The Top Three Dropshipping Website Builders

Dropshipping is a popular technique practiced in the e-commerce world. It’ a supply chain management strategy in which a retailer contracts a wholesale distributor to store and deliver products to customers.

The retailers focus on marketing and customer acquisition, rather than creating and distributing products. When an order is placed, a notification is sent to the wholesaler. The wholesaler sends the product directly to the customer (opposed to sending it to the retailer who in turn delivers it to customers).

Dropshipping is a popular order fulfillment method for those who aren’t directly involved in the manufacturing of their products. Several online store builders accommodate drop shipping. Here is a look at the pros and cons of the most popular dropshipping website builders; Shopify, Wix, and WordPress.

Shopify

Shopify is a web design software that is specifically designed for building online stores. It’s the only software on the market that specializes in e-commerce websites and it has many features that are made to accommodate vendors and entrepreneurs.

Shopify is partnered with a company called Oberlo that makes drop shipping quick and painless. Oberlo is an online marketplace for products being offered by wholesalers. Retailers can set up an account on Oberlo and browse products to import to their Shopify store.

Store owners are free to set prices, create product descriptions, edit variants, configure shipping, and do whatever necessary to make sales (except make changes to the physical product). When an order is placed, Oberlo will send a notification to the wholesaler and the product will be shipped to the buyer directly.

This system makes Shopify a great site builder for dropshippers. It’s easy to set up and customize. Products can be sourced and imported quickly and efficiently. Plus, the platform offers advanced analytic tools and integration with the largest digital advertisers on the planet.

Shopify is a great web store builder for those with passion or expertise in a given subject, who may not have access to the resources necessary to leverage their knowledge. It’s perfect for first-time e-commerce entrepreneurs who have an idea yet need the tools to make it a reality.

For instance, maybe you’re passionate about animals and know a lot about pet care and training. Unless you work in the pet supplies industry, you may not have access to the manufacturers and capitol to build a brick and mortar pet store.

Shopify allows you to start your own pet store in your spare time. Search Oberlo for the top-rated pet accessories and start a blog or a YouTube channel where you share your knowledge with an interested audience. If you work hard, it could become your full-time business or at least give you an income stream that is driven by passion.

Overall, it’s the best e-commerce platform on the market and it’s great for beginners and seasoned pros alike. However, certain entrepreneurs may benefit from an alternative like Wix or WordPress.

WordPress

WordPress is a popular open-source content management system that is used to build websites. It is not specific to e-commerce, but it can be used to build web stores that allow for dropshipping. It’s a powerful tool that is utilized by digital entrepreneurs across industries and is valuable to learn for anyone thinking of starting an online business.

WordPress alone does not have the functionality to accommodate drop shipping and creating an online store on the platform will require more technical skills than setting up a Shopify site.

To build a site using WordPress, a domain must be registered with a separate hosting company. To enable e-commerce on a WordPress site, venders must download a plugin like WooCommerce to organize inventory and make sales. Then,  products must be sourced by the store creator from wholesaler sites like Alibaba or other relevant competitors.

It’s a more complicated process, but it has its benefits. WordPress allows for more in-depth web development than Shopify. If you’re looking to create a more customized, interactive customer experience, WordPress allows for more advanced design features and plugins.

It is possible to embed a Shopify store into a WordPress site. However, plugins like WooCommerce offer many of the same inventory management and analytical tools with a better ability to integrate with WordPress.

WordPress is better for more seasoned entrepreneurs who are looking to integrate dropshipping into a larger online business. If e-commerce is the main strategy, Shopify is more streamlined and logistically simple. But if you’re looking to build a hub for your business that features more advanced content and data systems, WordPress is the better bet.

Wix

Wix is a competitor to both of these sites that provides the best of both worlds for small businesses. Wix is a web design software that has e-commerce capabilities.

Unlike WordPress, users can register a domain and design a site all within the Wix platform. An app must be downloaded to accommodate e-commerce and dropshipping; however, the interface is straightforward and easy to master.

It’s a web builder created for entrepreneurs with basic tech literacy who prefer a simple interface over all the bells and whistles. It has a drag and drops editor that makes it easier to edit and design than other web builders and e-commerce integrations are straightforward and easy to manage.

Wix is best for those just dipping their toes into the e-com space. If your business has a different focus and you are looking to dropship products to make a little extra revenue, it may be a good fit. For example, if you’re a restaurant who want to sell merch on their website but doesn’t want the hassle of carrying the inventory or creating a complicated web system, then Wix is a good solution.

However, Shopify is marginally more complicated and offers more in terms of ability to scale and make data-driven decisions. If you’re serious about building an e-commerce company, it makes more sense to use WordPress or Shopify to build your site.

Which one you choose depends on what drives your sales. If you’re more content and UI focused, WordPress offers greater flexibility. If a clean interface and ability to integrate with e-commerce related services is more appealing, then Shopify is the way to go.

Leave a Comment

I accept that my given data and my IP address is sent to a server in the USA only for the purpose of spam prevention through the Akismet program.More information on Akismet and GDPR.