Dropshipping is becoming quite the popular business venture, as it is a form of passive income generation, and this article will show you the steps on how to create an automated store in WordPress for dropshipping.
With the increasing reach of the internet across the world, you can have a chance to set up your own business without resorting to the traditional business model.
One of the platforms you might have heard of regularly is WooCommerce, which is a plugin of the WordPress platform. It is among the most popular dropshipping platforms, partly due to the wide availability of WordPress itself.
What is Dropshipping and What are the Advantages?
If you are seeking to start or grow an online business, dropshipping is among the easiest methods you can use in order to grow the business in the current business landscape. However, why is it a good method as opposed to the traditional methods? Here are a few reasons why.
- It does not require you to have a physical store, since it involves eCommerce, and that will allow you to operate a successful dropshipping enterprise, regardless of where you are in the world. In addition, you will not need to take a physical check of the inventory, since the software can do that for you in real time.
- You will not need much capital in order to start the business, since you will not need to purchase your stock in advance – it therefore reduces your operational costs and expenses
- You can access all tools you need online, and achieve the success you want in your business – all at a small cost or no cost at all.
How to Create an Automated Store in WordPress for Dropshipping
Getting a domain name and web hosting facility
You must first start by getting a website domain name, as it is the unique address of your store and will help customers to identify you quickly. On the other hand, a web hosting facility is a server that will store the information from your website, including the domain name, and then make it accessible to your website visitors.
There are very many web hosting services, so you need to choose carefully because it will determine the success of the website. For instance, Siteground is quite the reputable host when it comes to WordPress websites, because they have been in the business for many years, a reliable uptime of 99.9%, and has affordable packages that will save you plenty of money in the long term. They can also give you a free domain name as part of the package, just in case you do not have one.
Select a Niche
This can be a confusing process for anyone, because your first instinct would be selling something you are passionate about or something that works well for other stores. However, you must do plenty of research, because it is just like opening a business.
The good thing about dropshipping is that it provides plenty of flexibility. Therefore, you can change niches if you notice an idea is not working for you, without risking losing stock or money. However, you still need to make sure that you are making the best decision that is profitable enough in the long term.
Installing WordPress
Installation of WordPress is very easy and takes only a short time, with maximum time averaging at 5 minutes. This will depend on the speed of your internet connection though. You can also do it in two ways – either installing it manually, or use of a 1-click installation from the web hosting provider.
Once this is done, you can create your WordPress account. Make sure it matches the password and username of your dropshipping site, to allow you admin rights.
Set up WooCommerce on your Store
WooCommerce, as discussed earlier, is a plugin that will make operations of your eCommerce store easier as it automates much of the process. After creating your account, you set it up in your store, and it will operate various basic work like product pages, shopping carts, payments gateway, currency, checkout pages, and other important settings.
Once you set it up and make the necessary adjustments such as the currency your store will use, as well as payment gateways, that is half the work already done.
Selecting your Store Theme
The good thing about WooCommerce is that it allows you access to very many free themes, as well as paid ones like Studiopress themes, where I personally use the Jessica child theme for my store.
The theme you select will determine the entire of your store, as well as the website design and its layout. If you want to make your store look more interesting to your visitors, make sure to select the themes that look the best.
Filling your Store with Products
Since you are in the dropshipping business, you do not have to deal in physical stock. Therefore, the stock that you will have will come from sites that deal with the suppliers of the products, such as AliExpress and DHGate. The choice you make will depend on the prices, as some go for cheaper packages than others, while some have a greater catalogue of products compared to others.
You can also check seller ratings, since many suppliers will be handling similar products. Adding these products on WooCommerce can take up a lot of time though, so you can use the AliDropship Plugin to make things easier for you – it updates product information, product prices, automates your store, and so on.
You can read my Alidropship plugin review article to make things more clear to you regarding its features and how to use it. I will also be making an in depth step by step guide on how to use this plugin and set it up properly on your woocommerce dropshipping store so make sure to watch out for it.
Final Thoughts
Opening a store on WordPress is easy, and automating it is easy as well. When you do it correctly, it will allow you to make money and succeed in eCommerce.
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