Dropshipping + AliExpress
In this post I will show you how to add products to a Dropshipping online store from AliExpress.
I will also give you some tips on how to choose good suppliers and products, and how to edit and publish them to optimize your online store.
If you have already read my article How to create an online store for Dropshipping, you are now in a position to follow the next step.
Organize product selection tasks
Adding products to your online store from AliExpress is a fairly easy and almost automatic process, but it can become a monotonous and tedious task.
And like most things automatic, they don't turn out to be very satisfying.
My professional experience in this type of tasks has led me to the conclusion that it is necessary to define a routine and always respect it for all products.
This way you can ensure that you maintain graphic, aesthetic and conceptual coherence throughout the store, regardless of the number of sessions you do.
It often happens that, after a period of time without publishing products in the store, we forget the criteria we had previously used.
So the best way to maintain conceptual unity in the store is to create an "almost choreographic" routine.
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Step-by-step tips for publishing your products with AliDropship
Here is a basic routine to import and sync AliExpress products to your own online store.
The first three items are made from the AliExpress website, while the last two will be made within your WordPress store.
1. Choose a product
Register and log into your AliExpress account, always using the Chrome browser.
Use AliDropship's statistics tools to choose the most convenient product.
Before choosing a product, I suggest you follow the following tips:
- Choose a supplier: Make sure that the supplier or manufacturer is reliable and has a good reputation, as it will become your allied partner.
- Choose the best price: You will see several identical products from different suppliers with different prices. Use the Search tool.
- Availability: Make sure that the product has a lot of availability in stock.
You must think that this same product is available to thousands of customers around the world and can sell out quickly.
I suggest you have a stock of more than 5000 units. - Delay time: Verify the established times for the delivery of the product to the customer.
- Type of shipping: I recommend that you choose products with free shipping to the countries you sell, that will give you a greater profit margin and will be more convenient for the buyer.
In the previous image you can see identical products, from different suppliers and with different prices.
Always take care of the institutional image
AliExpress is a mega online sales platform from China, but its aesthetics are really horrible.
It is full of advertising banners that distract the customer's attention and has too much information that is not relevant to the product.
Many products of Chinese origin have a bad reputation in the rest of the world regarding their quality and originality, but there are also others that are really very good and their wholesale prices are excellent for resellers.
It is just a matter of choosing those products that you consider appropriate for resale, that are not easy to obtain in local stores in your area, and that justify the wait in terms of delivery delay.
Personalize your posts
As you can see, the products shown here look “very Chinese,” with all the bad reputation that this brings with it.
Some images may even have Chinese text or manufacturer logos that you would like to remove.
Descriptive texts are often poorly written, poorly translated and full of spelling errors.
You probably don't want to list products in your online store exactly as they are presented on AliExpress, nor would you want your store to have an inappropriate aesthetic.
That's why I advise you to take the time to edit the products before exporting them to your online store.
Download product images
While you can post the images as they are presented by the supplier on AliExpress, I suggest you edit them first with Photoshop.
AliExpress publishes millions of items from different suppliers, and this means that there is no graphic and functional coherence in all products.
But it is highly advisable that your store maintains an aesthetic, logical and personalized criterion, which will give corporate identity and robustness to your brand and your business.
That is almost impossible to achieve when the content comes from so many different sources.
That's why you should unify the graphic and textual criteria so that your products are displayed in your store as you want, and not as AliExpress tells you.
In the following image you will see what the original product looks like on AliExpress (unedited)
Now we will see the same product already edited by the seller for his own online store.
As you can see, it has a cleaner and more organized design, adapting to the general aesthetics of the online store.
The best way to edit a product is to get all the elements separately (photos, videos and texts).
I advise you to save them in a separate folder for each product on your computer and edit it according to your preferences.
Save all the images on your hard drive, both those in the gallery and those found in the product description.
Tips for editing images
Select the ones you are going to publish on your website and edit them with Photoshop.
It is advisable that they all have the same size and resolution, to speed up downloading while browsing, and to control the design grid of your website.
They will also take up less space on your web server since providers usually publish photos in large sizes that are unnecessary.
A square size of 700px at 72 dpi is optimal for displaying products on your website and social media.
Always save them using the SAVE FOR WEB option to optimize compression and facilitate online downloading.
I also suggest you install some image optimization plugin for the web.
I use WP-Optimize which is free and gives excellent results.
The following image shows the same photos from the online store published on Instagram.
Remove all manufacturer logos and Chinese texts, and if you wish, translate those you consider necessary.
Keep the images as clean as possible, as these are the ones that will define the aesthetics and quality of your own website.
I also advise you to rename the files sequentially with the name of the product. This is very beneficial for SEO.
For example: Pet Sling Bag 01.jpg; Pet Sling Bag 02.jpg; etc.
If you decide to publish the images directly from AliExpress, they do not take place on your server as they remain on the original site, but you will not be able to edit them later or use them for other publications on social networks.
You will not be able to optimize their size and file names for SEO either.
That is why I advise you to download and use them as you wish.
2. Edit the product
Once you have saved all the edited images, you must edit the textual content of each product to adapt it to your web store.
It is very important to define here how you want to display your product on your website.
Discard what you don't need from the original post and add all the information you consider useful for your clients.
To edit a product on AliExpress you must click the EDIT button located in the gray AliDropship bar at the top of the page.
Never press IMPORT as this causes the product to be published as is in your store, and it will be more complicated to edit it later.
All edits can also be done later, editing the product in your own online store, although some are preferable to do from AliExpress.
Edit title
Clicking EDIT opens a new window where you can modify the product information.
The first thing you need to do is choose an appropriate title that is short and concise and contains the keywords you want to search for on Google.
It is important that you think in advance about optimizing text and image content to improve SEO.
If you want to know more about SEO, read my article How to improve SEO on your website.
In the example in the following photo, the original title is: “Pet Puppy Carrier S/L Outdoor Travel Dog Shoulder Bag Mesh Oxford Single Comfort Sling Handbag Tote Pouch”
It is displayed in English because my client's store is located in the United States, but you can change the language on the AliExpress page.
As you can see, the title is very long and inconsistent and it is not in your best interest to keep it.
Let’s change the title to “Pet Sling Bag”. We define the product in 3 words.
It is important that this name is short as it is the same one that appears below the image in the general catalogue of the website and in Google search engines.
That same title must be copied in the permanent link (permalink) and that will be part of the product's URL
We also define the categories to which the product applies, which we will analyze later.
Edit description
I recommend that each product have two descriptions: a short and a long one.
The short descriptionis the one that appears below the title as a complement and is the one that is seen in Google searches, so it is important that it be short and concise.
You should try to summarize the main features of the product in a single sentence.
This description also invites the customer to continue reading the long description for more information.
Create relevant textual content
The long description is the one that appears in the body of the article and is the most important for your products.
A good description is what will distinguish your store from competitors offering the same product.
That's why I advise you to include relevant information about your products.
This will also benefit SEO and make your products stand out in Google search results.
The long description should show technical data, modes of use, specifications, general features, functionality, etc.
Additionally, this description allows you to add complementary photos and videos that will make your product look more attractive to customers.
The original textual descriptions from AliExpress are usually very bad, but you can take them as a starting point to create a more adequate description.
Take care of the details
Pay close attention to spelling, grammar, typing errors, punctuation, correct use of upper and lower case letters, etc.
It is important that you take care of the writing of these texts to provide the greatest amount of information to your clients.
This will help you avoid unnecessary questions that could delay your online purchase.
Do it strategically, trying to include key phrases that you would use to search for that product on Google.
All these well-cared-for details give quality and credibility to your store, and separate it from the low quality of Chinese publications.
Do not include HTML code
On the editing screen there are three checkboxes: Remove Text, Remove Images, and Remove Packaging Information, that allow you to control which elements to include.
I advise you not to include the images, but to choose which ones to add later in the editing in your store.
If you decide to include the texts, you should know that you can edit them there or later in your store's edition.
You can also delete them there and write them directly into your store, or however you want.
If you prefer to edit them right there, I advise you to select all the text and press the last button ERASE FORMAT.
We will return to this topic later in Complete the editing of the product section.
This causes all the HTML code on the page to be deleted (headlines, bold, italics) and you can apply your own styles later on your website.
If you do not delete the format from here, it will be very difficult to do it later in your store if you do not have knowledge of HTML code editing.
Remove text styles
The following image shows the result after removing the style formatting from the texts.
Note that the bold type has disappeared from the title and the spacing and line spacing, if any, have been erased.
Word spacing, punctuation, bulleted text, and the final product description still need to be corrected.
You can do this from here or later by Complete editing the product.
I recommend doing it later since there you can also alternate the text with images and videos, and you will have a better idea of the final result.
Edit the photo gallery
La galería de fotos es la imagen principal que vemos al ingresar a la pagina del producto.
It can be displayed as a grid or as an image slider in your online store.
I suggest you remove ALL images from this section and upload them later to the Complete product edit section.
As I said before, if you decide to publish the images directly from AliExpress, they do not take up space on your server, but you will not be able to edit them later or use them for other social media posts.
You also won't be able to optimize file sizes and names for SEO.
Edit prices and attributes
In this section you can apply the price formulas that you have previously established in the configuration of your web store.
You can also change the attributes of the items, if they have them.
Items with attributes are those that have different versions of the same product, either in color, size, size, origin, etc.
If you click the box APPLY TO ALL VARIATIONS, all variations of the product will have the same price. This is not advisable if your product has variations in size or design.
Therefore I suggest you not activate this option.
These versions allow you to create an individual product for each attribute, and so the customer can choose the one he wants to buy and the prices are displayed automatically.
For example: Yellow bag, large size (L)
It is very important that you take care of the details at this stage before importing the products to the store.
Some aspects of the publication CANNOT BE EDITED later in WordPress.
Once you have imported it, AliDropship will not allow you to edit or import them again from AliExpress, showing a message in the top bar.
This is to avoid duplicate products in your store.
For this reason, I advise you to make the main edits here, and correct only the details later in WordPress.
3. Add the product to the import list
Once the product is edited in AliExpress, you can now synchronize it with your online store.
There are two ways to do it:
- Add to import list (Recommended): Save the product in draft mode for later editing and publication in your online store.
- Publish: Publish the product directly as it is in your store and it is visible to the public. This option allows it to be edited later in your store and republished.
The only difference between both options is that the first does not show the product in the catalog until you finish editing it, while the second shows it as it is without the final edition.
That is why I recommend the first option .
4. Complete product edition
Once the product is imported into your store, you can finally edit it and publish it.
You must log in to WordPress with your administrator account and look for the newly imported article in the Products panel.
If you have published it in IMPORT LIST mode, appears with a green label in the list that indicates that it is not yet published and is not visible to the public.
Click on EDIT and the product editing window will open.
The following image shows the product editing window.
All the elements you see here can be edited, as I mentioned above.
Here you will see the Title, Permalink (URL), Featured Image, Product Categories, and Short and Long Descriptions with Added Images, etc.
Featured image
This image is very important since it is the one that will be seen in the general catalog of your store and in the Google search engine.
If you want to highlight your product and differentiate it from other sellers, I recommend changing this image for another one from the gallery that you consider appropriate.
This way you will look different and you will not be seen as “just another one” selling the same product, even though in reality you are…
Always try to choose simple images, without text, preferably with a white or neutral background.
This allows it to stand out at “first glance” and leave no doubt about what the product is about.
Keep in mind that this will be the first image the customer sees in your catalog and on Google.
Through it you will feel motivated to click to see the rest of the information, and finally to buy it.
This image plays the same role as your profile picture on your social networks.
Its mission is to quickly identify the product and distinguish it from its peers.
You cannot configure this image on AliExpress, as it has been assigned by default.
You can only do this from your WordPress store.
To change this image for another of your choice, you must click on the photo and choose another one from your Media Library.
It is important that you complete the image metadata in a way that is consistent with the product title to improve SEO.
It is important that you complete the metadata of the image with consistency with the title of the product in order to facilitate SEO to facilitate reading for people with visual disabilities.
Product Categories
Categories allow you to organize your store's products by category and make filtering easier when searching.
It's like when you go shopping at the supermarket and you have the sections for Drinks, Meats, Dairy, Cleaning, etc.
You can assign categories to each product in the initial edition of AliExpress, or during the final edition in your online store. It is indifferent and there are no preferences for it.
I advise you to pay special attention to the definition of categories because it depends on them whether customers find products easily.
You can create as many categories as you need, but don't overdo it, as they don't look good in the store, especially on phones where the screen is very small.
It is preferable to create categories with general thematic ranges, and add more specific subcategories for better organization.
A product can belong to more than one category, for example: Dogs, cats, puppies, transport, bags, etc.
You can create a main menu using these categories to give direct and featured access to the main items of your products.
Product description
As I mentioned before in Edit the Product before publishing it, this section is very important and you should not ignore it.
It may take you a lot of time and work to write the texts, but I assure you that together with the photos they are the soul of your online store.
Here are some tips to optimize your product descriptions:
- Always start the description by copying and pasting the title of the article here, and assigning it the format of Title1 (H1)
This will favor SEO since surely the name of the product contains the main keywords, and the more times they are repeated, the better positioning you will have. - Then continue with the short description, which is a text that complements the title in a few words.
You will also copy and paste this description in the SEO section and it will be displayed in Google searches. - Add the long textual description, where you can detail the characteristics of the article, technical specifications, modes of use and everything you want.
The longer the text, the more information you will provide to your customers and avoid delays in the purchase when asking questions waiting to be answered.
It is important that you understand that the success of an online purchase resides fundamentally in the immediacy.
You should not allow your potential customer to hesitate about what you offer and end up buying in another site.
Imagine that a customer has a question.
He writes you an email and you reply the next day, and in the meantime, he has already found the same product in another store … And you lost the sale!
Also, the longer the text, the more likely you are to include keywords so that your product is relevant to Google.
Make sure the text contains the phrases for which you you would look for that product on the web, and thus you will favor the positioning of your store. - Add images and videos that you can import from your media library by pressing the button ADD MEDIA
These images complement the descriptions and provide additional information to your customers.
I suggest you not repeat the images in the descriptions with those in the product gallery, unless you consider it necessary.
Edit product options
In this section you can edit various publication options that we had seen before on AliExpress, and I suggested you do it later.
Normally, you don't need to change anything except for the Gallery, Comments, and SEO.
Photo & Video Gallery
They form a slide carousel with photos and videos of the product that remains fixed on the main page of each product in your online store.
That's why I suggested earlier that all the photos have the same size, to give visual and functional harmony to the gallery.
In this section you can upload the photos you want to the gallery, change the order of appearance by dragging the thumbnails, or delete them.
If your product has a video you can also change it, delete it, or leave the AliExpress video by default.
You can change the cover image of the video by clicking on the SELECT IMAGE button and choose one available in your Media Library.
Do not forget to click on SAVE CHANGES to finish editing the gallery.
Import Comments
If you want to include the comments, ratings and reviews that users around the world have left about that product, you can do so from this configurable section.
It is highly recommended that you do so as it will increase the product rating and give it stars.
Having products with several stars on your website indicates that you sell high-quality items that are accepted by customers around the world.
This improves your store's reputation and improves your positioning compared to your competitors.
The reviews written by customers are absolutely real, and that builds prestige and trust.
I personally choose to import reviews of 4 stars or higher and that only have images.
Don't forget to click the IMPORT NOW button. Wait for the import progress and they will be published automatically on your product page.
Set up SEO
Finally, you should configure the SEO by copying and pasting the Title and short description into the corresponding fields.
You can also add a comma-separated list of keywords.
Don't forget to click SAVE CHANGES before exiting SEO.
If you want to further improve your SEO performance, I suggest you install the Yoast SEO plugin and configure the options for each product.
Finalize and publish the product
Once you have finished all the editing you must publish the product, clicking on the PUBLISH or UPDATE button of the right sidebar.
In this way, the product will be added to your store's catalog and will be visible to all users.
5. Share the product on your social networks
Once the article is published, you can share it on your social networks directly from the product page.
Click on the SHARE button and choose the network you want.
The advantage of sharing from here is that you are sharing the URL of the product.
This way, if a user clicks on your Facebook post, they will be taken directly to the product page and can purchase it, without having to search for it in the store.
In the following image I show you how to share on a Facebook fanpage.
You can post it as is or add additional text, location and sentiment to the Facebook post.
I recommend the second option, since by leaving it blank you would be wasting a good means of dissemination.
I usually copy and paste the text description of the product into the comments field and add the geographic location.
Finally, this is what the Facebook post looks like.
Final conclusion
I hope this article has been useful and clarified your doubts about How to add products in an online store for Dropshipping.
It has been a very hard job but I wanted to share with you my own experience as a web designer for this type of store and the way I found to optimize the work.
If you were able to follow the tips above, you will be well on your way to creating a professional looking and functional online store.
You already know the aesthetic differences between AliExpress and your own online store, and you have learned how to edit and publish the products.
It was worth the work, right?
If you wanted to have your store for Dropshipping and you consider that I am a suitable professional, do not hesitate to contact me and I will advise you with great pleasure.
In the Related Articles section below, you will find many articles with specific topics that complement the one you just read.
I invite you to read them, share them and leave your comments if you wish.
Thanks.
>>> I WANT MY DROPSHIPPING ONLINE STORE <<<
Hola buenas tardes. Muchas gracias por tu articulo, has hecho un trabajo impresionante y un gran aporte.
Qusiera saber si esta tienda tambien sirve para usar con AliBaba
Gracias
Hola Carmen, buenos días.
Para AliBaba se puede realizar una tienda online tradicional con WooCommerce, y no necesitan plugins especiales.
Pronto realizaré un artículo espacial para eso, mientras tanto puede visitar mi artículo Everything you need to know to have your online store
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Muy buen post. He llegado a ti por tu comentario Dvesign. Me parece muy bueno tu blog en especial esta noticia que es de la temática en el post que escribiste. Sigue con este gran trabajo!!
Muchas gracias Daniel 🙂