PrestaShop is an e-commerce platform that uses the self-hosted or open-source alternative. That means you can download it and customize it however you want – the solution version was released in 2007 with headquarters in France.
Are you trying to find a free, open-source eCommerce platform to showcase your online store? If it does after that, PrestaShop could be the solution for you. In this PrestaShop review, we’re going to look at its features and respond to the burning concerns you have about this solution.
What is PrestaShop?
PrestaShop recently presented the PrestaShop Ready variant: the Software as a Service (SaaS) or the hosted alternative. In contrast to the open-source variant, however, this alternative limits your access to the code required for the adaptation. However, it’s even easier to use.
PrestaShop Pricing and Plan
As an open-source e-commerce solution, It can be downloaded and installed for free. However, this does not mean that the shopping cart solution does not incur any costs. In the end, you pay the hosting fee of Hosting Companion 1 && 1, which varies from $8 to $15. For improvement, you will undoubtedly buy several manufactured components for a convenient and attractive business.
However, it is not required. Since the software program is free to use, you can determine how much you want to invest in your business from day one.
When you’re building your eCommerce website, you can also check out the free demo version of PrestaShop. That can help you feel exactly how the software program works and what type of innovation you most likely need to invest additional money. Under certain circumstances, you may find that you intend to hire a professional to find and code your business for you throughout the trial period.
Overview of PrestaShop Features
Here is a list of the most compelling features PrestaShop has to offer.
Ease of Use
Setting up PrestaShop can take some time as the backend is much more technological. However, PrestaShop has a demonstration to walk you through the whole process.
After the setup process is complete, use the following action to determine which components you need for your online shop. If your technical knowledge is limited, finding a web designer to do the integrations for you is advisable.
Fortunately, once you have the setup, integrations, and components done, the day-to-day operations like product creation, order management, and delivery are straightforward.
Store Customization
The fact is if you want your website to feel special, open-source is the go-to tool. In the highly affordable world of eCommerce, building a great brand name is critical to your continued success.
To customize an online store, you undoubtedly need two components. It’s easy to make quick changes and an innovative component for changing the code to tailor your business to your preferences. For this reason, you need access to CSS, HTML, and JavaScript files.
PrestaShop’s customization tools will undoubtedly help you complete the product organization, create an internal search engine tool that customers can use to conveniently browse your store, or set up different payment approaches.
You are sure to find over 1500 templates and an extensive collection of customizable styles in the primary industry as well. Third events develop the majority of these templates. Because of this, you can pay around $60 for a high-demand template from PrestaShop licensed companions.
Product Creation
It provides an instinctive product creation place where you can list as many items as you want to offer. You can also set up functions to display expiration days for time-sensitive items. You can also deploy downloadable items using PrestaShop.
Aside from that, you can also manage your supply and have established replenishment information when a product leaves the store. It also consists of an SEO section to go into a meta title and a meta summary.
Google Abundant Fragments
The wide variety of people who search for articles on Google shows that ranking on SERPs is of vital importance. Rich fragments are codes that search engines use to arrange information quickly.
That gives consumers a chance to see items they are looking for and contrast costs. That is why you need to include Google Rich Snippets in your product links and give your SEO initiatives an instant boost.
The Google Rich fragments remain in the PrestaShop attachment branch. Use it to increase your reach and the shopping experience for customers.
Marketing
Even if you need to go a step further to find custom features, PrestaShop has an extensive list of built-in marketing tools. Some of these options consist of:
- Special offers
- Discount setting
- Coupon codes
- Free Shipping
- Email Marketing
- Gift case
- Affiliate Programs
Payment Processing
For your site to be eligible for billing approval, you must set up an Inbox.
It has a wide variety of incoming payments, including Pay Buddy, Bambora, Discover Global Network, Amazon Pay, Worldpay, First Data, and Authorize.Net. It also has more than 250 payment providers as attachments.
PrestaShop Ready only offers four payment options. These consist of Stripe, Pay Buddy, wire transfers from financial institutions, and check statements.
Customer Partnership Management
PrestaShop allows you to send automated emails after a deal to give them a sense of security to talking to your customers.
You can also create promotions for specific items, orders, or customer teams.
PrestaShop allows you to email customers to notify them of the items they have left in their Cart to minimize abandoned cart prices.
Customers Security
The open-source version of PrestaShop is PCI compliant. That means that you will have to perform this procedure yourself. Hence, you need to purchase an SSL certificate and log into security points regularly.
On the other hand, the PrestaShop Ready variant security accounts are currently updated for you. That is because it is hosted on the Google Cloud platform, consisting of a free SSL certificate.
Integrations and Attachments
PrestaShop has numerous integrations in its industry. Some components are free, while others are available as one-time purchases.
Incorporating integrations to boost your website using PrestaShop can indeed be a lot more expensive than the SaaS options like Shopify. However, once you sell a large amount, PrestaShop will put you at the forefront. So everything depends on it.
Other than this caution, the second is usually the bargain breaker for the majority of sellers. The components are made by different designers and may not work together. That could lead to a problem website, and PrestaShop is not always able to solve this problem.
The PrestaShop variant limits accessibility for the entire industry. That means that individuals can use the components built into the platform. At the time of this review, 100 members built into PrestaShop Ready.
PrestaShop Review: Design and Templates
There are many points that you can do with a PrestaShop online store. This open-source software program gives you access to all the little things from plugins to checkout tools. However, among the very first things you need to make sure you have a proper online existence.
The PrestaShop Store provides access to over 3,000 web templates currently available for mobile devices. Unfortunately, you have to pay extra for these styles. The simply free alternative is the standard site available, which is not that fantastic in and of itself.
Since PrestaShop is an open-source site builder, you have full access to the code that you used to build your website.
You or your developer/designer can dig as deep as you can and customize exactly how your website is most likely to look and function.
Suppose your small business can’t manage a programmer or doesn’t have access to technical skills. In that case, you need to find out exactly how to change your PrestaShop website yourself. The support plans do not include much support for this. However, there is a WYSIWYG editor.
With the “What you see, you get” editor; you can adapt your standard motif according to your requirements. With the editor, you can insert your logo design and links to social networks. There is also the alternative of transforming various aspects of your shopping site format without going unfathomably directly into the code.
While there is the flexibility to change yourself below, the most convenient is to pick a pre-existing theme from the industry to ensure your PrestaShop website looks fantastic when you don’t know exactly how to take care of code. However, this means that it could cost you thousands of dollars, a lot more on your website than initially planned.
Integrations
It’s not just the variety of cost styles you need to consider if you want to make your PrestaShop creation stand out. There are hundreds of PrestaShop addons to consider as well. Trying to find a way to add customer loyalty points like WooCommerce or PrestaShop tools to your website is an additional cost.
The integrations in the industry are typically available as part of a one-time acquisition. Most add-ons cost less than $100 each. However, some options also set you back a lot more. Adding multiple integrations directly to your site can produce quite costly results.
Aside from the price element, building your website in blocks using the components and plugins provided by PrestaShop can have another negative aspect.
With thousands integrating various designers worldwide into the industry, there is no guarantee that every little thing will undoubtedly work precisely as expected. If you don’t know exactly how to find out coding problems when they arise, you can enter difficulties.
Involving multiple components for every little thing, from checkout to supply management, can instantly result in a malfunctioning and slow-functioning website.
While it’s great to have a platform that gives you the flexibility to factor in performance, however, you need to be careful about what you include on your website.
PrestaShop Payment Options
Having a business that looks amazing and has lots of extra features is lovely. However, it won’t be very significant if you can’t find a way to manage purchases from your customers effectively. PrestaShop offers a wide variety of e-commerce programs. However, it is part of the add-on section of the site, where you can find some free components and lots of cost options.
For billing, you need a third-party CPU or a provider account with the PrestaShop checkout solution. The payment attendants available to American merchants are present:
- Discover global
- Amazon Pay
- Authorize.Net
- WorldPay
- FattMerchant
- First dates
- Bambora
- Simplify trading (Mastercard)
- Pay Buddy for the US and Canada
- CCBill
- BlueSnap
- BS Payone
There are over 200 additional payment providers that you can also select as attachments.
A fantastic alternative is the PrestaShop add-on checkout service mentioned above. This checkout solution was developed with Pay Buddy and offers numerous checkout options, including American Express, Mastercard, and countless others.
One of the great ideas for PrestaShop Checkout is that it is a direct payment alternative. That means that your customers can conduct their acquisition on your website without being redirected to an additional page. Often, this is a great way to preserve your client’s trust fund.
In addition, PrestaShop Checkout is very easy to run and use. It only takes a few minutes to configure your brand new service, and your purchases are 100% secure and encrypted. PrestaShop Checkout is certified according to all guidelines that consist of GDPR. There are also anti-fraud detection rules in place.
There are no monthly or collection costs to worry about and no scheduling costs to manage either. However, you have to pay a small payment price per store for each payment setting you offer.
The PrestaShop Experts
There are several ways to get access to the support you may need from PrestaShop. In the expert section of the site, you can find a company or companion who deals with PrestaShop to offer help with specific tasks. You can find an expert to help you with e-commerce advice, website creation, design, and the customer experience in certain circumstances.
There are different types of experts depending on what your needs from your service for the circumstances. The Platinum Companions are among the most experienced agencies globally and offer the highest level of support. However, they are also often expensive.
Like gold agencies, many factors have been made based on their payment grades and silver companions that focus on specific local locations.
Bronze companions are the local companions at your location who have started developing their company to ensure RestaShop support. These agencies allow you to reset much less than the various other options.
The PrestaShop Expert network implies that businesses can access any additional help they need to run an effective online business. You can infiltrate what is available according to the skills you are primarily trying to find. There is also the alternative of narrowing down your choices based on your home country or budget plan.
With several languages to choose from and support for multi-store settings, there is a range of help options below.
PrestaShop Security
There are many elements to consider when building an online store, including where you are listing items and what your checkout process is most likely to be like. A critical point to making sure you never forget is your security strategy.
The open-source, downloadable software program for PrestaShop is currently PCI compliant. That means that it is considered safe. However, you have to do some work to make sure that every little thing is as risk-free as you need it to be. Your PrestaShop shop is not self-certified. You still need to purchase your SSL certificate and check all available security points.
Elements like the requirement to manage your security initiatives make PrestaShop’s open-source solution challenging to access newbies. If you are new to eCommerce, the last thing you want is to reduce hassle and security as you intend to get your business up and running as soon as possible.
Remember, no matter how excellent the rest of your business is or how enticing your items might be, customers won’t intend to patronize you if you don’t provide a risk-free experience.
Who Should Consider Using PrestaShop?
If you have a customizable product that you need to sell or recognize using CSS, PHP, and HTML (or manage to employ a programmer), you will find PrestaShop is fantastic for your business. Not only is it free; However, it also has a notable feature to choose from with an increasing collection of components.
PrestaShop is best for small businesses and tool companies. However, Magento open source offers a much larger platform with sophisticated performance for meaningful experiences.
If the idea of not having a support team scares you, or you’re trying to find a solution that offers a little more handoff, a SaaS eCommerce platform may be the solution for you.
PrestaShop Customer Support
When setting up your PrestaShop store, you need to consider several other points, what kind of technical support and customer service to expect. Support is often a complex issue with many open-source software programs in the website creation market.
That is due to many consultants and several designers responsible for creating the templates and components available for PrestaShop. You may have a hard time looking for someone who knows exactly how everything works in your business.
The excellent information is that PrestaShop has a fun neighborhood that gives you a much better opportunity to address your concerns.
In certain circumstances, the general support portal on the PrestaShop website will give you access to all of your support options, including:
- User Overviews and Frequently Asked Questions: These tools will help you find the answers you need to solve your problems without additional professional help.
- Contact information: You can contact PrestaShop staff by email or support ticket and wait for them to be available to get in touch with you.
- User discussion forums: The discussion forums are often the most effective area for getting even faster, more personal help. There are discussion forums in multiple languages and in different sectors that focus on specific obstacles or issues with PrestaShop.
- Training: The PrestaShop team offers training programs to help you find out exactly how you understand the platform as a vendor or designer.
- Social Media: If you have trouble finding someone who can address your concerns with a traditional support ticket, you can try to get in touch with PrestaShop via social networks like Facebook or Twitter.
There is also the alternative of purchasing unique support plans. These plans come at an additional cost and give you access to the PrestaShop support team attendees. Unfortunately, the majority of people find these packages very costly. There’s a one-month support plan for $279.99 and the rest of the pressure you need to sign up for an entire year. Annual plans start at around $399 per year and consist of a handful of hours that you can devote to support.
PrestaShop Money-Back Guarantee
It states that they will be sure to hold money with sellers for 45 days as a guarantee against a refund or refund.
PrestaShop Alternatives
How does PrestaShop compare to various other open-source eCommerce systems? Here is the allusion.
OpenCart vs. PrestaShop
Both systems are very similar. For example, both OpenCart and PrestaShop are open resources, support multiple stores, support multiple languages, have extensive sections, and are easy to use.
OpenCart is a champion at handling deliveries. It offers excellent directory performance for various shade, dimension, and height product options. While the empty shopping cart is a fantastic platform, it doesn’t look much like the customization provided by PrestaShop.
ZenCart vs. PrestaShop
ZenCart’s customization video game plays an important role and is a much more user-friendly open-source e-commerce platform. That makes it a perfect alternative for sellers who don’t have advanced designer skills and the resources to get one.
In comparison, the templates aren’t that good (you can purchase some from third-party suppliers). The major downside to doing services like PrestaShop makes it a pointless tap as the attachments are restricted. To make the problems worse, you can run multiple components to see if they are inappropriate to one another.
Conclusion
If you’re starting and don’t have enough cash, consider PrestaShop As an Open. You can download it easily. The numerous features make PrestaShop a great alternative to consider. It is easy to use the treatment setup gained from their study. You don’t have to be a technology degree to get established; However, follow the setup overview.
When creating a product, you can offer both physical and downloadable items. You have more than 1500 motifs to choose from. You make your business beautiful. Can you also consist of a meta-summary of your product that will surely improve your SEO ranking?
I’m not neglecting the integration of marketing options: discount setting, promo code codes, free shipping, email marketing, affiliate programs, and presentations – all of these tailored to improve your sales.
Not bad; you can try it out if you’ve used PrestaShop or various other open-source shopping platforms.
I am Sajal. A Freelancer, a blogger, a Freelance Content Writer, and a geek when it comes to anything related to online marketing. Stay connected to me. Leave a comment if you like my articles.
