Dropshipping for WooCommerce
Powering over 39% of all online stores, it was a no-brainer for us at Modalyst to make our next integration with e-commerce platform WooCommerce. Advertised as the most “customizable eCommerce platform for building your online business,” we decided to evaluate some of the advantages of using WooCommerce and also asked our own WooCommerce users why it was their platform of choice.
Pricing
One of the biggest benefits of using WooCommerce is that it is free.
While you may have to pay to install extensions and web hosting, installing WooCommerce itself is completely free which makes it a great starter platform for entrepreneurs just entering the e-commerce space.
Aaron from Seefashion agrees! “WooCommerce is scalable, cheap to run, versatile and restriction free, I love it.”
“WooCommerce is scalable, cheap to run, versatile and restriction free, I love it.”
-Click to Tweet
Customizability
While a free platform may seem like something only starter stores would use, the availability of advanced apps and tools allows the platform to grow with its users.
WooCommerce has hundreds of extensions, both free and paid that WooCommerce promises will cover their users’ every logistical and technical requirement.
These extensions include MailChimp, Stripe, PayPal, USPS and soon Modalyst!
One of our online retailers, Laurent from Tailorinn says “WooCommerce is profitable, frequently updated and with the right research (server, host, themes, plugins etc.) you can really take advantage of the platform.”
Aaron from Seefashion also emphasizes the importance of research into the right plugins in order to see success with WooCommerce:
“Woocommerce’s secret weapon are its plugin super powers – they give hugely extended capabilities! Just make sure they are well maintained or your whole site could go down”.
Since WooCommerce uses extensions for crucial e-commerce areas like payment processing, making sure your extension is reliable is top priority. Therefore with proper research, you can customize WooCommerce to make it work best for your own personal needs.
Development and Support
WooCommerce is unique in the sense that they are constantly updating their software and offering fantastic customer support.
They are members of Automattic, who boast over 506 employees that they call “Automatticians.” This department represents people that come from 50 different countries and speak 69 different languages.
Laurent concurs, “WooCommerce is…frequently updated…and the WooCommerce community is very active so you can always find answers to your questions.”
The diversity of the software has also helped him, as he states
“WooCommerce gives me the opportunity to create and retain my customer base by offering them new options to facilitate their discovery, sharing and purchase of my products. For example, I use The WordPress Multilingual Plugin (WPML) to translate my website to multiple languages”.
Ease of Use
While WooCommerce is free, it’s not an all in one e-commerce platform like some of its main competitors Shopify and BigCommerce. This can intimidate some users, as setting up a WooCommerce store requires a bit more technical knowledge and time to set up. That does not, however, mean it is difficult to use! WooCommerce offers numerous helpful tutorials, demos and documentation that is extremely useful for users, ranging from topics about hosting, setting up themes and making the best use of extensions. Additionally, Laurent states “With their new one-time installation, WooCommerce is now easier to install on a server, thus easier to use”. Upon installation, WooCommerce also has an informative onboarding wizard to make sure you have a handle on everything before you get started.
-Click to Tweet
Style
Every e-commerce store has a platform that bests suits their style and WooCommerce is no different.
With a wide range of themes designed by the WooCommerce team themselves known as WooThemes, you can extend the same quality of service you get from WooCommerce to your store’s themes!
Storefront, a free theme offered by WooCommerce allows for a cost effective design that seamlessly integrates with the WooCommerce and offers customizability that is supported by the WooCommerce team.
Alternatively, you can choose from numerous purchasable themes that are also great, depending on your personal business needs.
Support for Dropshipping with Modalyst
Soon, you will be able to integrate your Modalyst account directly into WooCommerce which will come with amazing benefits, like the ability to add thousands of products to your store, including product imagery, descriptions, pricing and inventory count with one click.
Aaron at Seefashion also states that the app will “enable them to help designers with great products reach more customers”.
Laurent says “I try to optimize my process in order to save time for example in adding products and images, inventory management etc. The synchronization of WooCommerce / Modalyst dropshipping will benefit me so I can devote that time to develop other aspects of the site such as digital marketing, social media etc.”
Without the risk of buying inventory and the ability to manage several dropshipping relationships on one platform, we can’t wait to share this app with you!