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With the hidden power of a website builder like Shopify, starting a digital storefront has never been easier and its innovative drag-and-drop interface enables anyone to break into eCommerce. But the question is, should you use Shopify for dropshipping? This is what I’m about to share with you!
Shopify allows you to build a brand-centered dropshipping business that you have full control over, which can give your business an advantage, and allow you to set your own unique value proposition. Additionally, Shopify is supportive of drop shippers and it has a wide variety of apps and integrations.
In this article, we are going to be discussing in what cases you should and should not be using Shopify for your dropshipping business to help you get the most out of the software, your effort, and money.
So, if you’re considering starting a new dropshipping side-hustle, this handy guide could be of great help for you! Stick around and make sure to read it to the very end as I have a special FREE GIFT for you!
If you find this post inspiring and useful, share it with your friends, please! (Virtual high fives and awkward hugs to all my sharers out there!)
Is Shopify Good For Dropshipping?
At the moment of writing this blog post, Shopify hosts over 1,700,000 eCommerce stores around the globe, and dropshipping accounts for a huge percentage of those stores!
So, what makes Shopify good for dropshipping? Here’s a quick overview of the platform’s benefits and features:
Shopify Pros & Benefits
- The ease of use – Shopify allows you to build a complete eCommerce store from scratch without even having any prior technical or coding skills! It’s very easy to use and beginner-friendly
- Affordable hosting plans – Shopify allows you to start and run an eCommerce store without breaking the bank! Its packages start from as low as $29/month and you can always upgrade as your business grows.
- Designed for selling online – This is a platform that is already designed for selling online and it has everything you may need to succeed!
- Custom-branded domains – With Shopify, you can integrate your own custom branded domain that will set you apart from the competition and allow you to show your unique value proposition.
- Fewer opportunities of getting hacked – Shopify is the leading company in the eCommerce industry, and the chances of a Shopify store getting hacked are quite low compared to a WordPress website.
You can’t even see Shopify on the list, and WordPress accounted for 90% of all the hacks.
- Trusted by over 1,700,000 store owners – At this moment, Shopify is home to over 1,700,000 store owners from all over the world. Could all of those people and business owners just be wrong? Think about it…
- Supportive of dropshipping – Shopify is supportive of dropshipping and they encourage drop shippers as individuals and as online sellers! Since dropshipping is a business model that allows many more people to participate in entrepreneurship, they should definitely support it, and luckily, they do!
- 100 payment gateways – From bitcoin to PayPal to iDEAL, Shopify integrates with over 100 external payment gateways from around the world.
- Flexible shipping rates – Shopify allows you to set up shipping rates by fixed-price, tiered pricing, weight-based, and location-based rates.
- Search engine optimized – Shopify supports SEP best practices like customizable H1, title, and meta tags, to help potential customers find your store using search engines.
- Capable of handling your marketing – This is a great advantage of utilizing a platform like Shopify that makes it really easy for you to run a campaign… All you have to do is set your daily budget!
- No coding or technical experience needed – You don’t need to be a developer or a website designer to create a Shopify store. Its drag-and-drop builder works great for both experts and beginners alike!
- No crashes on big times like Black Friday – For those who have tried WordPress before, know that servers got crashed all the time. Mostly at big times like “Black Friday”. Well, this is not the case with Shopify.
And a lot more…
Shopify Features
Besides all the great benefits and advantages that Shopify has, the platform has some cool features that can make your life as a drop shipper or as an online seller much easier and smoother.
✅ An Innovative Drag & Drop Builder
Shopify’s easy-to-use interface allows you to create the store of your dream without having any prior technical or coding skills! Additionally, everything within your online storefront is customizable, from the domain, theme, design, and colors to everything in between!
✅ Shopify Apps Store
Shopify stores come with basic features that can be increased and improved! In the Shopify App Store, you can find apps and tools for marketing, sales, branding, retention, email, upselling and more. This is a great place to find integrations that can take your business to the next level or enhance your store’s speed, features, and functionalities!
✅ Shopify Theme Store
Shopify offers a collection of themes that serve different purposes and businesses. Shopify Theme Store contains free and premium paid themes that you can install, customize, and publish to your online store.
The average price of themes on the Shopify Theme Store is something around $180. Remember that you can always purchase a theme externally from other digital asset and theme marketplaces and install it manually to your Shopify store!
However, you need to keep in mind that you should only deal with reliable networks and marketplaces because a theme has a direct impact on your business.
For your safety, we’ve searched for you for the most trusted and verified digital assets and theme marketplaces:
Are you wondering how to install a theme to your Shopify store? This quick illustrated guide could be of great help to you!
✅ Shopify Dropshipping Suppliers
Shopify makes it easy for you to deal with suppliers and upload products to your store with no hassle! Oberlo, for example, is an order fulfillment app and supplier-finder that you can install from within the app store, and it would be a great app to install if you’re dropshipping from Aliexpress.
Alternatively, tools like Spocket and Salehoo (premium supplier marketplaces), can be integrated with your Shopify store as well, and they allow you to find quality suppliers from the EU and the US without taking a charter and going search for a supplier in a different country!
✅ Professional Tracking & Reporting System
As a Shopify user and as part of your monthly subscription plan, you are given an effective tracking system within your dashboard that has various metrics to give you a better idea of how’s your business going so you can know your numbers and determine your profitability!
Shopify offers plans with different features to meet your business needs. Watch the video below by Shopify to learn more about the features and benefits of each plan, so you can decide what’s right for your business:
How To Get Started With Dropshipping On Shopify For Free?
To help you get started with Shopify and practice the actual online selling experience, Shopify has offered its users a 14-day free trial that gives you complete access to the entire platform without pulling out your wallet and paying a single dime.
Technically, you can get started with Shopify and build your online storefront for free, but to be able to receive real orders and capture payments from your customers, you would need to pick and pay for a monthly subscription plan!
Being said, below is the exact 4-step process of starting a Shopify store from scratch, in a matter of minutes:
Step 1 – Go To Shopify.com and Start Your Free Trial
Next, you’ll be prompted to enter your email address, a password, and your store name.
To help you pick a Shopify store name that will stand out, I’ve come up with a list of 27 brand name generators for you.
After answering a couple of questions, you will be taken to your official store’s panel, the dashboard in which you will have full control over your new store.
Step 2 – Pick And Pay For a Monthly Subscription Plan
Your next step would be to pick a monthly subscription plan and pay for it! Although Shopify offers a free trial of two weeks, you won’t be able to accept orders from your customers and capture real payments unless you pay for a monthly subscription plan!
It’s fair to say that if you are just starting out, the basic package would be more than enough for you, and you can always upgrade as you go along and as your business grows.
Even if you have picked a paid plan upon registering to Shopify, you won’t be charged until your free trial expires! For more info on what happens after the free trial expires, check this article out!
Step 3 – Customize Your Store
After registering for Shopify and picking a paid plan, you can just start customizing the look of your store, adding your own branding, a theme, and everything in between.
Shopify doesn’t give you a free domain name, but it allows you to integrate your own custom-branded domain with your store so it can look unique.
Getting familiar with the different tabs in the left area of your store’s panel is what you should be doing in this step!
You can customize the menu of your store, your pages, and your categories, and just prepare for adding some orders. Here, you can also integrate a payment gateway that will determine how you’re going to get paid from your customers, edit your shipping rates, and more!
Step 4 – Add Products To Your Store
After figuring out the name, the domain, and the theme of your and customizing it, it would be time for adding some products to your store so can people surf and buy.
It’s fairly easy to list a new product in your store and add it to a certain category. If, for example, you are dropshipping from Aliexpress, you can download the Oberlo Chrome Extension that will allow you to import products from the Aliexpress homepage with a click of a button.
Shopify is not only limited to physical goods. You can sell digital products, services, and art, or even use it for a restaurant or for starting a blog.
After having your store up and running with your products live on it, the only thing that you should be concerned about is traffic…
No matter how well-looking your store is and how helpful your products are, you won’t be able to make a single dime unless you get noticed by real humans landing on your site. Right?
Marketing can be tough and complicated, but not if learned from Facebook ads masters who’ve been doing it for years. Some of the places where you can find Facebook marketers and mentors are:
- Udemy
- Fiverr
- Upwork
- Teachable
- LinkedIn Learning
- Coursera
- Skillshare
Is It Better To Dropship On Amazon Or Shopify?
Here’s a quick overview of each platform’s pros and cons to help you decide which one would work best for you:
- Control – Having a self-hosted Shopify store will give you full control over everything in your business, from the store’s design, products, marketing, customers to everything in between! This is not the case with Amazon as it has a bunch of limitations and restrictions on what you can list or sell.
- Unique selling point – Having a Shopify store will allow you to have a brand-centered business and show your customers exactly how your product is different and what’s unique about it! In other words, you would be able to show your unique value proposition.
- Competition – The competition on Amazon is crazy, and there are some whales that you cannot ever compete with as a solopreneur who is just starting out with eCommerce! You can’t compete with their prices, you can’t compete with their fulfillment, or even with their shipping rates! In short, Amazon requires you to be a seller of record…
- Marketing – The best thing about selling on Amazon is that you don’t need to drive traffic to your listings since it is a product-centered search engine where people come search, find, and buy products online. However, in order to get organic traffic and get noticed on the platform, your listings would need to rank high.
- Expenses – If you want to take your dropshipping business seriously on Amazon, you would end up paying $39.99/month to sell unlimited units. On the other hand, Shopify allows you to get started from as low as $29/month, and you can always upgrade as you go along and as your business grows!
Related: How Much Do Amazon Dropshippers Make? (A Realistic Overview)
Done For You Shopify Store Services
Are you looking forward to starting a Shopify dropshipping store but don’t have time to learn new stuff? Here’s where a professional store builder can come into place and help you automate the whole process, eliminate the guesswork, and have your store ready for promotion, for a certain one-time fee.
Sometimes you don’t need to learn and do everything by yourself and on your own. If you want to think about it as a real business, hiring a Shopify expert could be an investment that’s totally worth it, but where can you find a Shopify expert to hire?
Freelance marketplaces like Fiverr is your way to go! Below are my top 3 picks for done-for-you Shopify store services on Fiverr.
| Dele9707 | George_nik | Hellenvella |
|---|---|---|
| ⭐ 5.0 (517) Reviews | ⭐ 5.0 (340) Reviews | ⭐ 4.9 (1389) Reviews |
| Top Rated | High Value & Quality | Highest # Of Orders |
| Check Service On Fiverr | Check Service On Fiverr | Check Service On Fiverr |
If you want more options, you can check out my other article that features the top 17 done-for-you Shopify store services from Fiverr sellers.
Is Shopify For Dropshipping Only?
Shopify is a complete eCommerce software that allows you to easily sell anything online, anywhere. Whether you’re planning to sell physical goods, digital products, and services, or just start a blog, Shopify definitely has something to serve your business.
Thinking that Shopify is only limited to dropshipping is a huge misconception, and I’ve written this article to help you understand what Shopify is used for and how you can leverage such a tool for starting and growing an online business.
Generally speaking, Shopify can be used for:
- Physical products
- Digital products
- Local businesses
- Dropshipping
- Digital services
- Blogging
- And more!
For instance, Shopify works like a charm for the drop servicing business model, which is a business model whereby you sell other people’s services without the need to provide them yourself. Learn more about how you can use Shopify for drop servicing in this article!
Conclusion – Should You Use Shopify For Dropshipping?
Shopify is an easy-to-use eCommerce platform that allows everyone to tap into this industry and build a professional digital storefront without any prior technical or coding skills!
Its innovative drag-and-drop builder allows you to create a well-looking store, customize it and have it up and running in a matter of minutes.
However, to determine if Shopify is the right choice for your dropshipping business, I suggest you claim the free trial that allows you to test the platform’s water and get familiar with it for two whole weeks, without even spending any money!
In this article, we have discussed exactly why you should be utilizing a platform like Shopify to start your new or next dropshipping business.
To help you get the most out of your Shopify free trial, we have prepared for you a completely FREE 8-video course that shows you exactly how to have your Shopify store up and running in a matter of minutes, without paying big bucks to some “guru”.
Claim your Shopify free trial by clicking here. Fill in your information below, and go check your email!
See you on the next side, and remember, if you find this post inspiring and useful, share it with your friends, please! (Virtual high fives and awkward hugs to all my sharers out there ✋)
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Cheers,
Odeh Ahwal
