PrestaShop

PrestaShop is a platform designed to create and manage an online store. It is an open source CMS (you can modify everything, even the code), designed specifically for e-commerce, which allows you to sell your products, manage orders, track inventory, and customize your store according to your needs.

It is a widely used solution in France (where this CMS was created) and around the world, both by small online stores and more developed e-commerce sites.

And even though today more and more e-commerce sites are being created on Shopify or WooCommerce, there are still thousands of stores on PrestaShop, and the CMS is constantly evolving.

PrestaShop was designed for online commerce, so all of its features revolve around selling products or services. It is not a general-purpose CMS like WordPress, but rather a specialized solution.

If your goal is to sell, it's the perfect tool. However, for a showcase site or blog, it's better to opt for another platform. We'll look at some alternatives to PrestaShop below.

PrestaShop's strength lies in its flexibility. You can truly customize your store however you want, add modules, create custom features, manage a large product catalog, and more.

It's a solid solution with a large community that can be adapted to both small websites and more ambitious e-commerce projects. If you're looking for a comprehensive and scalable tool, PrestaShop is a good choice.

Why do I mention that there is a large community of developers behind the project? Because it's very important for features, bug fixes, and CMS development. With many developers working on PrestaShop, the software is always up to date and constantly being improved.

PrestaShop itself is free, as it is open source software. But to create a complete store, you will need to budget for certain costs: hosting, domain name, a theme (which may be paid), and modules if you need specific features.

You can also hire a freelancer to help you with the creation or development. You can find rates for PrestaShop developers above on this page. Ultimately, it's a solution that can remain affordable if it's well thought out from the start.

If you're looking for an alternative to PrestaShop to launch your online store, you can check out Shopify (simple, all-in-one, but paid), WooCommerce (WordPress extension, highly customizable).

I could also have mentioned Wix and Squarespace if you have a small catalog, but these CMSs are not really optimized for e-commerce. PrestaShop, WordPress, and Shopify remain the safe bets.

PrestaShop is open source, which means you are completely free to customize your store as you wish, but it requires a little more technical management.

Shopify is a hosted, paid solution that is very easy to use but more closed. The downside of Shopify is that the subscription can quickly become expensive if you install several applications on your site (the equivalent of PrestaShop modules or add-ons).

WooCommerce works with WordPress, which makes it very flexible but requires a minimum of configuration.

In summary: PrestaShop for freedom, Shopify for simplicity, WooCommerce for a balance between the two.

PrestaShop is suitable for small stores that want to get started quickly, as well as more complex e-commerce sites with many products or specific needs.

You can start small and then grow your store over time by adding features, modules, or even developing custom elements if needed.

With PrestaShop, you can sell physical products (clothing, accessories, food, etc.) as well as digital products (e-books, software, training courses, etc.).

You can also offer services, manage variations (sizes, colors), configure inventory, and even sell internationally. The platform is flexible enough to adapt to almost any type of e-commerce business.

PrestaShop makes it easy to connect your store to external management tools such as ERP, CRM, or accounting software. There are many modules that facilitate this integration, and it is also possible to have a developer create a custom solution if you have specific needs. This allows you to centralize your data and automate part of your management.

To improve the natural referencing of your PrestaShop store, you can customize title tags and descriptions, structure your URLs, add optimized text to your product pages, and fill in alt tags on images. You can also use SEO modules to go further, such as redirect management or sitemap optimization. Good SEO also depends on site speed and content quality.

If you are looking for a PrestaShop specialist for your technical SEO, you will find one on this page.

You can integrate a wide variety of payment solutions into PrestaShop: credit cards, Stripe, PayPal, bank transfer, cash on delivery, and even modules specific to certain banks or payment providers. Simply install the corresponding module to offer your customers the payment method that suits them best.

A PrestaShop module is an extension that you can add to your store to give it new features. It can be a payment, delivery, marketing, or SEO module, or even a connector to external software. This is what makes PrestaShop so flexible: you start with a solid foundation and add only what you need.

You will sometimes see the words "add-on" or "plugin," although the latter term is rarely used in the PrestaShop ecosystem. But these different words simply mean module.

As I mentioned briefly above, PrestaShop is perfectly suited to international sales. You can:

• Manage multiple languages and currencies
• Adjust shipping costs according to country
• And even configure taxes according to geographical areas

It is a solution designed for stores that want to open up to a global market, whether in Europe, America, or elsewhere.

You don't need to know how to code to use PrestaShop on a daily basis. You can add products, edit your pages, manage orders, and customize much of the site from the admin interface.

That said, to go further or create a customized solution, it can be very useful to call on a developer. And even during the creation phase, I would advise you to hire a PrestaShop developer and possibly a web designer. These freelancers will create an effective, sales-ready website for you. You can find these talented professionals on this page.

If you need help creating, improving, or customizing your store, you can find a freelance developer specializing in PrestaShop on our BeFreelancr platform (above on this page).

You will find skilled profiles capable of assisting you with technical tasks, from design to module integration and website optimization. You can even find writers for your product descriptions. All digital talent is on BeFreelancr.

On BeFreelancr, you have access to a wide range of PrestaShop-related services: complete store creation, custom module development, design overhaul, payment method integration, SEO optimization, technical maintenance, international sales implementation, and more.

Whether you are launching your store or looking to grow it, you will find a freelancer to help you.