Dropshipping is an ecommerce strategy that can offer unique business opportunities for ecommerce sellers. With its low costs and streamlined operations, businesses have the ability to sell products that would otherwise be difficult following a traditional ecommerce model — a great reason to explore WooCommerce dropshipping.
WooCommerce is a powerful platform for creating a dropshipping business that can be scaled up as needed. In this post, we will examine how you can set up your WooCommerce shop to drop ship your products directly to customers.
Dropshipping with WooCommerce streamlines the complexities of operating a dropshipping enterprise. This robust store management tool integrates seamlessly with various distributors, such as AliExpress or Amazon, providing greater flexibility and control over your earnings.
Ready to learn more? Let’s take a closer look below.
This is strictly a roundup of products based on the top-rated/top-reviewed items in each category. As with all things, do your homework and your own research before making any purchase decisions. This post is not in any way considered an endorsement of any product.
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Why use WooCommerce for dropshipping?
WooCommerce is a useful tool in the dropshipping business model due to its versatility and user-friendly interface. As a free WordPress plugin, it seamlessly integrates with your existing WordPress website, providing a customizable platform to build your online store.
Do you need to set up a WooCommerce website? Check out our guide on how to create an ecommerce website with WooCommerce.
It is important to note that WooCommerce requires dropshipping to be enabled in order to support it. To that point, WooCommerce supports several dropshipping-specific plugins that can help to streamline the dropshipping process, from product import to automated order fulfillment. These plugins allow for a wide range of options, allowing you to tailor your shop to suit your brand, while helpful analytics tools aid in monitoring your progress.
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How to start a dropshipping business
Starting a dropshipping business can be a rewarding endeavor if you have the right tools at your disposal. Here are the essentials to get you started:
- Domain name: This will be your online address. It should reflect your brand and be easy to remember.
- WooCommerce hosting: A hosting service will provide the technology needed for your website to be accessible on the internet.
- WooCommerce dropshipping plugins: Depending on your needs, there are various plugins available that can simplify the dropshipping process for you.
By choosing WooCommerce-specific hosting services, your hosting plan will be pre-configured with both WordPress and WooCommerce, which includes 25 premium extensions built-in.
As you become more comfortable, you can explore additional features like SEO plugins, payment gateways, and more. Also keep in mind that, as with any business, it will take time, dedication, and a well-planned marketing strategy to build your business.
Related: How to start an online business
Best plugins to set up a WooCommerce dropshipping store
There are quite a few plugins that you can use for implementing dropship products into your WooCommerce store. And, many of these focus on items available through international suppliers. However, depending on your business, you may favor domestic versus international product suppliers.
If you'd like a few more plugin ideas, have a look at our list of best WooCommerce plugins for online store success.
Let’s take a look at some of the options available for both US dropshipping suppliers and China-based suppliers.
Disclaimer: Pricing is accurate at the time of publishing. Please ensure that you are verifying any pricing information for the plugins mentioned below.
US-based suppliers
In this section, we’ll explore a few of the best plugins designed specifically for US suppliers, enabling seamless integration between your WooCommerce store and domestic distributors.
Keep in mind that while these suppliers are based in the United States, many will work for EU and UK-based dropshipping companies as well.
Spocket
Spocket is another popular dropshipping provider that allows you to connect to dropshipping providers both in the US and Europe. With Spocket, you can order samples of products before selling them on your site, allowing you to test the product quality before selling those products. And with the option to add your own branding on your invoices, you can create a seamless selling experience for your customers.
Features:
- Popular dropshipping provider, with plenty of community support
- 14 day trial to test before purchasing
- Automatic inventory management
Pricing:
- Starts at $39.99/month
Spreadr
With Spreadr, you’ll be tapping into Amazon’s network to set up your dropshipping store. There is a bit of extra configuration needed and you will need to have a website built before starting the dropshipping setup process, so this may be a better plugin option for websites that aren’t solely focused on ecommerce.
Features:
- Amazon only, which can be a great fit for those wanting to work only with Amazon
- Automatic pricing and inventory updates with paid version
Pricing:
- Starts at $6/month, $12/month tier required for auto pricing and inventory updates
Syncee
If you’d like to ship to customers in the US, UK, and EU, Syncee is a dropshipping provider that can help. They offer connections to over 12,000 dropshipping partners, allowing you to find the products that fit your ecommerce needs.
Features:
- Free to join and browse
- Wide range of suppliers in the US, UK, and EU
Pricing:
- Starts at $29.99/month
China-based suppliers
Next, we’ll take a look at WooCommerce dropshipping options for suppliers based in China.
DropshipMe
DropshipMe allows WooCommerce sites to connect to both AliExpress and a small network of vetted dropshipping suppliers outside of AliExpress. This plugin offers suggested pricing for products, which can help you get started with products more quickly on your website.
Features:
- Free to use for up to 50 products
- Includes high-quality product images and descriptions
- No monthly fee
Pricing:
- Starts at $29, one-time fee
AliDropship
AliDropship is a plugin intended to help users tap directly into the product suppliers within AliExpress. This flexible plugin allows WooCommerce site owners to customize their ecommerce experience, making it a popular choice with WooCommerce dropshipping websites.
Features:
- Very popular plugin and dropshipping supplier
- Integrates seamlessly with AliExpress
- Fully automated inventory management
Pricing:
- $89 one-time fee
WooDropship
Another plugin meant to integrate into AliExpress is WooDropship. This plugin works similarly to AliDropship, but also includes browser extensions as well as AI integration.
Features:
- Automatic pricing updates and inventory sync
- Includes a Chrome extension that allows site owners to add products as they browse AliExpress
- Free trial version available
Pricing:
- $89 one-time fee
What do you need for an efficient dropshipping store?
Now that we’ve covered several dropshipping plugin options for WooCommerce, let’s take a look at what features will help your store on its way toward being efficient.
Automated ordering from suppliers
While your suppliers will handle the burdensome parts of fulfilling orders, you will still need to pass along all the essential details for each purchase. This won’t be an issue if you only have a few orders.
However, the time involved can quickly add up the busier your business gets.
An effective way to alleviate this problem is to use a dropshipping platform that allows for automated order processing. With this feature, any order placed on your site will automatically be passed to your supplier. The details will include the order items along with the customer’s shipping details.
Real-time inventory sync
Inventory management isn’t as direct when you dropship your products. Because the supplier stores the products, you do not have direct insight into how many items are on hand at a single time. You want to implement real-time inventory syncing to ensure that you do not sell goods that are out of stock.
Real-time shipping rates
If you use multiple suppliers, real-time shipping rates can help ensure that you always accurately price your shipping costs. Suppliers will have different business locations and thus will vary in their distance from customers.
Because of this, you will need to pay different shipping costs for each of your orders. With real-time shipping rates, you will always price shipping appropriately so that you do not lose profit in delivering your products.
Conclusion
Hopefully, this list of plugins for WooCommerce dropshipping helps with the decision-making process for your website. As technology continues to evolve, though, so does the landscape for WooCommerce plugins. Keep an eye out for new developments that could further streamline and optimize your processes. Remember, the goal is to work smarter, not harder.
And keep in mind that, while these plugins can simplify your dropshipping business, the backbone of your success still lies in key fundamentals: a quality product, competitive pricing, excellent customer service, and effective marketing. Use these tools as a stepping stone to elevate the level of service and efficiency you offer, ultimately helping you to grow your dropshipping venture to new heights. Happy dropshipping!
