Prestashop vs. WooCommerce – What to Choose?

Currently, there are many eCommerce platforms available in the market. Two of the most popular ones are PrestaShop and WooCommerce. Which one should you choose for your online store? To help you make a decision, we have compiled a list of key differences between PrestaShop and WooCommerce.

Characteristics

• PrestaShop is an open-source eCommerce platform that is available for free. WooCommerce is a plugin for WordPress, which is also free to download and use.
• Both platforms are self-hosted, meaning you will need to set up hosting accounts and install them on your own server. WooCommerce.com allows for hosting but is primarily used for hosting blogs.
• PrestaShop offers a wide range of features and options “out of the box.” WooCommerce is a more basic platform but can be easily extended with plugins to add more features.
• PrestaShop is a more complex platform, meaning it can be harder to use for beginners. WooCommerce is a simpler platform, making it easier for those starting their eCommerce journey.
• PrestaShop has a large community of users and developers, meaning you can count on technical support if needed. WooCommerce, being based on WordPress, which is more popular than PrestaShop, has a proportionately larger audience and therefore many more experts involved in its development.

Now that you know the basic differences, you can move on to the section with more detailed discrepancies.

Languages

If you run a store using WooCommerce or PrestaShop, you know how important it is to offer products in multiple languages. This allows you to reach a wider audience and enter new markets.

But what if you don’t have the resources to translate the entire store into multiple languages? This is where multilingualism comes in handy.

Multilingualism is the practice of using more than one language in your store. This can be done in many ways, such as offering product descriptions in multiple languages or providing customer support in multiple languages.

By offering multilingualism, you make your store more accessible to a global audience, allowing you to quickly increase sales.

If you want to offer your store in multiple languages, you need to keep a few things in mind. Here are some tips for running a multilingual store:

1. Choose the right platform: If you use WooCommerce or PrestaShop, you are in luck. Both platforms offer built-in support for multiple languages. This means you can easily add new languages to your store without coding.
2. Find the right translation solution: There are many translation solutions available, such as Google Translate or Yandex.Translate. Choose a solution that offers high-quality translations and is easy to use.
3. Don’t forget about SEO: When running a multilingual store, it is important to optimize it for search engines. This means you need to add keywords in multiple languages and create separate pages for each language.
4. If you want to offer customer support in multiple languages, you need to find a solution that offers live chat or email support in multiple languages..

By following these tips, you can easily run a successful online store in multiple markets.

Customization — Prestashop vs. WooCommerce

Both platforms allow you to customize the look of your online store. PrestaShop offers a range of ready-made templates that can be customized to your needs, as well as the ability to create your own templates. WooCommerce, being an addition to the WordPress platform, uses the templates available for that platform, which can also be customized. In both cases, there are also additional tools and plugins that allow further customization of the store’s appearance.

Developers often advise against using so-called “ready-made” templates, as these templates are often not optimized for performance, security, and scalability. They may also contain unnecessary or outdated features that can negatively impact your store’s performance and security. Additionally, ready-made templates are often not tailored to individual needs and requirements, which can cause difficulties later in the store’s development.

Security

When it comes to creating an online store, security should be one of your priorities. Regardless of whether you use WooCommerce or PrestaShop, there are several key security measures you can take to protect your business and your customers.

Here are some tips to help you ensure the security of your WooCommerce or PrestaShop store:

1. Use a strong password for your admin account and remember to change it regularly.
2. Take care of backups, or hire professionals to do so.
3. Update your WooCommerce or PrestaShop version to ensure you have the latest security updates.
4. Do not store sensitive information, such as credit card numbers, in your database. Use payment gateways like PayPal or Stripe that handle this for you.
5. Make sure your hosting provider uses security measures that help protect your site from attacks.

By following these tips, you can help secure your WooCommerce or PrestaShop store and give your customers peace of mind while shopping.

Scalability

As your business grows, you will need a platform that can scale with you. Both WooCommerce and PrestaShop are highly scalable eCommerce platforms.

WooCommerce is a plugin for WordPress that turns your WordPress site into a fully functional eCommerce store. WooCommerce is highly customizable, so you can add the features you need as your business grows. PrestaShop is a self-hosted eCommerce platform. PrestaShop is highly customizable and has a wide range of native features and add-ons to choose from.

Both WooCommerce and PrestaShop are highly scalable eCommerce platforms. Both offer a wide range of features and are very customizable. If you are looking for a platform that can grow with your business, either one will be a great choice.

SEO

If you want to improve the visibility of your site in search results, you might be wondering whether you should use WooCommerce or PrestaShop. Both platforms offer SEO support features, but they differ in their overall approach and specific tools they offer.

Both WooCommerce and PrestaShop offer basic SEO features such as the ability to add meta tags and alt text to images. However, they differ in their approach to SEO.

WooCommerce is designed as a flexible platform that can be tailored to specific needs. This flexibility also applies to SEO, as there are many WordPress plugins that can be used to improve SEO, such as Yoast SEO, SEO Redirection Plugin, and Better-Search Replace. Additionally, WooCommerce offers built-in features that make it easy to manage your site’s SEO.

PrestaShop, on the other hand, takes a more casual approach to SEO. The platform includes a few basic SEO features but does not offer the same level of customization and control as WooCommerce.

When it comes to SEO, both WooCommerce and PrestaShop have their pros and cons. If you are looking for a platform that offers great flexibility and customization options, WooCommerce is a good choice. If you are looking for a platform that is easy to use and offers some native SEO features, PrestaShop might be a better option.

Admin Panel

The admin panel is the backend of an online store, allowing owners and administrators to manage the site and its content. This is where pages, posts, images, and other media are added and edited, users and permissions are managed, and settings and options are configured. Both platforms offer an easy-to-use interface, although WooCommerce is more beginner-friendly.

WooCommerce vs. PrestaShop – How Much Does It Cost?

WordPress and PrestaShop are free to download and use, and you can start using them for free. However, you will need to pay for hosting, a domain name, and a theme for your site. The cost of these can vary depending on your needs, but you can expect to pay around $100 per year for hosting, a domain name, and a basic theme. It’s important to note that this is just the initial cost, and you also need to consider the cost of specialists who will design and implement your new store.

In both cases, the most significant cost will be the additional plugins and the hours required by developers to implement the necessary changes. The overall cost of each platform is quite similar. It all comes down to the cost of specialist services, which will ultimately be necessary as your store grows.

Which platform is more expensive? Generally speaking, PrestaShop is more expensive than WooCommerce. However, the cost of WooCommerce can vary depending on your needs, while the cost of PrestaShop is more constant.

Technical Support

Woocommerce

Errors in the WooCommerce system are relatively rare. Specialists developing WordPress capabilities pay attention to details and regularly update this software. For this reason, you won’t lose time looking for solutions. If an error does occur, it is usually due to new plugins or individual developer changes.

Thanks to the extensive WordPress WooCommerce community, finding professional support is exceptionally easy. You can check the official WordPress forums or submit a request directly to the WooCommerce portal.

PrestaShop

When choosing PrestaShop, you can also count on the support of a significant group of experts, although not as large as in the case of WooCommerce since the WordPress community is much larger. Facebook groups or official forums will also come to your aid here. PrestaShop offers premium technical support, but it is not very popular mainly due to the price.

Conclusion – PrestaShop or WooCommerce

Who wins in the PrestaShop vs. WooCommerce clash? In this battle, both platforms reach a stalemate. Although WordPress is currently the most popular CMS available on the market, PrestaShop has modules dedicated from the start for online stores. Therefore, the final choice should depend on your individual needs.

In Brief:

Choose WooCommerce if:

• This is your first online store
• You are looking for an intuitive and simple solution
• You need to use a blog
• You have more modest resources available

Choose PrestaShop if:

• You need a scalable platform
• You have many custom requirements related to e-commerce functionality
• You are prepared for additional costs related to the future development of the platform