The Detailed Shopify Dropshipping Guide You Should Read in 2023

For the purpose of effectively launching your Shopify dropshipping store, we will guide you through all factors you need to consider in this Shopify dropshipping guide. Here’s a full 8-step checklist to answer the question “How to dropship on Shopify?”

• Step 1: Understand yourself first
• Step 2: Learn from experienced dropshippers
• Step 3: Estimate your budget
• Step 4: Identify your dropshipping niche
• Step 5: Research for Shopify dropship suppliers + product niches
• Step 6: Create a Shopify account
• Step 7: Set up your store
• Step 8: Use a Shopify dropshipping app

Feeling excited? Don’t take your eyes off the screen, and let us guide you through the process.

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Step-by-step Shopify Dropshipping Guide

First, let’s have an initial glance at our checklist to start dropshipping business on Shopify via the infographic below!

1. Understand yourself first

Undoubtedly, there is no business model that fits all merchants. Some will excel in launching retail stores, while others perform their best when it comes to wholesaling.

Therefore, the very first thing in this Shopify dropshipping guide is to analyze yourself and identify the right dropshipping method. Ideally, we will recommend and guide you to draw a SWOT matrix, which will provide a clear summary of your store’s capabilities. In each aspect, try to ask questions and find the answers for them, as in our example below:

[wptb id=41156]

2. Learn from experienced dropshippers

Along with self-analysis, learning from other dropshippers is also highly encouraged. You can join the Shopify Community or eCommerce Growth Hacks Group, which contains over 900,000 members searching for help.

These forums are really helpful, and you will get lots of insightful strategies for your business. Furthermore, in this guide, we recommend you submit your questions to Quora and Reddit, where thousands of enthusiastic eCommerce experts and peers are willing to help you.

3. Estimate your budget

How much does it cost to start a dropshipping Shopify business?

To answer this question, you need to list all potential costs and estimate how much you will have to pay. In this Shopify dropshipping guide, we suggest that you should look into these potential expenses:

First, your store domain may cost you around $11/year. A shopify theme is free, but a paid version can cost you $180 per theme. A dropshipping app may cost around $19.90/month. Next, the marketing cost will depend on your needs.

Finally, and the most important one, is the Shopify package cost, which will cost $39-399/month (if billed annually). And in the table below, we will list some key features of each Shopify plan for you.

[wptb id=48766]

Please refer to our Shopify pricing analysis to get more about how much Shopify dropshipping costs a month.

4. Identify your dropshipping niche

Dropshipping is one fiercely competitive industry. Therefore, in this Shopify dropshipping guide, market research is one of essential tasks when it comes to launching a new dropshipping business.

Firstly, you should choose a lucrative product niche to differentiate you from the crowd. In detail, you need to comprehensively analyze its profitability, level of competitiveness, and popularity to secure your future success. For example, choosing ‘men watch‘, ‘sports watch‘ or ‘smart watch‘ can reduce more competitors than choosing the product ‘watch’.

Secondly, we highly recommend you brainstorm and list down all potential product keywords that pop up in your mind. However, you must validate your product idea to ensure that there is a market for it. You can use Jungle Scout Product research tool to find trending products which can sell like hotcake.

Most importantly, your personal ideas should be backed up with insightful data. How would you do this? Look at these powerful marketing resources: Google Keyword Planner, Google Trends, and Marketplaces.

4.1. Using Google Keyword Planner

By entering product keywords into Google Keyword Planner, you will get information regarding their average monthly search volume. Consequently, this data will help you assess the popularity of what you aim to sell.

Furthermore, you are capable of estimating your product niche’s size. We will guide you through a few steps to access Google Keyword Planner:

• #1 Log into your Google Ads dashboard.
• #2 Choose ‘Tools and Settings’.
• #3 Select ‘Keyword Planner‘.
• #4 Click on ‘Get search volume and forecasts’.
• #5 Fill in your list of product ideas and check their search volume.

4.2. Using Google Trends

Along with volume research, you should prioritize checking keyword data on Google Trends as well. This tool allows you to explore the popularity of your product terms chronologically.

Differing from Keyword Planner, Google Trends will divide a query’s search volume by the total search volume of all possible queries to get the popularity data. Technically, it eliminates duplicate searches of a user in a short period of time and only displays data of popular keywords.

Moreover, you are able to see the popularity level of your searched term in different countries and other related keywords. Below, we will guide you on how to use Google Trends for dropshipping with the ‘men watch‘ keyword in the US over time.

4.3. Using marketplaces

In our 12+ years in eCommerce, we would say in this guide that this last reference source will truly ease your effort – using marketplaces.

We would recommend some popular ones, such as Amazon, AliExpress, CJ Dropshipping, and Salehoo. In particular, these are giants that all offer an enormous amount of available products to their customers.

What you should do is access these marketplaces, discover their top items, and note them down. Furthermore, you need to be aware of the customer reviews related to the products since they can reveal the true items’ quality.

Finally, exploit all the data gathered, and you will soon find your proper dropshipping niche.

A list of best dropshipping niches

According to LitExtension’s research, here are the dropshipping business ideas you should pay attention in 2023:

1. Clothing
2. Automotive
3. Health & personal care
4. Baby products
5. Office products
6. Home & kitchen products
7. Cellphone & accessories

5. Look for Shopify dropship suppliers

There are numerous dropshipping suppliers. Below we’ve highlighted some of the most popular dropshipping suppliers’ directories online. Please keep in mind that we are not endorsing any of the suppliers, only providing you with different options.

1. AliExpress dropshipping
2. SaleHoo
3. Worldwide Brands
4. Doba
5. Wholesale2b
6. Wholesale Central
7. Oberlo Dropshipping
8. Doba

6. Create a Shopify account

Before diving deeper into this Shopify dropshipping guide, you must sign up for a new Shopify account first. You can watch our video for detailed step-by-step guide or follow 3 simple steps below:

• Visit the Shopify website.
• Fill in your email address and hit “Start free trial” button.
• Next, answer some questions from Shopify. By completing the survey, you will get a more personalized experience while using the platform. Or, you can start right away by clicking “Skip All“.

Now, you’re heading to the Shopify admin dashboard.

7. Set up your Shopify store

At this stage, we will guide some most important actions you should take to prepare your online store for a dropshipping business.

7.1. Create a custom domain

After registering for your account, you can only use ‘.myshopify.com’ as the store domain, which may look unappealing. Therefore, you need to create a custom domain to make your brand become more professional and unique. Specifically, Shopify will charge you a minimum of 11$ per year for this type of domain.

To set it up, go to ‘Domains‘ section, and choose ‘Buy new domain’. Next, enter your domain and choose which domain you prefer most. Finally, click on ‘Buy’.

In case you have already had a third-party domain, select ‘Connect existing domain’ instead of ‘Buy new domain’, and follow the later instructions from Shopify.

7.2. Add pages

Webpages are content shown to your customers after they visit your store. Specifically, these can be the homepage, collection page, product page, blog page, etc. To create a page for your Shopify website, choose ‘Online Store’ and select ‘Pages’.

Now, click on ‘Add page’ and you will be directed to an editing section. Next, enter the page title and the page content. Additionally, don’t forget to preview your page on the search engine result by selecting ‘Edit website SEO’.

Finally, add the page to your navigation menu by choosing ‘Navigation’, selecting your menu, and clicking on ‘Add menu item’. From now on, enter your page name, choose ‘Pages’ and choose your recently created page.

7.3. Pick a Shopify theme

Although Shopify has already installed a default Dawn theme for your store, we still encourage you to research other options. Choose ‘Online Store’ from your dashboard and click on ‘Themes’. If you prefer to use a free Shopify theme, scroll down and explore some popular free themes.

However, you should also consider using a paid template by accessing ‘Shopify Theme Store‘ as it has superior features compared to the free one. Then, search for the theme you want and hit “Try theme” to add the theme to Shopify.

Technically, the installation process is the same with both Free and Paid options as instructed above. It might take a few minutes for your new template to be successfully saved in your store for further customization.

You can try and edit all themes (both free & paid) on the Shopify theme store for an unlimited time and only be charged if you want to publish it.

After fully customizing Shopify theme, select ‘Publish’ to officially launch the theme.

Fundamentally, Shopify will allow you to try the paid theme and only charge you after it has been published. Furthermore, you can also check out store themes produced by third parties besides built-in templates.

8. Use Shopify dropshipping apps

Hold on!

There is still one step ahead in this Shopify dropshipping guide to making your Shopify dropshipping dream come true.

In the last stage, you need to integrate a dropshipping app (or more) with your store. For complete automation of the checkout process, you should use Shopify dropshipping apps.

Remarkably, there’s a huge marketplace where you can find best dropshipping apps for Shopify to boost your business performance. They can be found in the Shopify App Store, and here are some popular Shopify dropshipping suppliers:

1. Spocket: include items from dropshipping suppliers in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, Brazil, etc.
2. DSers: allow to search, import, and edit product data from AliExpress suppliers.
3. Modalyst: also integrates with AliExpress.
4. Dropshipman‑ Ali Dropshipping: work with AliExpress for bulk import.
5. Trendsi ‑ Fashion Dropshipping: give you the best in fashion items.
6. Ali Orders AliExpress Dropship: offer 1-click product import.

However, we suggest that you take a closer look at DSers – one of the best names out there. The app helps you effortlessly find dropshipping products on AliExpress and import them to your online store.

If you use the apps for dropshipping products, your order information will be sent directly to your third-party supplier for shipping. Then, the supplier will mark the order completed and (if available) can add a tracking number to the order sent directly to the customer.

And that’s it. We guide through 8-step guidelines for dropshipping on Shopify. Next, it’s time for you to start your dropshipping business.

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Practical Tips in Shopify Dropshipping Guide

1. Manage inventory

Although dropshipping doesn’t require you to keep products in-store, that doesn’t mean you can overlook inventory management. If you don’t properly manage your inventory, it could lead to ‘out of stock’.

As a business owner, how can you handle this issue? Here we’ll guide you through some solutions:

• As mentioned above, you can earn more by partnering with multiple Shopify dropship suppliers at the same time. Additionally, this strategy will also help you reduce the risk of being out of stock.
• While working with dropshipping suppliers, you should ask them about the availability of the items that you are going to sell. Consequently, it helps you ensure a steady stock distribution stream.
• By regularly auditing your inventory, you can avoid overselling and get more insights into your dropshipping with Shopify.

2. Offer professional customer support

According to Hubspot, 68% of consumers are ready to pay for products or services of a brand that delivers good customer service. So you should really put effort into building a dedicated customer support process for your Shopify dropshipping business.

2.1. Create an FAQ page

FAQ pages are known as collective documents with answers and explanations regarding products or services. Particularly, this page will help you save time in assisting website visitors, as it doesn’t require human interaction like live chat. Furthermore, an FAQ page is able to enhance your customer experience and SEO rank.

Specifically, you should take note of these things when building the FAQ pages for your Shopify dropshipping stores:

• Get to the point while delivering your answers.
• Collect questions that your customers usually ask, and see whether you could find a common pattern between them. If yes, consider including them on the FAQ page.
• Keep your content concise and easy to read.
• Use the customer’s voice in the section. For instance: “Will I receive a refund if there are any problems with the product?”.

2.1. Utilize a Live Chat app

41% of customers prefer live chat, which is superior to other options like phone, email, and social media. Therefore, do not forget to integrate your store with a live chat app. In this Shopify dropshipping guide, we want to recommend some top related Shopify apps that you can check out:

• Tidio
• Reamaze
• Flowio

3. Implement marketing activities

No matter which eCommerce business you are running, marketing is always the core activity that brings you leads. Especially it is even more important to invest in marketing if you truly have the desire to compete against other dropshippers. Next on this Shopify dropshipping guide, let’s see how you can implement marketing activities to boost sales!

3.1. Run Facebook ads

As an acute entrepreneur, how can you overlook Facebook Ads? Hootsuite reported that Facebook had 2,91 billion users by November 2021, which was equivalent to 36.8% of the world’s population.

To run a successful marketing campaign on this social media, we have these 3 fundamental steps for you below:

• Thoroughly research your target audience by using Facebook Audience Insight.
• Prepare personalized content based on your research.
• Learn how to set up Facebook ads and manage their performances effectively.

3.2. Optimize Shopify dropshipping store for SEO

Have you heard that organic search generates 53,3% of all website traffic? This statistic has clearly demonstrated the essential role of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) in helping your business grow.

If online advertisement might help you convert potential customers in a short period, SEO is like a long-term strategy. When doing it in the right way, you will get your page to rank higher and stay in the top position of the search result. As a consequence, your business can attract more traffic and have more chances to enhance the sales conversion rate.

Regarding SEO, you should consider optimizing these factors:

• Page title
• Meta description
• H1 tag
• H2 tag
• Images
• Blog content
• Internal links
• Backlinks
• Shopify speed optimization

4. Continuously update new & beautiful dropshipping products

Last on some tips for this Shopify dropshipping guide, we have to mention the “fresh” of the products for selling. By continually updating dropshipping products, you gain loads of substantial benefits for your business.

Curious why? Here’s what our clients are sharing about their business:

• Fresh and attractive products help grab the attention of (newly) potential customers.
• A diverse range of products ensures that everyone has a selection when surfing your store.
• When you regularly introduce new products, it means your business is active, reliable, and up-to-date with market trends.
• By strategically selecting complementary items or offering upgraded versions of existing products, you can encourage customers to make additional purchases.
• Finally, during specific seasons or holidays, certain products will receive high demand. As you continue updating your products, you can align your store with the product trends and capture these opportunities!

So, our recommendation for you is that by understanding your target audience and their needs, you resonate with your customers and drive sales for your business!

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Shopify Dropshipping Guide – Shopify Dropshipping 101

1. What is Shopify?

Shopify is defined as the most comprehensive hosted platform equipped with robust features. From nontechies to tech-savvies, everyone can use Shopify to open and customize online stores in only a few minutes.

Explore what is Shopify and let see if this is the perfect fit for your business in this video:

2. Why Use Shopify for Dropshipping Business?

At the time of writing (May 2023), Shopify witnessed a substantial rise in the number of stores to 4.3 million. So why can Shopify be a proper choice for launching your eCommerce store, especially dropshipping?

• It is relatively easy to run your store with a drag-and-drop system.
• Although Shopify’s pricing plans are quite high, it has a set of robust built-in features. For example, the features can be store analytics, multi-channel selling, and its own payment gateway – Shopify payment and marketing.
• There are numerous third-party apps ready to help you customize and optimize your dropshipping store.
• You can find support from various sources such as the Help Center, Shopify community, live chat, and phone calls.

3. Shopify dropshipping website examples and what they’re selling

We’re talking about the popularity of Shopify and why it’s robust for Shopify dropshipping. But how can we prove them to give out that opinion? It’s because we’ve analyzed hundreds of Shopify dropshipping stores to say so.

In this Shopify dropshipping guide, we want to show some Shopify dropshipping stores that amazed our testing team the most:

• Aesthentials Clothing – Clothing
• Be Activewear – Clothing 
• Notebook Therapy – Journals & other stationery
• Pet Boutique Co. – Pet accessoires 
• and many more.

With the power of Shopify, all these stores have apps that help support customers thoroughly and analyze customer behavior on-site to give out the best marketing strategy. You may see these stores choose different dropshipping niches, and all thrive! And those are the reasons why is Shopify dropshipping worth it!

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Is Dropshipping Worth It?

Not only Shopify dropshipping; we want to talk about the dropshipping business, in general, to give a broad picture of this lucrative business to you.

First, let us guide you through what is dropshipping business and how does it work. Dropshipping seems to be an effort-saving business that brings good profitability because of its non-existent inventory management and fulfillment. In the infographic below, we visualize the dropshipping process for you t better understand the dropshipping business.

Basically, drop shipping eCommerce will involve:

1. You create an online presence & Add products
2. Customer will place an order
3. You pass that information to the suppliers & they will deliver the parcel to your customer directly.
4. You make a profit!

However, you should also consider all the dropshipping disadvantages before entering this eCommerce field. To give you a comprehensive perception of launching a dropshipping store, we have compiled a brief list including dropshipping pros and cons below:

As you can see, there are 3 main benefits and 3 key challenges for dropshipping business, in general (and the pros & cons Shopify dropshipping, in particular):

• 3 prominent benefits: lean operation, product diversification, and scalability.
• 3 major challenges: high competitiveness, no product control, and challenge of suppliers.  

Still on the fence? Check out this in-depth analysis: Is dropshipping worth it?

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How to Start Dropshipping on Shopify- FAQs

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Final Thoughts

We hope that this Shopify dropshipping guide has provided you with the ultimate guide on how to start a dropshipping business. In case you aim to migrate from another eCommerce platform to Shopify, our experts from LitExtension – #1 Shopping Cart Migration Expert can assist you all the way!

For further questions regarding our migration service, please visit our help center or reach out to us on Contact Us page. You can also check out LitExtension blog, where you will get all the useful information related to the eCommerce field.