This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website.

Cookie Policy

Accept

Businesses that want to create their own online retail website and sell products online have lots of options to choose from. One such option is a piece of open source software known as Prestashop eCommerce.

  • Presta-What? In 2007 in Paris, France, the Prestashop software was created using PHP and MySQL data management. This eCommerce shopping cart software is available free of charge, enabling businesses to create, launch, and manage an online store for their business – without needing to pay license fees.

The Prestashop software is available for use in two forms, download or cloud. The cloud version of the software provides a free sub-domain, customisation options in the form of add-ons, and modules which can be implemented from the add-on section. Although, if you would like to have complete control over your store's code and edit it to your liking you'll have to use the download version.

However,there are advantages to using the cloud version of the software. For example,one such advantage is that your shop is hosted free on Prestashop servers. That being said, if you would like to have a dedicated personal server, you'll need to use the download version of the software. As such, there are pros and cons to both versions of the software

There are numerous advantages of using this software to design and build your business' eCommerce website. Here's a quick list of three.

  • This ecommerce software supports multiple different payment gateways, including both PayPal and Google Checkout.
  • The back-end interface is easy to setup and maintain.
  • The platform is multi-language compatible.


Does Your Business Need To Be Online?

There are many reasons why your business should embrace the internet and join the online retail community. If you currently operate from a physical location (also known as a brick-and-mortar store), your list of potential customers is restricted geographically. You'll likely only be able to sell products to local customers,or those who are willing to travel to purchase products from your business.However, with an easy to use and attractively designed eCommerce website,you'll be able to sell products to people located elsewhere in the country.

Additionally, it's worth noting that should you wish, eCommerce also enables businesses to sell their products to customers located in different countries. So if you would like to expand your business into different countries, eCommerce is a fantastic solution. Indeed, another benefit of embracing online shopping is that the internet is open 24 hours a day 7 days a week, so if you want to sell products to people in different time zones, you don't need to worry about their free time to shop and your business' opening hours being in synch. They'll be able to place an order in their free time, and then you'll be able to fulfil it during your business hours – Taking your business online is a fantastic way to expand and grow your brand.

However, the opportunities regarding eCommerce web design are not limited to large businesses who want to expand into different countries.Choosing to use an open source eCommerce platform to create an online store could provide numerous opportunities for small local businesses. For example,you could use local digital marketing techniques to attract local customers,and also provide local delivery services. This could be especially useful for businesses such as local food establishments and local florists.

So if you want to take the next step with your business and enter the world of online retail,consider building an eCommerce website using the powerful Prestashop platform.

Why Should You Use Prestashop To Build Your eCommerce Website?

If you're searching for an easy to use platform to create an attractive and well-designed website,without having to master a large number of technical skills – Prestashop is a fantastic choice of software. Instead of needing to learn lots of complicated coding,you can instead update your website with new features by downloading an installing add-ons. However, if you are skilled with coding skills, you'll be able to look into the source code and make changes in order to create a unique online store for your retail business.

Additionally, with regards to selling products online, it is essential that your online store does not get lost in the vast crowd of online shopping websites. In order to standout and rank higher in search engines, you need to choose an eCommerce platform that provides an SEO-friendly user interface and user experience, such as Prestashop.

The platform is ideal for small and medium sized businesses as the software is free to use.Instead Prestashop operates under a 'freemium' model where the software is free, but some additional features such as some add-ons or support costs a premium. However, this low entry cost does not mean that the platform is not versatile. With this fantastic eCommerce web design and development software, you can enjoy full creative control over your online retail presence. Should you be so inclined, you could create an M-Commerce site that is designed specifically for customers using their Smartphones.

Customising The Your Store With Prestashop

The platforms provides numerous options for customisation. Businesses can use the software to customise both the visual appearance of their online store, and the functionality of the website.

  • Customising Your Site's Visual Appearance. With regards to the appearance of your website, there are lots of different options to choose from.Firstly if you're running the cloud version of the software and hosting your website using the free sub-domain, you'll be limited to customising your website using add-ons, and modules which can be implemented from the add-on section. However, with the download version of the software, you can have full control over your online store. This includes the ability to create your own theme using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. However, if you are not skilled in these three coding languages, you could also choose to create a theme using 3rd party WYSIWIG (what you see is what you get) theme maker software that requires no knowledge of code. Another option for those lacking coding skills is to purchase ready-made templates designed for use in Prestashop from a reputable pre-built eCommerce template marketplace.
  • The Site Functionality And Management. It is also important to note that this software is not only great for designing the visual appearance of your online store; it is also a very effective tool regarding the management of the products available for purchase on your online store. This is due to a powerful but simple to use admin panel, the comparatively shorter learning curve, and the software's user-friendly design.

Indeed, numerous businesses may be dissuaded from entering the world of eCommerce due to platforms with significant learning curves or complicated administrative interfaces. However, whilst website building software such as WordPress or Magento may be confusing to the beginners in the world of eCommerce, Prestashop provides an easy to understand site management interface with a very quick learning curve. However, as previously mentioned, for those who are skilled at coding, the platform can be customised to meet the unique needs of your business. This provides businesses with the option to build their own simple online store, employ an in-house eCommerce team, or speak to a team of web designers and developers at an eCommerce agency and enquire about an expert eCommerce design and development service.


Open Source Software – Is It Safe?

In today's society many people are very cautious about what they download and at first glance opensource software may seem risky. However, it is important to remember that when software is attacked, people do not use the source code to break software. Many would argue that open sourced software is actually a much more secure option. This is because the openly available code allows a community programmers and developers to raise any issues and submit updates regarding their concerns.

This community has other advantages for open source users. Thanks to the communities created through open source software, developers, designers and other industry specialists from all over the world are working to add a range of new and diverse features to Prestashop websites. So if you want to customise your online store with new features, there's a good chance somebody has created an add-on that you can purchase and use on your eCommerce website.


What If You Have No Knowledge Of Coding Or HTML Components?

Whilst Prestashop is a very easy to learn platform for creating online shopping websites, it is understandable if you would rather hire a dedicated agency to provide a webdesign and development service. Indeed, whilst it is possible to build a Prestashop website with little to no knowledge of coding or HTML Components, if you want to edit the source code to customise your eCommerce solution to meet the unique needs of your business, expert knowledge will be required.

So if you are no tskilled with regards to coding and you are not knowledgably with languages such as HTML and JavaScript, don't worry because Code Media can help. If you utilise the skills of our open source eCommerce web development agency, our specialists can help you reap the following benefits of Prestashop eCommerce:

  • A range of themes and modules available for free.
  • Support multiple languages and currencies on the same store; allowing you to sell your products on a global scale.
  • A SEO-friendly CMS naturally featuring SEO-friendly URLS for all your site's pages and products.


Should You Use Prestashop?

Here at Code Media,we're experts in numerous different forms of open source software, so we understand that not every piece of website building software is appropriate for every business. So that raises the question, should your business use Prestashop, or should you consider using a different piece of open source software such as Open Cart or Magento?

If you're unsure which software is best suited to your business' needs, please don't hesitate to get in touch with a member of our team. The Code Media staff are open source experts and we will be happy to assist you with your enquiry and answer your questions regarding open source web design.


To Learn More About Our Services For Prestashop And Other Open Source Web Design Software, Please Talk To The Open Source Experts At Code Media

Our talented team of developers and designers have years of experience creating eye-catching websites using open source software. We use this experience and expertise to provide our clients with attractive eCommerce websites which are customised to meet the needs of their business and provide their customers with an enjoyable user experience.

So if you are interested in entering the world of eCommerce, please don't hesitate to get in touch with our team.

Give Us A Call

If you have any questions regarding open source web design or if you would like to make an enquiry regarding our Prestashop web development services, please give our team a call on 0118 380 1001 Monday to Friday 9 am to 5:30 pm. Additionally you can also contact our team using the Live Chat feature on our website.

Get in Touch

If you want to book a demonstration, require a free consultation, or have a question, simply complete the contact form below and we’ll get back to you.

Alternatively call us today on 0118 380 1001 or email sales@code.media

* Required Fields

Where to Find Us

Company Info

Head Office

4 Millars Brook Molly Millars Lane Wokingham Berkshire RG41 2AD United Kingdom

London Office

71-75 Shelton Street Covent Garden London WC2 9JQ

0118 380 1001