that decides it, and the three cases where staying in is the right call.
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Etsy & E-commerceEtsy Views but No Sales? The 12 Reasons Buyers Look and Leave — and How to Fix Each One
Traffic is not the problem. Something on the listing page is talking buyers out of the purchase. Here is how to find it and fix it.
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Etsy & E-commerceEtsy SEO Audit: The 27-Point Checklist Sellers Should Run Every Quarter (2026)
Most Etsy shops lose sales to a handful of fixable problems. This checklist finds them in an hour and tells you which to fix first.
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Etsy & E-commerceEtsy Tags in 2026: How Many to Use, Which Ones Rank, and a 13-Slot Formula That Works
Tags are the cheapest ranking lever on Etsy and the one most shops get wrong. Here is the 2026 rulebook and a formula you can apply to any listing in ten minutes.
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AI & AutomationWhat Is an AI Voice Agent? A Complete Guide for 2026
From speech recognition to LLM brain to voice synthesis — how production-grade AI voice agents really work, and when to deploy one.
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DevSecOps & SecurityDevSecOps Explained: Security Built Into Every Stage of Deployment
Move security left. Make it a shared, continuous responsibility — not a late-stage gate. A practical 2026 guide to DevSecOps in production.
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SEO & MarketingTechnical SEO Audit Checklist for London Businesses in 2026
56 checks across 10 areas — what to fix first, what to defer. The exact checklist we use when auditing London businesses in 2026.
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