WooCommerce Vs. Prestashop: Which is Best for your Needs?

WooCommerce Vs. Prestashop: Which is Best for your Needs?

Surveys have shown that approximately 25% of consumers make an online purchase at least once a week. This is a fantastic opportunity for entrepreneurs who want to sell to a large audience.

There are many platforms you can use to create an online store. Two of the most popular are WooCommerce and PrestaShop. So between the two, which is best for your business?

Overview of WooCommerce

WooCommerce is not actually a platform, but rather a plugin for the popular content management system, WordPress. WooCommerce was developed by WooThemes in 2011, and in 2015 was bought by Automattic, the company that owns WordPress.

The WooCommerce plugin turns standard WordPress websites into an eCommerce platform that can sell products.

PrestaShop

PrestaShop is an open-source e-commerce software. It's free to download and use as long as you have a hosting solution and a domain.

The software was developed in 2005 which makes it older than WooCommerce, however since its release, PrestaShop has received favorable attention thanks to its intuitive dashboard and range of default features.

The main difference: PrestaShop vs. WooCommerce

There is a major difference between PrestaShop and WooCommerce, which is that WooCommerce depends on WordPress, while PrestaShop is an independent e-commerce software.

However, beyond that, the two e-commerce software are quite similar.

First of all, they are both free to download and install. Moreover, there are many plugins (or add-ons) for PrestaShop and WooCommerce that can extend the functionality of major e-commerce stores.

There are official marketplaces for WooCommerce and PrestaShop. Some of these extensions are free, while others require a monthly subscription or a one-time payment.

Designing your Store

Designing with WooCommerce is simple. Since this is a WooCommerce extension, you should already have experience designing your website. This is often done through themes that are downloaded and installed on your store.

You can get specific e-commerce themes designed for WooCommerce, such as StoreFront, which is the default option.

StoreFront is the ideal option as it easily integrates with WooCommerce and WordPress and is managed by WooCommerce developers. However, there are also other themes you can use.

If you've seen a store using WooCommerce that has a look you like, you can use the WordPress theme finder to find out what theme it uses.

If you want to further customize the look of your store, you can choose a child theme in StoreFront.

These themes are paid and cost a one-time fee. You can also use a page builder app which gives you complete freedom in designing your page.

Installing any theme or plugin on WordPress is simple – anyone can do it without needing a developer or coding experience.

PrestaShop allows you to create an online store for free. You can also use a template. There are free templates and premium templates, just like for WooCommerce.

The premium templates are aesthetically pleasing, but some templates from third parties are not as good as the ones you can get from WooCommerce or PrestaShop theme store.

PrestaShop themes are also fairly expensive, especially when compared to WooCommerce ones. Additionally, you will need to have some coding experience and skills to ensure that the theme is installed correctly.

If you see a PrestaShop store with a theme that you like the look of, you can see which theme it is with the Prestashop template finder.

With WooCommerce and PrestaShop, you need to make sure the theme you use is mobile friendly. This is a fundamental factor in online success because it can help with SEO and conversions.

Prices

When comparing prices in a PrestaShop versus WooCommerce comparison, it's hard to compare. Indeed, WooCommerce and PrestaShop are free to download.

However, with WooCommerce, you will need to purchase a hosting package. The price of it will graetly depend on the service you need. While shared servers are cheaper, they can lead to slower websites and lower conversions. For this reason, we recommend a VPS, which is the best choice when you're just starting out.

Next, you need to buy a domain. After that, the costs can become quite difficult to predict: There are many additional features that you can add to your store such as SEO, payment gateways, social media, etc. These features can be added through a monthly subscription or upfront cost. There are, however, many free plugins that you can use.

PrestaShop is similar in that it's free to download and use. What’s more, you can try out their demo to explore the dashboard and storefront. However, installing PrestaShop on a domain can pose some issues – it's not easy and you will have to hire a web developer to install and fix it.

Moreover, adding features to PrestaShop is also expensive. If you want to integrate your online store with Facebook, Amazon, Twitter, Email or anything else, this will incur additional costs.

Need support implementing an empowering e-commerce website? Look no further than EWM. EWM is home to many industry experts who can help you with all aspects of your web design process.

Contact our team today to discuss your needs.