Dropshipping has become an extremely popular business model in recent times. Anyone who does not want to deal with eCommerce shenanigans like shipping, fulfilment, and inventory management will find it to be the perfect fit.
All one requires is an online store to get started. Dropshipping involves the use of a third-party supplier for shipping products to customers and not the seller himself/ herself. As a seller, you only have to pick out products that are likely to sell and market them to the right audience.
WooCommerce offers the perfect platform to take your dropshipping venture to the next level. This guide provides all the details to get you started in no time. Let’s get started.
What Is WooCommerce Dropshipping?
Before we dive deep, it is important to know what WooCommerce dropshipping is. As you might already know, WooCommerce is an eCommerce platform that dropshippers can use for creating an online store and selling a wide range of products.
There are also other popular dropshipping platforms such as Instagram, Big Commerce, Magento, and Shopify. These platforms are used by every drop shipper besides digital marketing services providers.
No matter which platform you decide to use for dropshipping, you will come across three parties, as mentioned below.
- Seller: That would be you. You get to run the online store, social media platform, and brand. Therefore, you have to market the products, list them, and respond to customer queries.
- Customer: The customer will pay for the products and has to be marketed to learn about what you have to offer.
- Supplier: The supplier would handle the order fulfilment after the customer has placed an order through you as they are the manufacturer. Thus, they would ship the product to the customer on your behalf.
Benefits of Dropshipping
Dropshipping offers a ton of benefits. Many eCommerce merchants find it to be the perfect option due to the following reasons.
- Low Capital Requirements: One of the best things about dropshipping is that it requires minimal capital requirements. You do not have to spend a lot of money to get started. Besides, customers will make payments so that you can place an order with the supplier.
- Zero Handling Costs: Merchants do not have to hold any inventory or deal with warehousing costs.
- Shipping Handled by Suppliers: Since suppliers manage inventory, they also take care of the shipping.
- Easy Scalability: Scaling your store is very easy as you do not have to create the products or warehouse them.
- Ease of Entry: Since capital requirements and commitment are minimal, you can easily get started on your dropshipping venture. In fact, you can take on the venture from the comfort of your home.
Why Use WooCommerce for Dropshipping?
Now that you know more about the benefits of dropshipping, you must be wondering why you should use WooCommerce. The answer to your question is rather simple. It is very easy to get started with the platform.
WooCommerce is easily the most used eCommerce platform in the world. Its plugin is absolutely free and super easy to set up. However, you would require additional plugins to properly set up the dropshipping store.
Another great thing about the platform is that it boasts a simple and easy-to-use interface. It is quite similar to WordPress, which means that if you have used WordPress in the past, you should have no trouble with WooCommerce.
In addition to the above, WooCommerce has a huge community that you can reach out to for support and resources. As the WooCommerce plugin is open-source, you also benefit from complete control over the store.
What Do You Need To Start WooCommerce Dropshipping?
1. Create a WooCommerce Store
When starting a dropshipping business, you need to first create a WooCommerce store. It will allow you to use the dropshipping extensions. The following steps will help you create one in no time.
- Head over to WordPress.org or WordPress.com. The latter will require you to create an account and download the WooCommerce plugin. The former will allow you to download WordPress and utilize its functionality any way you want. Thus, it is preferred by those wanting greater control.
- Next, you need to select a hosting provider, theme, and domain name.
- Now, you will just need to create the Home, Contact, and About pages.
- Start adding products similar to how you would add posts on WordPress.
- Finally, you have to select extensions. You can browse through the WooCommerce website to go through a variety of options based on your needs. To ensure that your dropshipping business is ready, you require plugins for payments, customer experience, taxes, security, marketing, and maintenance.
2. Select WooCommerce Dropshipping Extensions
To make drop shipping easier, you can add the following extensions to your WooCommerce store.
- WooCommerce Dropshipping: This store management extension allows you to integrate other dropshipping extensions. It even helps you find suppliers and provide them with access to your backend for fulfilling orders.
- Drop Ship Me: Next, you can also use this extension as it helps you find Ali Express suppliers. The chances are that you are familiar with Ali Express. The extension does all the research work so that you can easily identify the best suppliers.
3. Determine Which Products to Sell
Once you have installed the right extensions, you can proceed with identifying the products that you should sell. Determine a niche that will help you generate a profit. Market research will help go a long way. You can also use Google Trends to find a niche.
Before you jump the gun, you also have to learn more about consumer interest. Facebook Audience Insights will help go a long way. Besides this, you should conduct competitor research to learn about the major competitors.
Create Your WooCommerce Dropshipping Business
After you have gone over our guide, you will know all the basics about WooCommerce dropshipping. Make sure to focus on marketing as customers will not come to you if they do not know about your business.
Always remember that you will need to do more than just create a WooCommerce store to be successful. Create content to attract your target audience and establish trust through customer reviews. It will allow you to reach the top.