The popularity of online stores is growing at tremendous pace nowadays. Are you a happy owner of your own store selling garment or any other stuff but still haven’t brought your business online? Maybe it’s time to consider setting up a handy web resource where your clients will be able to look through the full range of items on offer in a more convenient way? So, if you are about to start developing an ecommerce website and can’t decide what to start with, you have reached the right post. Today, we are going to discuss what software – WordPress or Prestashop –is better to be used for building your online store. Finding the best ecommerce solution to build your online store is a daunting task, especially if you are new to this field. I believe many of you have heard about the benefits of using WordPress for building an online resource, however when it comes to ecommerce website creation, here opinions are divided. While some claim that WP is the best option to build an online project of any kind, others claim is lacks features Prestashop can boast of. So, how to decide what to choose? We are here to assist you. Keep reading further and find out what are the benefits of using WordPress and Prestashop for creating an ecommerce website.
Is WordPress Good for eCommerce?
When it comes to building a website, many opt for WordPress. This is a blogging publishing tool at its heart. However, when packed with proper plugins it can serve as a great ecommerce solution. Websites built with WordPress are very easy to use and customize. Alongside with being absolutely free, the software is updated on a regular basis, which is good in terms of security and functionality. These are only a few reasons why web masters opt for WP when it comes to site creation. Let’s dig a bit deeper and find out what other benefits for ecommerce websites this software can bring.
WordPress comes packed with a rich variety of plugins to boost functionality of your ecommerce website. For instance, WooCommerce offers unique sales and inventory charts, complex shipping options, integrated sections with user testimonials, credit/debit payment, follow-up emails, etc.
There is a wide range of ready-made WordPress themes designed specifically for ecommerce stores. In such a way, there is no need in looking through hundreds or thousands of templates created for news blogs or any other purposes. Picking a ready-made design you will not only save time but also build and modify your ecommerce website according to your needs.
WP offers diverse payment gateways, like PayPal-Express, Chronoplay, Google Checkout, Manual Payment, etc. In such a way, buyers will have a number of alternatives to choose from.
For a more convenient shopping experience, WordPress ecommerce includes built-in calculators to compute shipping rates. What is more, it features links to shippers in order to keep users updated on the most recent shipping rates. What benefits can this bring to your website, you will ask? With the help of this feature you can expand your horizon and attract new clients from overseas. Sounds great, don’t you think so?
Since WordPress is Search Engine Optimization friendly, even if you are building your website from scratch it will gain popularity among online shoppers in no time.
WP ecommerce comes with Cross Promotion and Marketing Links, which allow persuading customers to make a purchase on your website with the help of coupon codes. Other alternatives you can benefit from include Social Bookmarks, Cross Sales, and Survey options.
The thing to remember is that WordPress wasn’t developed for ecommerce websites primarily. However, thanks to its easy and intuitive nature, it has evolved into powerful ecommerce software, which is now preferred by thousands of online stores worldwide. Here are some great examples of ecommerce website built with WP. TinkeringMonkey
PawPrintPets
Bluelounge
MissionBicycle
MarieCatrib’s
With all those good and positive things being said, there are some drawbacks we should let you know about. With the growing popularity of WP for building an ecommerce store, the risk of hacking attacks increases as well. WP community did a lot to secure bloggers from such malware, however for an ecommerce store owner the risk of such potential issues is much higher. WP developers are trying hard to fight such risks by launching updates on a regular basis. With all that in mind, don’t forget to check for updates and take additional steps to ensure your site is secure. Another thing to consider is the speed of processing orders on your web resource. With time, your online store will grow in popularity among online shoppers, so the number of orders will increase as well. As a result, your website can become slower and less responsive. At such a point it may be time to switch to Prestashop. Keep reading to learn why.
Why Use Prestashop for eCommerce
Founded back in 2007 in Paris, France, Prestashop remains one of the fastest growing ecommerce solutions. Unlike WordPress that was developed as a blogging platform, this is a pure shopping cart that comes packed with various features and characteristics that make it the software of choice for many businessmen. But for being absolutely free, it is also equipped with characteristics allowing managing inventory, orders, shipping and more in real time. All Prestashop features were thoroughly crafted to provide both ecommerce site owners and its visitors with the most unforgettable experience on the web. Here they are:
Since Prestashop is a free, open source platform, you don’t need to spend a fortune on it. Instead, you can save more on advertising or any other purposes to better promote your project.
It has a number of easy-to-customize themes. Similar to WP ecommerce, this solution has so many ready-made themes (both free and premium), which allows adding a fresh breath of air to your online store in no time. These can also come in handy to build a website from scratch. So, it’s up to you to decide how to use these. Click here to look through hundreds of unique Prestashop designs.
Prestashop supports all the major languages, so there will be no need in translating your website in one or few languages. Are you ready to target the international market? Feel free to do that with the help of Prestashop.
This is a true paradise for SEO experts. Similar to WP, Prestashop is SEO-friendly. It is easy to apply changes to the site URL, Title tags and what not, so it will be such a pleasure to customize this platform the way you wish, anytime, anywhere.
It doesn’t require an expensive server to run. Unlike Magento, Prestashop is lightweight and doesn’t need much resources and configuration.
The default Prestashop installation includes a number of things needed to maintain an ecommerce website, like product catalog, orders, shipping, newsletters, coupons, etc. If needed, you may also check out free and commercial add-ons to stuff your estore with some extra features.
In terms of security, Prestashop is a much safer ecommerce platform than WordPress. In includes a lot of security features that allow protecting your website from hackers and malware of any kind. These include the possibility to set up security permissions for users, maintenance block, the ability to block repeated attempts to recover passwords, etc.
These are some of the most outstanding Prestashop features that, to my humble opinion, make it the winner of this battle. Alongside with being rather usable and safe, Prestashop ecommerce websites look usable and functional. Here are a few examples of the most stunning designs available. In terms of functionality and ease of use these can definitely compete with any other modern ecommerce platform, don’t you think?
Nabefabric
Ocarat
Bookkoob
Eatingtools
Creedboutique
To conclude…
It seems to be a lifelong debate on which platform is the best solution for building an ecommerce website. While some of us consider WordPress as the #1 choice for setting up a web resource of any kind, others claim it is not as feature-rich as other ecommerce software. So many people, so many minds. And what about you? What platform do you find more reliable and useful for building an ecommerce website? We will highly appreciate you sharing your opinion in the comments block below. About the author: Written by Katherine Crayon, copywriter reporting on tech news and all aspects of the web design industry. Anyone looking for a magic kicker to get your own online business started meet her in person on G+ and Twitter.
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