We have the solution for you if you are looking to start an ecommerce company but don’t have enough space or time to make your own products. Dropshipping is a rising star in the ecommerce industry. Anyone – anyone can get a piece.
There are many website builders that you can use to create your dropshipping shop. But this article will focus on Squarespace. Squarespace is known for its stunning templates and top-of-the-line website editor. We think it’s the best builder to showcase your dropshipping products. It was voted the best for design and ease-of-use.
We have built a lot of websites so we are ready to guide you through each step. From setting up Squarespace, to choosing dropshipping apps, to selecting your products. You just need to buckle up and make your dropshipping dreams come true.
Dropshipping: What does it mean?
Dropshipping is a completely different model from traditional ecommerce. We are all aware of this. Before we start on the whats let’s first take a look at the Whats. This is what dropshipping actually looks like.
Dropshipping is different from traditional ecommerce. You don’t have to store or provide your products. You play the role as the middleman, choosing items from third-party suppliers, and then displaying them on your website.
You don’t even have to worry about shipping and packaging your orders. You can leave that to the supplier!
Don’t worry, we hear you. It’s possible to make a living selling products of other people, but this is not how you could possibly make money. This is a valid question. It’s also important to understand what you get from the arrangement.
The supplier will give you a wholesale price when you order your products. These items will then be sold at a slightly higher price – this is the retail price. You get to keep the difference between these costs and your profit.
Imagine that you are looking to sell sports bottles. You want to sell a sports bottle at a wholesale price $3. You can sell the sports bottle on your dropshipping site for $13. You will receive $3 from the supplier and $10 directly into your account when a customer orders one your bottles. It’s that simple!
The products you sell will affect your overall profit. Some items have a greater profit margin than others. Dropshipping can be a very lucrative and easy ecommerce business model if you make the right choices.
Pick Your Niche
Dropshippers don’t necessarily need to create their own products. However, this doesn’t mean that you can’t open up a Pandora’s Box with all kinds of products. You could, but we don’t know how it would work!
This is because niche stores are able to target a specific market and can be a one-stop shop for everyone interested in purchasing that product. We know from personal experience that this makes marketing and branding much easier.
Some people have an idea of the niche they want to sell. However, it can be difficult to find your niche. We’ve put together a list to help you find your niche.
- What is your passion?
It is a good idea to think about your hobbies. Are you a yoga enthusiast? Are you an artist or craftsman? Look into the products that are associated with what you enjoy doing and then go from there.
- What are your competition doing?
After you have identified some potential ideas, it is worth looking at the competition. You can be sure that there will be other sellers selling similar products, so it is worth looking into their methods, especially if it works well.
- Are these products in high demand?
To find out if people are searching for what you sell, use keyword research. You can use many free tools to do this. We recommend Google Adwords Keyword Planner.
- Are you able to identify your unique selling point (USP).
What makes you stand out from the rest? Although no idea is unique, it’s helpful to have an angle that sets your business apart from the rest.
- Is your idea really viable?
Is it financially viable? Is it likely to go out of style in the next few months? Are you aware of your target audience? These are crucial in order to ensure that your store does not fall apart before you even get started.
Budget Planning
Although you might be taught to avoid talking about money, when you start a business, this is something you cannot afford to ignore. Dropshipping is a low-cost business, but it’s a smart idea to budget your finances before you start.
Squarespace Subscription
Squarespace does not offer a free plan. You will need to budget some money to cover your subscription. You can pay this monthly or annually. Squarespace offers more advanced plans that include ecommerce. These plans start at $18/month.
Dropshipping App Subscription
Your dropshipping platform will determine the monthly cost of your app. Printful won’t cost any extra until you receive your orders. After that, you will need to pay the manufacturing costs. These are included in the wholesale price. The shipping cost is also covered. However, it is free to get started.
However, this is not the case for every app. Spocket is a dropshipping platform that provides a greater range of products and costs $24 per month.
These costs aren’t prohibitive, but it’s important to include them in your planning process. Failure to properly budget could lead to problems later on and cause your profit margins to drop.
Squarespace Website Creator
A website is essential for any dropshipping business. Before you start dreaming about your future ecommerce empire, let us take a look at Squarespace and how it can help you create your perfect online storefront.
Selecting a Template
Click the button at the top right of the Squarespace homepage to get started. This will direct you to the template selection page.
Squarespace is the reigning champion in template design. It was ranked joint first with BigCommerce for design functionality, earning an impressive 4 stars in our research.
Take a closer look at these templates. For a closer look, you can use the preview option. You can hover over the template to see two buttons: ‘Start With [template]’ and ‘Preview (template name).’ Choose the second option.
This allows you to navigate your site as if you were a visitor and also gives you the ability to view it on different devices. A store that is optimized for mobile devices makes up more than half the internet traffic.
Customizing Your Template
Once you have found the template that you like, you can customize it to fit your brand. You will need to register an account before you can start the creative stuff. Before you can access Squarespace’s editor, you will need to register your name and email address.
The first thing you will see when you arrive is a pop up box asking you to enter your website’s name. The editor will then take you through a brief tour so that you can see the key elements.
At first glance, Squarespace editor may seem intimidating. We know because we did. Squarespace actually is one of our most user-friendly builders, scoring 4.2 stars in ease of use testing. This is the highest score of all the builders!
The left-hand menu contains all the main elements of your site, such as your color scheme or pages. Clicking on any option in the sidebar will open a submenu that allows you to drill down into the details of your website design.
To edit the actual content of the template (text, images and such), click the “Edit” button at the top left corner. You’ll then be able interact with each element on your pages by clicking the ‘Edit’ button.
View Ecommerce Features
Squarespace has a separate section for ecommerce features. It is located under the Commerce’ option in sidebar. This will allow you to view your orders, inventory and other information.
Squarespace gives you the option to view a tutorial on setting up your store when you click this heading. This tutorial will guide you through a series of steps to get your store online. This will allow you to add products (although this is not necessary for dropshipping), and set up payment options.
Squarespace: How Much Does It Cost?
You will need one of the three Squarespace ecommerce plans before you can publish your website and begin selling.
- Business – $18 Per Month
- Basic Commerce – $26 Per Month
- Advanced Commerce – $40 Per Month
We recommend purchasing at least the Basic Commerce package, even though it may be tempting to choose the cheapest option. If you are serious about making your dropshipping site a success, then we highly recommend this package.
The Business plan is limited in ecommerce functionality and better suited for people who are looking to make a few extra sales. You get more for your money with the ‘Basic Commerce and ‘Advanced Commerce plans.
If you’re looking for an easy way of creating a traditional website, Squarespace is the best choice. Squarespace can also be used for ecommerce. Many people may wonder if Squarespace is good for dropshipping, which is a popular way to run an ecommerce shop. This page serves as a sort of FAQ about Squarespace and dropshipping.
Dropshipping is possible with Squarespace websites.
Yes. It is easy to do this by opening a Squarespace account, and connecting it with a dropshipping application.
Which dropshipping software works with Squarespace?
At the moment, the only two popular dropshipping apps that integrate with Squarespace are Printful or Spocket (links will open in a new browser).
Printfulis free to use and allows you to dropship T-shirts, phones cases and other products. Spocket costs $24/month, although you can get a free trial. However, this allows you to dropship more products.
Printful and Spocket focus more on high-quality products than many dropshipping apps. Printful and Spocket offer products with relatively quick shipping times.
Which dropshipping platform is better? Printful is the best option for those who are just starting out. It is free and easier than Spocket. You can also find an embedded video on using Printful with Squarespace at the end of this article.
Although Printful is cheaper and easier than Spocket (and is free), it’s important to remember that Spocket is better suited to those who want to start a dropshipping company. This is because you have access to more suppliers.
Does Oberlo work for Squarespace?
Yes. Although Oberlo’s dropshipping app is not compatible with Squarespace, it can be used on Squarespace sites for $9/month.
Below are quick instructions for how to use Oberlo in a Squarespace site
- Create a Shopify account to choose your preferred plan. Oberlo can be used with Squarespace even on the cheapest Shopify plan which costs $9/month.
- The Oberlo app can be downloaded from your Shopify admin panel.
- The Oberlo app allows you to add products to your Shopify account. It takes only a few clicks to do this.
- You can update the product information and select ” Purchase Buttons” to be the sales channel.
- Shopify accounts can be accessed by clicking on Sales Channels -> Buy Button. After completing a few steps, you can create Buy Buttons to sell Oberlo products.
- Copy the Shopify Buy Button-code
- Open your Squarespace admin panel to open the page you wish to sell products.
- Select “code” from the blocks-menu and enter the Shopify code. (Before doing so, delete any previous codes from the code box). Click to apply the code.
- You are not able to see the Buy Buttons while logged in to your Squarespace account, but you can see them when you log out from your account or open the page in an incognito mode. Verify that everything is working properly.
- Make the changes to the page that contains the Buy Button.
Is Squarespace good for dropshipping?
Squarespace can be used for dropshipping in two cases, according to my opinion. First, there are cases where someone has an existing Squarespace website and feels that products that can be printed with Spocket or Oberlo+Shopify will be a hit with those who visit the site.
The second reason Squarespace might make sense for dropshipping is if you only want to dropship high-quality products. Squarespace’s templates are stylish, but not ideal for showing a large number of products.
These two cases show that Squarespace is a good option for dropshipping, if your site has a large visitor base who are interested in high-quality products.
However, Squarespace is not the best platform to use for launching a dropshipping business or large-scale dropshipping. Shopify is likely to be the best option among all those platforms.
Shopify allows dropshipping. You will have easy access to many dropshipping apps. It also makes it possible to create your ecommerce store on a platform specifically designed for ecommerce. Shopify offers a 14-day trial to new customers at the time of this writing.
Dropshipping is the best option
After you have redesigned your website and satisfied with the customizations made, it is time to move on to the fun part: selecting your dropshipping app, browsing for suppliers, and finally, ordering your products.
The success of your dropshipping shop will depend on the app you choose. This will determine the suppliers you choose, the quality of the products and the shipping time. It’s important to carefully review all options before you make a decision.
We’ll be taking a closer look at Printful, and Spocket respectively, the two most popular Squarespace dropshipping applications. Below is a table that compares the two.
It doesn’t matter what app you use, integration of Printful or Spocket into Squarespace is easy. We’ll walk you through each step. We will also provide guidance on how to add products and set pricing rules. Finally, we’ll give an overview of each app’s costs.
You can set your shipping rules
Dropshipping means that you don’t need to worry about shipping and packaging your orders. Your suppliers will do it for you. Dropshipping is a popular way to get started with ecommerce.
You don’t have the right to ship your goods, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t. There are still some tasks you need to complete.
Shipping costs money and your supplier will not be able pay for this. You will have to pay this amount, but there are several ways you can do it.
- You can charge your customers shipping costs in addition to the price of the product.
- You can get free shipping but you will need to pay a little more for the product. The higher price covers the extra cost.
No matter which option you choose, ensure you verify your dropshipping app to confirm the correct shipping charges. These will be displayed on your product listing so that you can determine how much to charge customers.
Completion of the Legal Paperwork
Dropshipping is one of the easiest ecommerce options, but it is still a business. To ensure everything is legal and in compliance with the law, dropshipping must be completed as a business.
This is not something to be concerned about. However, it can be difficult to understand what you need because requirements vary from one state to the next.
You’ll need to verify your local guidelines. To be safe, it’s a good idea to contact your local authorities if you have any questions. They are usually happy to assist!
Select a Business Structure
It doesn’t matter where you live, you will need to choose a business structure. It is helpful to put your business in a particular category so it is easier to identify which section of the legal system it belongs to. There are three major categories you can choose from:
- Sole Proprietorship
You are responsible for all debts and legal fees. The business is registered under you. This has its advantages in terms of paperwork and taxes, but it doesn’t offer liability protection. You will be responsible for any damages.
- Limited Liability Company
This structure allows you to keep your business separate from your personal life. However, it does not make you fully liable for an emergency. The amount of money that you have invested in the business is only part of your legal responsibilities.
- Corporation
This category includes large-scale businesses. This is the most costly of the three but offers the greatest liability protection as the owners are completely independent from the business.
Application for an EIN
No matter how big or small the business, every US company must have an Employer ID Number (EIN). This identifier, also known as a Federal Tax ID number, allows you to pay taxes and keep your personal finances separate from your business.
Many dropshipping providers will also require one. If you ever wish to work with any third-party supplier, other than Spocket and Printful, your EIN is one of their first requirements.
The process of applying for an EIN can be done quickly and easily. All the information is available on the IRS Website.
Register Your Business
It’s finally time to register your company. This makes your business unique and prevents others from taking your name or good ideas. This is a good idea to do before you make your website live or sell anything.
The location you live and the type of business structure you choose will affect how you register. This can make it confusing. To avoid missing important steps, take a look to this guide to Registering Your Business.
