Wednesday, March 31, 2021

WordPress Roles Beginner’s Guide

WordPress makes it easy for site owners and webmasters to run a highly functional website. To get the most of your WordPress site, you’ll probably want to have other people help you out.

You might want to give a third-party contractor the ability to publish blog posts or maybe hire a developer to help you create new pages. But giving others full access to your WordPress site can be frightening and pose a potential security risk.

That’s where WordPress roles come into play. Roles give website owners full control over what users can or cannot do on the site.

With WordPress roles, you won’t have to worry as much about users doing something on your site that they’re not supposed to.

What are WordPress Roles?

WordPress roles and capabilities allow site owners to control who has access to what parts of a site on the backend. Out-of-the-box, there are five default WordPress user roles—administrator, editor, author, contributor, subscriber.

Each user has uniquely defined capabilities, such as writing and editing a post, publishing a post, creating users, moderate comments, installing plugins, deleting a theme, and more. In total, there are 70+ hardcoded capabilities built into WordPress for different users.

The main purpose of WordPress roles is to restrict access. For example, you probably wouldn’t want to give a part-time blogger the ability to delete your site’s theme or install a new plugin.

5 Tools to Improve WordPress Roles

While WordPress comes with the ability to manage user roles out-of-the-box, there are some third-party plugins out there that take this functionality to the next level. These are my five favorite tools for managing WordPress roles.

#1 — PublishPress Capabilities

With over 100,000 active installations, PublishPress Capabilities is another popular way to manage WordPress roles. This plugin is perfect for anyone who wants to have more control over the way user roles and capabilities on their WordPress site are handled.

You can fully customize the roles of editors, authors, administrators, contributors, and subscribers, so each role has exactly what you need. Easily modify an existing role or create completely new roles. All of the roles within PublishPress Capabilities work for single sites and multisite WordPress networks as well.

I like PublishPress Capabilities because it automatically backs up your website’s permissions whenever a change gets made to a role or capability. So, if anything happens to your website, you can restore those permissions with ease instead of doing everything again manually. These backups are also extremely useful if you decide to migrate your user roles and capabilities from one site to another.

PublishPress Capabilities makes it easy to customize permissions, copy roles, add extra permissions to the taxonomy of your site, create permissions for custom statues, and so much more.

The basic version of this plugin is free to use. Paid plans start at $69 per year and come with access to six other PublishPress plugins.

#2 — Members

Members by MemberPress is a WordPress plugin that’s built specifically for managing user roles. With 200,000+ active installations, it’s one of the most popular solutions in this category.

This is arguably the easiest way to manage user role permissions within WordPress, too. The default role options within WordPress aren’t so user-friendly, especially for non-technical admins.

But the Members plugin simplifies role management with a straightforward UI that’s easy to navigate. You’ll be able to add roles and change capabilities for users with just a few clicks.

The plugin comes with an extensive list of functionalities for basic and advanced users alike.

For example, you’ll have the option to perform basic tasks, like creating a new user, editing a user, deleting roles, and adding capabilities for roles. But it also comes with more advanced functions, allowing you to assign multiple roles to any user.

You can also clone roles, create content permissions, restrict certain content, decide who has access to shortcodes, and more.

The basic Members plugin is free to download and use. You’ll also have access to free add-ons like block permissions, admin access, role levels, role hierarchy, and more. The plugin even integrates with third-party tools like Easy Digital Downloads and WooCommerce.

#3 — User Submitted Posts

The User Submitted Posts plugin for WordPress is a bit unique compared to some of the other tools in this guide. Technically, it’s not used to manage WordPress roles. But the plugin essentially provides you with a similar benefit when you want to give users the least amount of access to your site.

That’s because User Submitted Posts is a frontend solution—meaning site contributors won’t have access to your WordPress dashboard. But verified users can still publish content on your website.

This is perfect for WordPress sites that publish content from a wide range of different freelancers or users outside of the company. Instead of giving those people WordPress login credentials for the backend of your WordPress site, you can just install the User Submitted Posts plugin as a safer alternative.

This workaround for publishing is still fast and easy for the end-users. The plugin features a simple registration, login, and password form. You can display the login forms anywhere on your site using a simple shortcode or template tag. You’ll also benefit from shortcodes for access control and restricted content.

Other noteworthy highlights of User Submitted Posts include email notifications for new submissions, image preview thumbnails, Google reCAPTCHA for forms, built-in client side verification, action and filter hooks for advanced customization, and so much more.

User Submitted Posts is the perfect way to add user-generated content to your site without having to create new WordPress roles.

#4 — Advanced Access Manager

Advanced Access Manager is a powerful and versatile WordPress plugin with 100,000+ active installations. I like Advanced Access Manager because it is built to help WordPress admins customize and control every component of their WordPress sites. User roles are just one of the many aspects that can be managed using this plugin.

Regardless of the use case, Advanced Access Manager is primarily built around access and security policies. You’ll define who, when, and how users can access specific resources on your WordPress site. Access control can be maintained on the backend and frontend of your site as well.

The backend menu access control feature is arguably the plugin’s most popular tool. This allows you to customize access for any user or role. You’ll also have the ability to customize all roles or capabilities from a user-friendly dashboard.

Use Advanced Access Manager to create temporary accounts, limit content access, manage temporary users, restrict backend functionality, manage access based on IP address or referred domain, and so much more. Advanced Access Manager is free for basic use.

Paid plans for role hierarchy and multi-level groups start at $39. Most sites go with the enterprise package. For $399 per year, you’ll have access to the full suite of all premium add-ons.

#5 — User Role Editor

The User Role Editor plugin for WordPress has a pretty self-explanatory name. As implied, it’s a simple solution that gives you the ability to manage user roles and capabilities.

Using the tool is as easy as clicking checkboxes to customize roles and capabilities according to your personal preferences. If you’re not happy with the built-in role management tools within WordPress, User Role Editor is an upgrade that can accommodate your needs.

There’s a free version of the plugin for basic role management and capabilities customization.

But the Pro version is designed for anyone who really wants to get the most out of managing user roles. You’ll benefit from additional features like frontend menus, per plugin access for user roles, the ability to block meta boxes and navigation menus, manage widgets, and more.

The Pro version also supports WordPress multi-sites with a super admin. The Pro Personal plan starts at $29 per year for a single installation. Lifetime access starts at $87 for a one-time purchase.

The Basics of WordPress Roles

Let’s take a closer look at the core components of WordPress roles. This will give you a better understanding of the capabilities associated with default user roles.

Administrator

Admins have the most powerful role. They can add new posts, edit posts, and even delete posts created by other users. Users with administrative access can edit, install, and delete plugins and themes. An admin can add new users, delete users, and change information about other users (including other admins).

The administrative role is essentially created for the site owner. Anyone with admin access will have full control over the WordPress site. So be cautious if and when you assign this role.

Editor

Editors can access and control the content portions of your WordPress site. They have the capability to add posts, edit posts, publish posts, and delete posts on the site, regardless of who wrote the post. Editors also have the ability to edit, delete, and moderate comments on your website.

By default, an editor cannot install plugins, change your theme, add a new user, or change your WordPress site settings.

Author

As the name implies, authors can create, edit, and publish posts on WordPress. They also have the ability to delete published posts, assuming the post was written by that author.

It’s worth noting that authors only can select an existing category when they’re publishing a new post—they cannot create a new category. However, an author does have the ability to add tags to their posts.

While an author can view comments and see comments pending review, they cannot manage those comments. Authors won’t have access to plugins, themes, or site settings either. Overall, this role grants fairly low-access to the WordPress site.

Contributor

Contributors are similar to authors but have even less access. While a contributor can add new posts and edit posts that they wrote, this role does not grant access to publishing content.

A contributor won’t have the ability to upload files to WordPress either. So anyone with that role cannot add images to posts that they wrote.

Subscriber

Subscribers are the least powerful WordPress users. They can log in to your WordPress website and update their own profiles on the frontend. But they can’t write posts or do anything within your WordPress admin dashboard.

The subscriber role is perfect for sites that require users to login before reading posts or commenting on posts. But beyond that, they won’t have access to other permissions.

3 Tricks For WordPress Roles

Here are a few quick tips and best practices that you can apply to your WordPress site. These tricks will make it easier for you to understand and manage WordPress roles.

Trick #1: Super Admin For WordPress Multisite

If you’re running multiple sites from the same WordPress installation, make sure you take advantage of the super admin role. This is only available on WordPress multisite networks.

Super admins can add sites, delete sites, install plugins, manage themes, and basically manage all network-wide actions in WordPress. It’s the most powerful role in WordPress and usually best if you keep this role to yourself.

If you’re using WordPress multisite, make sure you’re using a web hosting service that can accommodate your needs. This type of installation requires a bit more power from your host. Check out our guide on the best web hosting for WordPress to see our top recommendations.

Trick #2: Limit Admins and Editors

It might be tempting to start giving people full access to your WordPress dashboard. But this isn’t a great idea. You really only need to have one administrator and one or two editors at most.

Always follow the “principle of least privilege.” This IT security concept says users should only have privileges essential to perform functions for their desired work. For example, this is why an editor can’t delete your theme or add a new plugin. These capabilities aren’t part of an editor’s job.

Trick #3: Customize Roles Accordingly

The default roles are fine for basic use, but they likely aren’t suitable for every need and potential use case. So you can change capabilities based on your workflow and customize how different users have access to your WordPress site.

For example, you might decide to give contributors the ability to upload files to WordPress. Or maybe you want to give authors the ability to moderate comments.

By installing a plugin or third-party tool, it’s much easier to customize different roles at scale.



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Best Online Legal Services

Want to jump straight to the answer? The best online legal service for most people is definitely Rocket Lawyer or Incfile.

Online legal services can be crucial.

Lawyers help with everything from setting up your business entity to settling disputes and reviewing contracts.

But not everyone has a lawyer on retainer. For those that do, your lawyer might not specialize in the type of legal practice you need for all of your business and personal needs.

That’s why online legal services are so helpful. With just a few clicks, you can access legal documents, find an attorney nearby, set up your business, and seek legal counsel.

Whether you need an attorney now or you’re planning for the future, I’ll show you how to find the best online legal service for your business and personal needs.

The 7 Best Online Legal Services of 2021

After extensive research, these are the top seven online legal services that I’d recommend:

  1. Rocket Lawyer — Best for fast legal help
  2. Incfile — Best for starting up your startup
  3. LegalZoom — Best for pain-free IP protection
  4. LegalNature — Best for DIY legal documents
  5. Avvo — Best online legal Q&As
  6. UpCounsel — Best for outsourcing your legal department
  7. LegalMatch — Best online legal service for finding an attorney near you

I’ll highlight the top features, benefits, use cases, and considerations for each one as we continue through this guide.

Best Online Legal Services Reviews

#1. Rocket Lawyer – Best for Fast Legal Help

  • Get legal advice within a business day
  • Monthly & single doc prices
  • Fast access to documents
  • Exceptional mobile app
Get Started Now

Rocket Lawyer offers an online legal service that helps individuals and business owners create legal documents and get legal advice—and do so very quickly.

As their name suggests, they give you a variety of ways to quickly access attorneys and their advice including through phone, email, or chat. RocketLawyer will connect you with attorneys that cover a wide range of topics including family law, business contracts, criminal law, personal injuries, and more.

They also have an excellent legal advice portal where you can type in your legal question and get answers back within a business day.

If you need even more help, they can help connect you with an actual lawyer to talk to and consult on your matters. Their helpful lawyer directory allows you to choose the legal topic you want a pro to consult with, along with your state so they can connect you with someone knowledgeable with local laws. It takes just a few minutes to do so.

This online legal service also individuals and business owners create legal documents for a wide range of use cases.

Here are a few documents they help you create and process:

Business

  • Non-Disclosure Agreement
  • LLC Operating Agreement
  • Independent Contractor Agreement
  • Business Contract

Real Estate

  • Lease Agreement
  • Eviction Notice
  • Intent to Purchase Real Estate
  • Quitclaim Deed

Their service can also help with more personal matters such as estate planning and healthcare directives.

Rocket Lawyer offers two ways to pay: You can pay a monthly membership fee of $39.99 per month to access free services and discounted documents. Alternatively, you pay per use based on what you need. Think of it like the a la carte offering.

For example, Rocket Lawyer charges $39.99 per document. So the monthly membership pays for itself with just one of these.

If you know you’re going to need multiple documents at once or need legal documents created on an ongoing basis then the monthly membership is definitely worth it.

Rocket Lawyer comes with a fantastic mobile app. This gives you fast access to your documents from anywhere. You can even sign agreements directly from the app.

Click here to get a free 7 day trial.

#2. Incfile – Best for Starting Up Your Startup

  • Form an LLC, S-Corp, C-Corp, or nonprofit
  • Starts at $0
  • Next-day processing
  • Customized by state
Get Started Now

Incfile offers an online legal service that specializes in business formation.

Simply choose your entity type (LLC, S-Corp, C-Corp, or Nonprofit) and select your state of formation to proceed. The best part—they will help you choose the best entity type if you’re unsure what’s best for your needs.

Incfile has three different packages. The rates for each one vary by state.

All plans include:

  • Company name availability verification
  • Preparation and filing
  • Registered agent service (free for one year)
  • Lifetime company alerts
  • Online status tracking
  • Free business tax consultation
  • Lifetime support
  • Online access to your incorporation documents
  • Next day business processing

The basic plan is $0. That’s right. All you have to pay is your state’s registration fee.

However, you’ll have to pay extra for things like that EIN/Tax ID, IRS Form 2553, operating agreements, and more. But they’ll also help you with long-term assistance with compliance and trademark registration.

I recommend going with at least the Gold package. It comes with all those extras along with unlimited phone and email support, express shipping, expedited filing, and FedEx Delivery.

To find the exact cost for your startup, just select an entity type and choose your state. You can get a quote from Incfile in seconds.

#3. LegalZoom – Best for Pain-Free IP

  • Comprehensive IP services
  • Provisional patent applications
  • Legal documents
  • Wills & trusts
Get Started Now

LegalZoom is the most diverse online legal service on the market today. This website can accommodate your personal, professional, and business needs.

Where LegalZoom really shines is in their IP services. They’re one of the most comprehensive services for finding prior art, patent/trademark/copyright searching, and filing utility and design patents, including lesser-known tools like provisional patent applications that require just three steps to get done.

LegalZoom’s online legal services can be segmented into four main categories. I’ll give you a quick summary of some of the top legal services and features within those categories below.

Business

  • Business formation
  • Corporate changes and filings
  • Business compliance
  • Business names
  • Trademark, patent, and copyright
  • Real estate
  • Taxes, licensing, and permits
  • Legal forms and agreements

Intellectual Property

  • Trademark search
  • Trademark registration
  • Copyright registration
  • Design patent
  • Utility patent
  • Provisional patent application

Wills, Trust, and Family

  • Estate planning
  • Marriage and divorce
  • Residential lease
  • Property lease
  • Financial power of attorney

Attorney Advice

  • Business consultation
  • Personal consultation
  • Contracts and agreements
  • Website terms and conditions

In addition to these categories for specific needs, LegalZoom offers six-month and annual plans for businesses and individuals. Individual plans start at $9.99 per month with an annual contract, and business plans start at $31.25 per month with a one-year commitment.

Overall, LegalZoom is a top choice to consider for one-time services as well as ongoing legal needs.

Learn more about how they can help at LegalZoom.com.

#4. LegalNature – Best for DIY Legal Documents

  • Personal & business documents
  • Wide range of legal forms
  • Step-by-step instructions
  • Create, download, & print
Try LegalNature for Free

LegalNature gives you all you need for legal filings and templates. It’s fast, reliable, and easy for anyone to use.

LegalNature’s platform offers a lot of great templates too. They have legal documents for businesses, landlords, and individuals.

Here’s a quick overview of some of LegalNature’s top categories:

  • Business
  • Business formation
  • Commercial property
  • Estate planning
  • Healthcare
  • Human resources
  • Marriage and divorce
  • Landlord and tenant
  • Personal affairs
  • Property

Choose the legal document you’d like to create and LegalNature walks you through step-by-step through the entire process. Easily download and store your documents when you finish.

Let’s take a closer look at the plans and pricing options for LegalNature:

Single Document

  • Prices range from $34.95 to $78.95 per document
  • Unlimited updates and edits
  • No subscription required

Standard Plan

  • $38.95 per month (or $82 per year with annual contract)
  • Single version of each document
  • Access to all documents

Professional Plan

  • $58.95 per month (or $499 per year)
  • Unlimited versions of each document
  • Access to all documents

Whether you need legal documents for a single use or an ongoing basis, LegalNature gives you an easy way to draft offer letters, NDAs, and other HR forms that are a regular need for a growing business.

#5. Avvo – Best for Online Legal Q&As

  • Extensive lawyer directory
  • Legal questions answered online
  • Tons of free articles
  • Get multiple lawyer responses
Get Started Now

Avvo is a bit unique compared to some of the other online legal services on our list.

The platform has an extensive lawyer directory to help you find an attorney in your area. But it also serves as a way to get free legal questions answered online.

You can browse questions that were asked by other people or post your own question and get responses from multiple lawyers.

Popular questions and legal advice on Avvo are related to:

  • Business
  • Child custody
  • Criminal defense
  • DUI
  • Divorce
  • Employment
  • Immigration
  • Landlord and tenant
  • Personal injury
  • Prenuptial agreement
  • Traffic violations

This is just the tip of the iceberg. There are hundreds of legal topics that Avvo covers that they can help you out on.

In addition to the lawyer directory and free Q&A, Avvo also has tons of free articles, resources, and guides with legal advice. For those of you who need legal questions answered online but don’t want to spend money on an attorney consultation, Avvo will be your best option.

#6. UpCounsel – Best for Outsourcing Your Legal Department

  • Network of 5,000+ lawyers
  • Used by 10,000+ businesses
  • Strictly confidential
  • Collaborate with a lawyer online
Get Started Now

UpCounsel is great for a wide range of legal services.

From one-time personal legal consultations to an entire freelance legal department for your business, UpCounsel has it all.

They’re even used by top brands like AirBnB that frequently deal with complex legal matters. So you know you’re in good hands.

Popular legal categories offered on UpCounsel include:

  • Business formation
  • Agreements
  • Patents
  • Trademarks
  • General counsel
  • Labor and employment
  • Securities and finance

Here’s how it works.

Take a minute to post the job related to your business and legal needs. All of the information you share on UpCounsel is strictly confidential.

The UpCounsel algorithm will automatically match you with qualified attorneys to handle your specific needs. Those lawyers will send you proposals, and you can schedule a free consultation without any obligation.

Once you’re ready to proceed, you can hire your lawyer. All of the pricing is straightforward, so you never have to worry about hidden fees. Collaborate with your lawyer online, directly through the UpCounsel platform.

UpCounsel makes it easy for you to manage all of your communications in one place. The platform offers time-tracked phone calls and free document management.

You’ll also be able to manage all of your invoices, track your spending, and benefit from flexible payment options. If you worked with a lawyer in the past that you liked, UpCounsel makes it easy for you to connect with them again.

If you need dedicated legal support, always available when you need it, reach out to UpCounsel today.

#7. LegalMatch – Best for Finding an Attorney Near You

  • Get matched with a local attorney
  • High-rated licensed lawyers
  • Responses within 24 hours
  • In business 20+ years
Get Started Now

As the name implies, LegalMatch is a platform designed to match you with an attorney. It’s the best choice for those of you seeking legal counsel in your local area.

The process is simple, quick, and straightforward. Just provide your location and choose a category from the following list of options:

  • Family
  • Employment
  • Criminal defense
  • Real estate
  • Business
  • Immigration

LegalMatch will automatically connect you with a high-rated licensed lawyer near you. The best part? The entire process is free to you.

More than four million cases have been posted on this legal website. LegalMatch has been helping people find local lawyers for the last 20 years.

You’ll have a response within 24 hours of posting your case. So it’s a great option for those of you with a time-sensitive matter.

After you’ve been matched, you’ll have full access to the attorney’s profile and background information. You’ll also have access to user ratings and reviews from previous clients to help you make a decision. LegalMatch provides a complete breakdown of each lawyer’s fee structure.

It’s an ideal option for finding lawyers without any pressure. Simply choose which lawyer is best for your needs after reviewing the options provided by LegalMatch.

You’re never under any obligation to hire a lawyer or sign a contract when you’re matched with an attorney through this platform. So, you can try LegalMatch risk-free today.

How to Choose the Best Online Legal Service For Your Business

With so many different online legal services to choose from, it can be tough to narrow down your options. How can you find the best online legal service provider for you?

This is the methodology that we use here at Quick Sprout. I’ll go through each factor in greater detail so you can understand what matters the most as you’re going through this process.

Legal Practice Focus

Online legal services vary according to their offerings—with each one focusing on specific areas of law.

That’s why it’s important to find one that has a category based on your needs. After all, someone going through a divorce wouldn’t need the same attorney as a freelancer drafting a contract for a new client.

Take a look at what each online legal service focuses on. Companies like RocketLawyer, LegalZoom and IncFile can help you form LLCs and corporations.

Some of them like LegalZoom and IncFile let you go deeper and help you register trademarks.

LegalZoom can even help you establish a copyright for original creative work or a patent for an invention or product. They’ve worked with creators to establish more than 650,000 IP filings and processed more than 90,000 copyright applications.

On the other hand, platforms like Avvo and LegalMatch are primarily used for finding an in-person lawyer to assist you in your area. Think of them as the Craigslist of legal services (only without the creepy, weird posts).

Also, consider whether or not you need business or personal legal needs. Some platforms offer online legal services for both businesses and individuals. Others specialize in one or the other.

Business Stage and Size

This doesn’t apply if you need an online legal service for personal matters like immigration or divorce services. If that applies to you, I recommend skipping this.

However, many of you will be using these services for your business. If that applies to you, there are two things you need to consider when researching:

  • Size: How big is your business? A small mom-and-pop business isn’t going to need the same thing as the 1,000+ employee corporation.
  • Stage: Where is your business in its lifecycle? For example, entrepreneurs just starting out are going to need services like business formation solutions. Whereas, established businesses might need contracts and assistance for hiring employees.

For those of you who are launching a startup, you could benefit from an online legal service like Incfile for registering your company.

Midsized companies might need infrequent but reliable legal services. A service that connects them with a good attorney like LegalMatch they might hire on occasion could be good enough in this case. One that might need some specialization from their legal advisor can depend on Rocket Lawyer.

But larger organizations that need an entire legal team or outsourced department would be better off with something like UpCounsel, which will connect you to the attorneys you need to represent your business. They specialize in helping you outsource your legal department.

Frequency of Use

How often you expect to actually use the online legal service should play a big role in your ultimate decision.

Some of you might need an attorney for just one event. Whether it’s filing paperwork, drafting a contract, or settling a dispute, we suggest Avvo or LegalMatch to find a great attorney for you.

Some of you are going to want to establish an ongoing relationship with an actual lawyer. This is especially true for business owners, who can’t necessarily afford retaining in-house counsel. Or, you might be in a specific legal situation where you need to have a lawyer on retainer or for a prolonged period of time (e.g. litigation).

You might want the ability to contact a lawyer on-demand whenever a problem or question arises. If you fall into this category, look for an online legal service with one-off plans like RocketLawyer or LegalZoom. They can connect you with lawyers who can work with you on your unique schedule.

Knowing how often you’re going to use a legal service is going to help you save money, too.

The pricing structures for online legal services vary from platform to platform. Some charge an ongoing fee for a membership, while others charge on a per-case or per-use basis. There are even some online legal services that offer free legal consultation and matching

Speed of Assistance

Timeliness is crucial when it comes to legal assistance. After all, emergencies can pop up that require legal help as soon as possible.

Platforms like LegalMatch promise that an attorney will respond to your case within 24 hours of your posting.

Avvo works a lot like Quora, allowing you to post a question and have it answered by lawyers on their website. You can also jump into their backlog of questions other users have already asked for answers to situations similar to your own.

Getting your question answered for free on an online legal forum isn’t the best option for those of you who need to speak with a lawyer within the next few hours, though. Make sure you find a platform that’s easy to use and allows you to choose a lawyer without any pressure or obligation.

There’s always a service like UpCounsel that you can choose, which will allow you to have a dedicated lawyer or team ready to help whenever issues arise.

Live Legal Assistance

In a lot of cases you won’t ever need to meet up with a lawyer. However, if you need to meet face-to-face with an attorney (due to security concerns or a complex issue), you’ll want to find a service that can connect you with a live attorney.

With the last year seeing the rise of work-from-home culture, these services will also connect you with a lawyer over Zoom or the phone—though that might depend more on the specific lawyer and firm’s communication infrastructure.

Getting matched with a lawyer that’s all the way across the country won’t be ideal in these scenarios (also, if you’re a smaller business that needs to adhere to specific local and state guidelines).

So, look for a platform that allows you to find a qualified lawyer based on your ZIP code or state. Our choices for the best services with directories— LegalMatch, Avvo, and LegalZoom—are good places to start.

Conclusion

Online legal services are growing in popularity. These platforms give you access to legal help without having to leave your home or office. Plus, you won’t always be limited to attorneys in your area.

If you need to find a lawyer, start a business, or get legal advice, these are the top platforms to consider:

  1. Rocket Lawyer — Best for fast legal help
  2. Incfile — Best for starting up your startup
  3. LegalZoom — Best for pain-free IP protection
  4. LegalNature — Best for DIY legal documents
  5. Avvo — Best for online legal Q&As
  6. UpCounsel — Best for outsourcing your legal department
  7. LegalMatch — Best online legal service for finding an attorney near you

No matter what kind of situation you’re in, there’s an online legal service for everyone on this list.



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Tuesday, March 30, 2021

The Best Dropshipping Companies

Want to jump straight to the answer? The best dropshipping companies for most people are definitely Modalyst for Wix and Oberlo for Shopify.

If you want to start an ecommerce business without having to deal with:

  • Shipping
  • Storing inventory
  • Having money to purchase inventory upfront

Get into dropshipping. Manufacturers ship products directly to your customer for you. You get all the upside without any of the ecommerce headaches.

In this guide, I list and review the best dropshippers to help you get started.

The 8 best dropshipping companies, suppliers, databases, and tools

  1. Modalyst — Best Wix plugin and directory
  2. Oberlo — Best Shopify plugin and directory
  3. SaleHoo — Members-only database of 8,000+ suppliers
  4. Spocket — Shopify database with good reviews
  5. Wholesale2B — Versatile supplier and dropshipping hub
  6. Inventory Source — Time-saving dropshipping automation tool
  7. Worldwide Brands — Best budget-friendly database
  8. Dropified — Popular Shopify app for AliExpress

Once you have your Wix or Shopify account and your store set up, you’re ready to link up with a dropshipping partner and get selling. But, it can be hard to break into dropshipping because most dropshipping businesses don’t like to share their items or their suppliers. The thinking is: you’ll just replicate their shop and eat into their market.

I’m here to help with this list of 15 dropshippers, databases and suppliers — along with their pros and cons.

1. Modalyst — Best Wix Plugin & Directory

  • Free Starter Plan
  • Basic Plan $35 per month
  • Pro Plan $90 per month
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars
Try Modalyst for free

Modalyst seamlessly automates your dropshipping business.

They connect you with suppliers to get your customers the products they need. They also boast a massive of products including clothing, jewelry, accessories, and more.

Modalyst is also centralized—making it very easy to use. You’ll be able to connect with suppliers from a single dashboard, and they even have an app for easy communication.

Where Modalyst really shines is their highly rated integration with Wix. With just a single click, you’ll be able to install their app and get started selling to your customers.

Pricing starts free with a basic plan that includes a 25 product limit.

2. Oberlo — Best Shopify Plugin & Directory

  • Free Starter Plan
  • Basic Plan $30 per month
  • Pro Plan $80 per month
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars
Try Oberlo for free

Oberlo offers an excellent plugin service that works with Shopify stores.

The Oberlo directory offers you all the products you need. The dashboard also shows you how many pageviews, sales, and star-rankings each item and seller has.

Once you make a sale, you’ll use Oberlo to order the item to be shipped to your customer.

Oberlo - How it Works

The product selection and fulfillment are handled for you. That frees up your time to focus on driving traffic to your store.

Oberlo has a forever-free Starter plan. However, to unlock shipment tracking and order fulfillment monitoring (which I recommend) you’ll need to upgrade to the Basic plan at $30 per month.

It’ll also raise your sales limit from 50 to 500. Once you crest 500, you’ll be in Pro territory, which is $80 per month and allows for multiple users as well.

Oberlo has 4.2 out of 5 stars from 2,000 reviews in the Shopify app store.

3. SaleHoo — Members-Only Database of 8,000+ Suppliers

  • 60 Day Free Trial
  • Annual Plan $67 per year
  • Lifetime Plan $127 one time
  • 9.6 out of 10 stars
Try Salehoo for free

A $67 yearly membership grants you access to this database of wholesalers and dropshippers. There are currently 8,000+ suppliers on the site, and they’re all screened by SaleHoo before they’re added to the directory. There’s a 60-day free trial period, and the customer service gets high marks: 9.6 out of 10 with 300 reviews on TrustPilot.

4. Spocket — Shopify Database App with Good Reviews

  • Free Starter Plan
  • Pro Plan $49 per month
  • Empire Plan $99 per month
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars
Try Spocket for free

Spocket gives you a great database app of dropshipping items. They allow you to sort by country and simply upload the products into your Shopify store.

They make it easy to find US and EU items that’ll ship within your country rather than from China, cutting down on slow ship speeds.

The Basic plan (25 products with unlimited orders) is free, and upgrading to Pro is $49 per month for 250 products and branded invoicing. The Empire plan unlocks unlimited products for $99 per month. The app has 4.5 out of 5 stars in the Shopify app store.

5. Wholesale2B — Versatile Supplier and Dropshipping Hub

  • Browse for Free
  • Multiple Plan Options
  • $29.99 to $49.99 per month
  • DIY Plan $67 per year
Try Wholesale2B for free

Wholesale2B offers more than 1 million products ready to be dropshipped.

on top of that, they allow you to sell products on:

  • eBay
  • Amazon
  • WooCommerce
  • Shopify
  • Magento
  • Weebly
  • BigCommerce
  • Your own Wholesale2B store

Handle the orders yourself by becoming a registered reseller with each supplier. Or pay Wholesale2B a 3% fee to handle that for you.

Wholesale2B starts free and includes their 1 million products, customer support, and a lifetime free account.

6. Inventory Source — Time-Saving Dropshipping Automation Tool

  • Dropship Automation Solutions
  • Inventory $99 per month
  • Full Automation $150 per month
  • 180+ Dropship Suppliers
Try Learn more

Inventory Source is an automation tool that allows you to either sync the suppliers products with your page (inventory automation) or to sync the entire customer purchase flow so that your orders are automatically placed with your supplier (full automation).

Inventory automation is $99/month and full automation is $150/month. However, getting just a directory account that allows you to view all dropship suppliers and preview product feeds is free. Nothing beats that, right?

7. Worldwide Brands — Best Budget-Friendly Database

  • Lifetime Plan $299
  • Direct Access to All Wholesalers
  • 16+ Million Wholesale Products
  • BBB A+ Rated
Signup now

For $299, you can get a lifetime subscription to Worldwide Brands’s database of wholesalers and dropshippers. It’s a great budget-friendly solution for those competing to sell products on Amazon, eBay, and Etsy.

Worldwide Brands distinguishes itself with its extensive upper-market wholesale directory of certified dropshippers and its reliable and quick-to-respond support team. The lifetime membership certainly doesn’t hurt either. Worldwide Brands has 4.9 out of 5 stars from 171 reviews on Trustpilot.

8. Dropified — Popular Shopify App for AliExpress

  • 14 Day Free Trial
  • Builder Plan $47 per month
  • Premier Plan $127 per month
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars
Try Dropified for free

This is another Shopify app to stock your store and automate your orders on AliExpress (including shipping addresses).

But there’s no Dropified marketplace, but rather a browser plugin that’ll let you pull from anywhere on the web. You can set up margin parameters and rules for changing the price points in your store.

There’s a 14-day free trial; after that it’s $47 per month for the Builder plan, or $39 per month on the annual plan. The Premier plan, which costs $127 per month or $97 per month with annual billing, recently added a profit dashboard, Zapier integration, and an unlimited high-speed captcha solver.

The app has 4.4 out of 5 stars from 104 reviews in the Shopify app store.

The Worst Dropshipping Services

1. National Dropshippers — Difficult user interface and product search (not recommended)

You can give a try to see if there’s a product that’s only available here, but if you can find it elsewhere you’ll probably be better off going with the alternative. Products are hard to find and search for, and the returns and shipping policies aren’t favorable.

2. Dropwow — Negatively reviewed Oberlo competitor (not recommended)

An app that’s reminiscent of Oberlo and Spocket, but with more negative reviews. The tool claims to automate your orders and help you locate dropshippers located in the US and elsewhere. However, with only 3.8 out of 5 stars from 121 reviewers on the Shopify app store, and a monthly subscription of $29 per month, I don’t recommend it.

3. DropshipDirect.com — Currently in hiatus

This site makes some enticing claims: 100,000 items in its inventory, a SaaS-approach to data, and quick shipping from its Michigan warehouses. However, the sign-up form is in private mode and the company seems to be on a year-long hiatus. We’ll keep an eye on Dropship Direct and report back.

Why Dropship?

Dropshipping solves a bunch of problems: no cash needed upfront, no boxes piling up in your store room, garage, or let’s be honest, in your spare bedroom. You never even have to touch the product or be responsible for the packaging or shipping. That means no more trips to the Post Office, either. Your dropship partner takes care of all that.

Today world’s largest cab company, Uber, does not own a single cab. World’s largest accommodation company, Airbnb, does not own a single hotel. Similarly, lot of ecommerce companies don’t own any inventory and just operate as a marketplace. If you ever had a dream to start a eCommerce business this is the best time.” —Saba Mohebpour CEO of Spocket, as told to Thrive Global

The benefits of dropshipping are also its drawbacks. You don’t have the inventory in your warehouse, so you don’t have control of a customer ordering something that’s out of stock. There’s no shipping work on your end, so you can’t control the shipping speed, or the packaging.

Long ship times = canceled orders.
Weird packaging = bad reviews.

And, you still need some money up front to build your website, put in the sweat equity of making that business take off, and all the other steps you’ll need to take to start your business.

Like any business partnership, you need to do your research on who you’re working with, what it’s going to cost you, and what you’re expecting to get out of it before you get too involved. This review will help you pick dropshipping companies that’ll work for your business — no matter your niche.

What’s the best dropshipping company for me?

Trying to find the best dropshipping company all up is a little bit beside the point. It’s like asking for the best eBay seller or the best store on Etsy. The things that make dropshippers great are a lot of the same things that make an eBay or Etsy seller great: They’re communicative and have fast shipping. The product arrives as promised. It looks like the listing and it shows up in one piece in packaging that looks nice and not chewed up by an alligator.

Just like an eBay seller, the best dropshipper for you is the one selling what you’re interested in buying (and reselling). They will reliably, communicatively, and quickly ship the product you’re after at a price that’s profitable for you — it’s about finding your best.

Most dropshippers use a Shopify or Wix store and an automation app like Modalyst or Oberlo. If you’re new to dropshipping, this is definitely the easiest way to get set up.

Why Shopify is the best way to start your dropshipping business

That means, you are basically setting up the equivalent to any ecommerce store. For ecommerce stores, the clear winner is Shopify. It’s been the frontrunner for a while. What’s most important about that for dropshipping is that the app store is super robust. Most stores use Shopify, so developers looking to make a high-quality app develop it for the Shopify app store.

So, if you haven’t already set up your Shopify store, that needs to go on your to-do list. We have a post that’ll walk you through the step-by-step process for setting up your Shopify store. It’s easy. There’s even a course in the Shopify Academy to learn how to start a dropshipping business with Shopify: Dropshipping 101.

I don’t recommend dropshipping with eBay

It’s compelling to set up shop with a marketplace — you don’t have to start a website, pay a subscription, etc. like you would with Shopify. But, I don’t recommend it. Unlike Shopify that’s super excited and helpful with new dropshipping businesses, eBay is growing more and more against them. Here are the sticking points for me:

  • Your store’s reputation is on the line — eBay is not forgiving and will downgrade accounts with reports of slow shipping
  • You’re probably not the only one selling that item
  • Your business case isn’t clear — why should someone buy that item from you, just another eBay store?
  • eBay has been cracking down on dropshippers and resellers, asking for proof of having the item in possession and freezing your store until you send in that proof. Proof could be a photo of your ID card with the item — not a photo of the item from a different listing. See this article from eSellerCafe.com for more on eBay Aggressively Banning Drop Shipping / Arbitrage Accounts.

If you do want to build your dropshipping business with eBay, I’d spend a few weeks or months in the seller forums to understand the specific risks and challenges of dropshipping on eBay.

How to start a dropshipping company

1. Find items to sell

Find your niche.

There’s lots of chatter on the internet about finding your dropshipping niche, but this is just a trendy buzzword for product-market fit: are there people who want to buy your product? From you?

If not, you won’t have a successful business.

You’ll have the most success dropshipping a product if there’s an audience that wants to buy it and doesn’t have an easy way to access it. That’s where you come in.

Some ways to find your niche: brainstorm rabid fan groups or audiences with a common need or interest (dog lovers, anime fans, parents who love to dress up their kids in matching outfits, sailors, very tall people, people who love 90s throwback tees). These are purchase-ready populations looking to love and buy things that they’re interested in.

See what’s trending on Facebook.

Doing a quick search of a phrase like “Get yours here” or “Buy now” and look at the videos featuring items for sale that are getting traction. This can give you a sense of which products are interesting people on Facebook right now. Look for a high number of views in a short period of time, then search for the item at a dropship supplier like Oberlo or AliExpress. Consider the price-point of the item in the video and the assets you can create for it. Can you replicate — or improve on — the current trending video? If so, you may have an item worth dropshipping.

Don’t sell anything dangerous or copyrighted.

If you’re a beginner, don’t start with something that goes in or on a person’s body. If you do not know the quality and source of the ingredients, and something goes wrong, do you have coverage for that liability?

Also, if there’s a celebrity or character from a movie franchise on the item, it could get you in trouble. Steer clear of mice with big round ears.

Look at seller’s reviews and order a test product.

How long has the seller been selling? What feedback have they been getting. When you order a test product, does it meet your expectations? What do you need to tell your customers so they’ll be happy when they receive the product?

Consider dropshipping only some items.

Just because you’re dropshipping some things doesn’t mean you need to dropship everything. Perhaps it makes sense to use dropshipping for large, bulky, high-priced niche items.

Say, for example, you have an online store that sells nautical gear. You may want to personally store and ship some items, but dropship the anchors. For items like this, your customers may also be more accommodating to longer shipping times since it’s a large and more considered purchase. Same goes for home goods: perhaps you keep small items in stock, but dropship the couches. You can increase your inventory breadth very simply this way.

Go directly to a supplier and build a dropshipping relationship with them.

This is a killer plan: there’s guaranteed to be less competition. You’re basically creating a new audience for an under-marketed product that’s not getting seen by a ready-to-buy audience. If you use a database, every single other subscriber is using that same database.

2. Nail the basics

Invest in a good domain name.

We buy all our domain names from Domain.com. (You can read our full review on the best domain registrars.)

Set up your website.

If you go with Shopify, you’ll be up in minutes. Lots of dropshippers recommend the Shopify Brooklyn theme with a good font choice. You can also use another ecommerce option. Here’s our review on the best ecommerce platforms, if you’re interested in exploring.

Get a professional logo.

You can get one for a reasonable price (and no design expertise) with 99Designs. See my post about how to get your first brand identity on a budget for more details and how to run a logo design contest.

Use a professional email address.

It should be a sensible start (help@, support@) with your own domain name. I recommend getting G Suite for $5 a month per user. There’s nothing to trust about emailing a customer service that’s at yahoo.com or gmail.com.

Give your customer strong trust signals.

You can do this with high quality photos and unique item copy, a real and robust About Us page, and thoughtfully using things like discounted prices and pop-ups.

Ask yourself: Would I buy from this store? Would I feel comfortable suggesting it to a friend or family member? You’ll need some trust logos and some FAQs at minimum.

Set shipping time expectations.

Most dropshipped items aren’t going to get to the customer very quickly — and in world where Amazon Prime has set the standard at two days, that means dropshipments of 30 days feel extremely slow. If you don’t prepare your customers they’ll be very unhappy. We’ve seen very straightforward copy, like: All our items ship directly from our suppliers in China. Shipments are processed the day of your order and arrive in 25–30 days.

Make sure your orders go through.

Bundle credit card orders so your bank doesn’t cancel your numerous orders. Let your bank know what types of orders and in what quantities you’ll be placing, so they’re not flagged as fraudulent. There is no pain so rich as having to reorder orders you’ve placed. (You do have a business credit card, right?)

Prepare for returns and cancellations.

How will you deal with unhappy customers? What’s your return policy and how will you chargeback customer payments? Will returned items be shipped to you, or to your distributor? How will that work? Like with anything in business, it’s important to set it all up from day one like it’ll be a huge success.

Set aside money to pay taxes.

If you’re using Shopify as your payment gateway, once you get to a certain sales threshold, Shopify will automatically report your sales to the government. You’ll want to make sure you have money available to pay applicable taxes. We also recommend getting an accountant and a lawyer (we’ve heard good things about UpCounsel and LegalZoom) and setting up Quicken.

3. Differentiate yourself

Make your store listings and ads unique.

Remember, if you can quickly and easily set up a dropshipping order for a specific product, it’s likely another store will be able to do the same. You will need to find an edge: why would someone order from you, or find your store selling the product, and not your competitor?

Take your own pictures. Write your own copy. Shoot unique social videos. Really put thought into how to best convey the product and why a person would want it: What problems does it solve? Can it make them feel joy?

Import user reviews.

If you’re using AliExpress, you can import the user reviews. No one likes being the first to buy something.

Consider offering free shipping.

Do all orders have free shipping or only when a certain order spend is hit? What threshold or minimum spend works best?

I do not recommend offering “Free products — you pay shipping.” Many customers would rather know the price up-front than go through a purchase flow that says $0 the whole way through and then slaps on a $15 shipping charge. It’s 2019 and the norm is free 2-day shipping with Prime. People are catching on and aren’t happy about it. Read more from The Daily Beast in Instagram Influencers Dupe Their Fans With ‘Free’ Products.

Market your store.

Make sure people know about your store. This can be through word of mouth, social media ads, viral memes, influencer programs, SEO, a newsletter. You’re going to need visitors to make sales.

4. Iterate iterate iterate

Use ads to test and gather data.

We’re assuming that you’ll be buying ads. If you do, buy and use the data to test what’s working. What gets traction? Double down on it. What doesn’t? Trash it. This may lead you to changing your products, your ad style, your audience. Following the early traction means you head toward what’s working and away from what’s not.

Analyze your sales.

What’s selling well? What’s not selling at all? Is there any common theme in the items? Replicate what you can. Stop what’s not working.

Dropshipping vocabulary

Arbitrage – The simultaneous buying and selling of an item to take advantage of a difference in price for the same asset. Say there’s a board game for sale at Walmart for $20, but the lowest price on Amazon is $45. Arbitrage is listing the game for sale on Amazon and buying the Walmart game. For every sale you make on Amazon, you take advantage of a $25 price difference. If your arbitrage is online to online, with free shipping, the math suggests you could simply sell on one site, buy and ship from the other, and pocket all the profit. This does not take into account any hiccups: returns, merchandise not accurate, merchandise no longer in stock, price changes in either market, etc.

Dropshipping (DS) – The supply chain system in which a seller does not keep items in stock, but rather transfers orders directly to a manufacturer, supplier, or wholesaler who ships the item directly to the consumer.

Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) – Some sellers set a floor to how low you can advertise or display your product for sale. This is not the same as the price you can sell it for. So, the MAP price does not take into account coupon codes or sales, or other tricks like offering a gift card with a purchase, offering rebates, or doing things like showing an even lower price in the cart.

Dropshipping examples and press

You may have seen the posts we’ve seen — the ones about people starting dropshipping businesses and raking in the sales. We’re talking five-figures in a single day, six-figures every month. What is this magic sauce, we wonder.

The magic sauce is the same sauce as any other business: it’s a math equation based on margins. How big are your margins? How big is your customer base? What’s the conversion rate? How stiff is the competition?

Welcome to a little-known corner of the e-commerce world, where small entrepreneurs use social-media ads and hip virtual storefronts to entice people into buying products listed on online marketplaces such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s AliExpress.

The process often involves online storefronts transferring customer details to an AliExpress seller, which ships the goods directly to the customer; the storefront bills the customer. Called dropshipping, it is a twist on a fulfillment technique that major online retailers also use to send goods directly from their manufacturers to the customer.

The entrepreneur profits by charging a high markup, betting shoppers are unlikely to stumble upon the less-expensive goods on a marketplace site. AliExpress is the most popular such marketplace, but some entrepreneurs order from sellers on other marketplace sites like Amazon.

—“The Mystery of the $70 Hoodie That’s All Over Facebook,” Wall Street Journal

The mystery of the $70 hoodie is also not a mystery: it’s a one-time sale that’s not going to turn into repeat business. It’s a simple equation:

high price + low product quality + poor customer experience = repeat business

Dropshipping seemed cool because it made starting an eCommerce seem easy: I didn’t need to buy products in advance; I didn’t need to have space to hold them, and it didn’t require extra time and effort to ship the orders myself. Dropshipping does have disadvantages, but it really appealed to me, so I continued my online search.

There are numerous ready-to-use eCommerce platforms like Shopify, BigCommerce or Squarespace. Most of them start at around $20 per month, which seemed like a good deal for a first-time entrepreneur like myself.

It took me two days to set up the store the way that I wanted it to look. Shopify is totally non-programmer friendly. All you need to do is open an account, select a look for your store, and that’s it – you’re ready to sell.

When I set up my store, I had no definite idea of what I should sell. I wasn’t sure if I should pick a product I was passionate about or just a random product I was able to find in dropshipping databases like WholesaleDirect.com or the like.

“This Guy Made $12K In One Month While Working Full-Time,” Huffington Post

“This guy” is Justin Wong, and he made his business work by studying Instagram marketing, set up affiliate partnerships with influencers, and matched his product with his marketing technique. And, he’s not confused about the pros and cons of that marketing strategy: when the posts age on a influencers feed, his sales go down.

My name is Jacky Chou. With my partner, Albert Liu (albeliu on Reddit), we launched a home decor dropshipping site that went from negative 3k to 250k a month in 8 months at 30-40% margins. We’re both first generation Asian-Canadians who moved from Vancouver to Berlin to work in marketing.

We started our dropshipping store as a ‘practice what you preach’ case study, as we’re both working as digital marketing consultants (Albert as a freelance Facebook consultant and I’m a founder of an SEO agency, Indexsy).

— “We made 250k USD last month with our dropshipping side hustle. Oberlo / Shopify reached out to us to do a success story. AMA!,” Reddit

Summary

Dropshipping can be a lucrative method of conducting ecommerce, but it’s vital to have the right partner. Choosing the best dropshipping company for you depends on the type of products you want to offer your customers, how good their suppliers are, and how well they’ll mesh with elements you already have in place, like your website.

Want a deep bench of suppliers and products to choose from? Then, one of SaleHoo, Wholesale2B, or Worldwide Brands could do the trick for you.

Running a Shopify store? Oberlo, Spocket, and Dropified represent good options that will play nicely with your web store.

If you’re cranking out the orders and need a platform that will help you save time through automation, look no further than Inventory Source.

And if you’re running an ecommerce site on Wix, Modalyst will be just the dropshipping partner you need.



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