Dropshipping is one of the best methods for e-commerce startups who do not have huge investments in the beginning. If you are willing to start a dropshipping business model for your online store, you must find a suitable platform that would support your business. Many people wonder if WordPress is going to be a great choice. This article will explain everything that you need to know to get started with WordPress and dropshipping. We will also reveal whether WordPress is the best method to begin your dropshipping business. So, let’s get started!
Firstly, how does dropshipping work?
Generally, in an online store, the business owner would maintain an inventory of the goods that they are selling. The customer will place their order and the store will ship the goods to the customer. However, in the dropshipping model, the products are sent directly to the customer from the wholesaler or the dropshipping supplier.
In dropshipping, the retailer does not keep the products in stock or has a separate inventory. When an order is placed, the retailer connects with the third party and gets the order shipped to the customer. This third party is basically a wholesaler or a manufacturer. Here is dropshipping explained in simple steps:
- 1st Step: Customer places an order from your online store.
- 2nd Step: Your store will send the order to the dropshipping supplier (wholesaler or manufacturer).
- 3rd Step: The dropshipping supplier will prepare the order.
- 4th Step: The order will be shipped to the customer directly from the dropshipping supplier.
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How can you create a dropshipping business with WordPress?
The main aspect of a dropshipping business is how to showcase the goods to the customers. Because, the more customers you will get, the more orders you will send to the dropshipping supplier and the more profits you will make. Also, the more customers you will bring over to your online store, the more popularity and trust you will gain. So, how to showcase your goods to the customers?
The best way to showcase your goods is to create an online presence of your store. The e-commerce industry is on the rise today. By 2023, it is estimated that e-commerce sales would hit$6.5 trillion! Here’s another eye-catching fact. The number of online shoppers by 2020 worldwide is 2.05 billion out of which 20% of people shop online once a week. Aren’t these numbers quite promising for e-commerce business owners?
So now that it is clear why you must begin your dropshipping business online. It is time to decide which platform to choose for your online store. Many people consider whether WordPress would be the best choice for dropshipping. Our answer to this is a definite yes! WordPress already has a60.8% share in the CMS (content management system) market. 14.7% of all the top websites of the world run on WordPress. It is easy to use, innovative, and supports thousands of plugins. It is definitely the right choice for dropshipping business owners.
For many of you who do not know much about WordPress, its WooCommerce plugin is the best for running an online dropshipping business. WooCommerce supports many plugins suitable for a dropshipping business. We will discuss more such plugins later in this article.
Steps to Create Dropshipping Business with WordPress
Here are all steps, tips, and tricks that will help you to build your first WordPress dropshipping store. Let’s dig into it.
Step 1: Decide your product(s)
The first step to begin your dropshipping business is to decide what you want to sell to the customers. This is fairly an important step as this step would decide whether you will be able to create a successful business or not. You cannot just simply pick a product that you like. You must research the latest trends, market situation, and purchasing trends to decide which products are liked by people. Then, you must also assess the competition of your target market to decide whether you should sell the product or not.
Once you have decided on a few products that you can dropship. You need to find a supplier, a wholesaler, or a manufacturer for the same. You must know well about the industry before approaching any supplier. This is because they must feel like you will be able to sell their products and it would be a fruitful business for them. You must have a plan on how your dropshipping business model will be profitable for both the parties, you and the supplier.
You may also work out the terms of your business such as the minimum number of quantities, pricing, and timeframe of the contract. Dropshipping businesses often begin with a lower margin but with long-term goals, you can achieve high profits.
Step 2: Creating a WordPress site for your dropshipping business
Now that you have chosen the products to sell. You have finalized the terms with the seller, it is time that you create an appealing WordPress site for your customers. You need to pick up a WordPress theme that supports WooCommerce plugin as you will need that for the online dropshipping business. There are many such WordPress themes available like Astra, OceanWP, Neve, Shoptimizer, and Indigo. You must read the description, features, and minimum requirements for the themes so that you can decide the best one. Make sure that the theme has a strong customer support team so that your business never gets hampered due to technicalities.
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Step 3: It is time for Dropship!
Well now you have installed the right theme, it is time to work on WordPress plugins that will help you set up your online store just the way you want. Here are some of the common yet best WordPress plugins for dropshipping:
1. WooCommerce
WooCommerce plugin will help you set up your online store in minutes. It ensures secure and safe payment options, shipping options, and a lot more. You can extend the functionality of the store and customize it your way. You will also get a WooCommerce app that allows you to sell from anywhere!
2. DropshipMe
DropshipMe plugin would allow you to import products from a curated list. You can add product information, titles, images, and add real customer reviews to make your store more authentic. You can also pick up reliable suppliers with this plugin so that your business can run smoothly without any delays in shipments or payment issues.
3. WP Amazon Shop
If you are into Amazon affiliates, the WP Amazon Shop plugin is the best for you. With this plugin, you can select Amazon products and add them to your WooCommerce store. The plugin will also add your affiliate ID in the product links and will also add a base pricing for dropshipping. You can add product images to your website with this plugin, edit and display them your way.
4. WooDropship
WooDropship plugin is built for AliExpress. With this plugin, you can import all the selected products from AliExpress to your WooCommerce store. The plugin would sync the pricing and stock inventory to ensure that customers always order the products available in stock. You can also change the pricing and add your margin with this plugin. This isn’t it. You can also remove the AliExpress watermark from the product images and use them on your website with this plugin.
5. MonsterInsights
Now grow your dropshipping business with confidence with this MonsterInsights Google analytics plugin. You can integrate it with WooCommerce and manage all your real-time analytics. This plugin will provide you with complete e-commerce reports, customer behavior as well as SEO rankings. Track how well your products are doing in the market, which products are being preferred the most and how your online store is performing.
6. Checkout Manager for WooCommerce
The checkout page of your dropshipping store should be simple and easy to understand. This is because many customers do not place an order if it takes too long to checkout or if there is any problem with the loading of the checkout page.
Checkout Manager plugin will save your customers by allowing you to create an easy checkout page. Some of its features include two-factor authentication using phone or email, providing mandatory fields, and the provision to change the billing information at checkout.
Step 4: A few final checks!
Now you are almost a step away from setting up your online store and creating your dropshipping store with WordPress. But here are some of the things that you need to make sure of while finalizing your dropship store.
- Make sure that you have integrated your system with the system of the suppliers. This way your online store will reflect the stock as it is. You need to add the name, email, account details, and description of the supplier as well.
- You may also set automatic emailing to the supplier regarding new orders. Check this functionality with the plugin that you are using for dropshipping so that the emails are triggered at the right time.
- Keep your online store SEO-friendly. This is crucial for your business to rise online. You must make sure that all your product details are accurate. Always add high-quality images of the products to your store. You may also add product videos and SEO-friendly descriptions of the products.
- You need to make sure that your website loads perfectly and quickly. For this, you might install a few plugins that will help regulate the speed of your website.
- Make sure your dropshipping store has a company name and logo. Consider your online business as a brand. Use a beautiful theme, engaging colors, and provide a personalized experience to the customers.
- Last, but not least, you need to make sure that your online dropshipping store is safe and secure. Protect your website from hackers by installing suitable WordPress plugins. Make sure you are performing regular security scans to protect your website.
You may also like: 10 Noteworthy Tips for Starting Your Drop Shipping Business.
Key Takeaway
WordPress and drop shipping are not only just possible but a profitable business ideas. WordPress provides all the advanced online store functionalities to dropshipping site owners. With just a few clicks you can set your online store and start selling products. You have plugins catering to all your requirements. So just set up your dropshipping online store with WordPress and watch your business grow!
This article is written by Emma Jackson. Emma is a specialist in content writing, blogging, and exploring new topics. Emma is also a part contributor of GoAssignmentHelp that provides assignment help. She loves to write topics like marketing, education, and assignment services.
Web developer and SEO specialist with 20+ years of experience in open-source web development, digital marketing, and search engine optimization. He is also the moderator of this blog "RS Web Solutions (RSWEBSOLS)".
