PrestaShop vs. WooCommerce- Which platform is a better option for running your eCommerce Store?
When it comes to eCommerce platforms, there are plenty of options in the marketplace therefore making it hard for eCommerce store owners to make a choice. Being an eCommerce Development Company with plenty of experience in developing eCommerce stores, our team of developers have put together a comparison for two leading eCommerce platforms, PrestaShop and WooCommerce.
Find Out More- eCommerce Developers Sydney -
Let’s dive straight into it:
Powering over 230,000 online stores, Prestashop is, simply put, an Ecommerce platform designed to offer a one stop shop solution to small and large businesses alike with a suite of tools. WooCommerce on the other hand is a plug in powering E Commerce for WordPress based Websites.
Since WooCommerce is a WordPress Plugin, installation on an existing site, complete with a hosting package, and SSL in place is really quite straightforward especially with a guided assistance wizard however in the absence of a WordPress based site, well a plugin is really not useful until a WordPress site is created which too, is a seamless process especially with a one-click install option.
PrestaShop on the other hand is also relatively simple to install requiring up to only 30 minutes from start to end with the automated installer when a user downloads the PrestaShop files and uploads them to their web server.
With built-in features like custom URLs and meta descriptions, WooCommerce is very search engine friendly. And further extensions allow a user to enjoy greater control over the site maps, robots.txt. Google Analytics etc. thus making WooCommerce very SEO friendly too. PrestaShop isn’t far behind either with features like customised Meta titles and descriptions as well as SEO-friendly URLs
Integration and mobile friendly -
Both WooCommerce and PrestaShop offer seamless integration with web-based devices, Windows, Mac, Android, iPhone and iPad. There are plenty of ready-themes that can be purchased in order to design a stunning eCommerce stores that can be easily viewed across multiple devices.
Both WooCommerce and PrestaShop are equally popular and easy to use with many built-in features as well as the flexibility to undertake customisation. Because WooCommerce is really a plugin, most information sought by users is available through the WordPress dashboard. With 310+ built-in features, PrestaShop too is quite a robust platform with a sophisticated admin interface to ensure positive user experience.
With a host of Plugins and extensions available, WooCommerce is highly customizable for a beginner or an expert alike. Some degree of technical skills and a basic understanding of HTML and CSS would go a long way when it comes to PrestaShop when a user may want to add static pages and/or a blog with a free module, install paid or free themes.
Both WooCommerce and PrestaShop are free and open source with additional plugins and extensions that are available for purchase as required. Both Platforms require hosting too that would add to the total costs incurred in having the respective platforms up and running.
WooCommerce being highly customisable and flexible, works best for small to medium sized businesses with a host of plugins and extensions available for easy social integration. PrestaShop on the other hand may not be so ideal for large enterprises with high demands and complex structures although a wide array of modules and add-ons can indeed make it scalable. Ideal to use PrestaShop when wanting to run a pure online store with a full range of e-commerce features without managing a site for other purposes like a forum or a photography site. Whereas WooCommerce would cater better to the need of managing a blog or a website with special features.
Back-End Functions and Management -
PrestaShop offers a sophisticated and intuitive dashboard with Graphs, stats and counters being at the heart of everything. To challenge any financial and technical barriers in launching e-commerce stores, recently PrestaShop announced the launch of what would be the industry’s first and only free cloud e-commerce platform; PrestaShop Cloud empowering a user to set up and start selling in just a few clicks!
WooCommerce, with the power of the WordPress community backing it up, allows users to generate marketing campaigns, implement coupons, sales and other promotions in an extremely user-friendly manner. Because WooCommerce is really an extension of WordPress, a user familiar with the later would find it extremely beneficial to already understand the editing tools to add products, get order details, comment actions, sales reports, and the overall store performance.
Whilst both platforms are arguably good offering basic back end functions, PrestaShop takes the cake with their impressive backend of stats and advanced features.
Ongoing Support and Help -
Whilst WooCommerce and PrestaShop both offer extensive documentation, WooCommerce doesn’t offer free Help & Support. Their platform is nearly error and bug free with new versions released periodically keeping the solution well maintained. PrestaShop on the other hand offers training courses and paid support plans along with a forum similar to that of WordPress (only official) with over 700k members beaming with ideas and solutions.
As such both these eCommerce solutions are equally good, while making a decision, it is best you consult and eCommerce Development Sydney team and put forward your specific functionality requirements. This can enable them to make an informed decision on which eCommerce solution is a better solution to power your eCommerce store.