E-commerce operations for small and medium-sized businesses do not always have to be created "from scratch." Hundreds of thousands of businesses have relied on the open source PrestaShop platform. It is used by more than a quarter of a million websites worldwide. Learn what the PrestaShop e-commerce platform is and why we recommend it to online store owners.
What you will learn from this article:
The PrestaShop e-commerce platform is one of the most popular solutions chosen by entrepreneurs who want to offer their goods online. Read our article to find out:
- What PrestaShop actually is,
- Does using PrestaShop require programming skills,
- Why you should choose PrestaShop as the platform for your store,
- Is there an additional cost to using PrestaShop,
- Why you should outsource the creation and maintenance of your PrestaShop store to professionals.
PrestaShop - what is it?
PrestaShop system is an e-commerce support platform for running an online store. It can be downloaded and run completely free of charge (it runs on an open software license). The installation and configuration process of PrestaShop itself is simple, and because the platform is written in PHP, it is highly customizable, so it's easy to customize.
The tools available in PrestaShop revolve around online sales. So if you want to create and promote your store, this will be a good choice. This e-commerce CMS content management system, which started as a student project, has been on the market for 18 years and during that time has earned the trust of hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs. What sets it apart is its ease of use and flexibility.
Who should reach for PrestaShop software?
The free e-commerce platform PrestaShop may be associated with simplistic solutions for small businesses just starting out online, but it turns out that this is just a pretense. It is also a solution for medium-sized companies that want to expand their business. With the ability to modify many functionalities directly from the source code. PrestaShop can also become a platform for large stores. However, more complex operations will require the help of a programmer, graphic designer, or better yet, a marketing agency to handle the full adaptation of the site.
Why reach for the PrestaShop platform?
You already know the definition of PrestaShop, but why actually go for this online store management platform? There are at least several reasons.
Low costs
The PrestaShop platform at its simplest is free, which means that designing an online store using it will be much cheaper than creating one from scratch. Additional functionalities may cost money, but the total cost will still be lower than a completely new design.
Affordable learning curve
After logging into the PrestaShop admin panel, the user can access many settings without making any modifications to the source code. In fact, you can use "Presta" without any knowledge of HTML or CSS languages, which are usually associated with the web. Easy store creation means less work for the agency and less expenses for you.
Great opportunities for personalization
PrestaShop platform offers advanced e-commerce solutions like:
- Support for many different online payment systems,
- modules for improving visibility on the web (SEO PrestaShop),
- Easy management of the product catalog and entire sales campaigns,
- Social media integration.
The free store platform can be easily adapted to virtually any type of sales. Regardless of the goods you offer and your target audience, you can use PrestaShop just as easily.
Support for multiple online stores
Advanced e-commerce solutions allow you to sell domestically and sell internationally and operate multiple stores from a single panel. PrestaShop online store really makes it superbly easy to run your own business.
How much does a PrestaShop store cost?
The PrestaShop platform allows you to design and run an online store. The software runs on an Open Source License model, so by design it is available free of charge without any license fees. However, depending on the service plan you choose, costs may apply. There are currently three pricing plans available.
Any customization work, such as programming, graphics, or hosting is priced individually. In practice, the cost of creating an online store depends on many factors, including:
- Graphic design (from a template or created from scratch),
- Integration with other systems (e.g. CMR, courier companies),
- the size of the online store (a company that sells 30 products and one that has several thousand products is valued differently),
- creation of dedicated IT solutions,
- additional marketing activities.
Each agency will price the store design individually. Small projects usually cost a few thousand zlotys, but large ones, where there are several thousand products, will be much more expensive. Be sure to pay attention to whether the contract is worded transparently and you know exactly what you are paying for. When deciding to cooperate with 4Pixel you always get a complete "road map" of the activities to be implemented.
Learn about popular plugins and add-ons for PrestaShop
It is worth mentioning that a thriving community has gathered around PrestaShop. This means not only the opportunity to exchange knowledge and insights on the operation of the platform, but also access to plug-ins, of which more and more are appearing on the web (and plenty of them are free). Examples of modules that are very popular with users include:
- One Page CheckOut - Facilitated ordering process,
- Advanced Search PRO/Amazzing Filter - tools for advanced product search and filter configuration,
- PrestaBlog - Store blogging tool that supports SEO efforts.
For companies with e-commerce operations, the following are important The ability to integrate a store on PrestaShop with courier companies (such as InPost, DPD and many others) and cashless payment methods (e.g. TPay, PayU).
In addition, the PrestaShop platform is distinguished by its cooperation with external ERP, CRM and accounting platforms (e.g. Subiekt GT, Enova 365). It works together with marketplaces, such as Allegro, as well as mass listing tools, Baselinker. Using Presta, you get a complete ecosystem for e-commerce.
A store running on PrestaShop is also worth equipping with a supplements to support compliance, such as for managing cookies and legal requirements under the Omnibus Directive (such as Omnibus Directive Pro, or the Cookies Manager module). An abandoned cart reminder module and various analytical tools, such as PrestaShop Metrics or modules for popular tools like GTM, Pixel Plus or Google Analytics will also help optimize marketing efforts.
It is worth mentioning that PrestaShop e-commerce marketing takes advantage of modern advances in the form of AI. Artificial intelligence can be used to generate metadata, product descriptions in multiple languages, or predict user behavior. You can also easily download new PrestaShop templates to make your site more attractive.
Promote your business using PrestaShop together with 4Pixel!
Whether you want to create an online store for beginners or are planning to expand the business you already have, we can help. The 4Pixel agency offers both the creation of new webshops, as well as optimizing existing sites to deliver the best possible UX experience to users and maximize conversions. We provide comprehensive programming, design, graphic design and server management.
You can also have us administering your e-commerce business. We will take care of store analytics, inventory management, adding new products and any other activities necessary for online sales. We use artificial intelligence in our work (as an addition and to speed up our work where possible) so that you get unique results quickly.
We've been working with PrestaShop since 2009, and during that time we've implemented several hundred diverse implementations, from multi-branch online stores, dropshipping, shopping clubs and closed-source platforms for selling digital products. Find out that we can help you too.
Our specialists will carry out the migration of stores from different platforms, as well as take care of SEO activities. With our help, the optimization of your PrestaShop store will go smoothly, and you will be able to focus on fine-tuning your business plan. Contact us AND let's boost your business together!
