Are you planning to start an online store? If yes, then this article is for you. Here, in this article, we have reviewed an Open Source Shopping Cart Platform called ‘Prestashop’.
Prestashop is one of the most popular online e-commerce platform available at free of cost. It was launched in 2007 with head office at Paris. It has more than 2,80,000 installations and a huge online community to keep it exclusively dedicated to open source e-commerce.
Prestashop is one of the best and cheapest solutions for starting an online store. All you need to do is install it and upload a couple of products, and you are done; within a few clicks, your online store will be live.
For the advanced independent review of the Prestashop, please read below.
Pricing

Prestashop is open-source software. It is available at free of cost. You don’t need to pay anything for downloading and installing it. Hence, except for hosting charges, the setup cost is as low as it can be.
Furthermore, by default, the Prestashop has the module and add-ons required for the basic functionality of the online. Starting from Inventory Management to Collecting Money, all the modules are available at free of cost. You don’t need to spend a single penny for starting an online store with basic facilities. You only need to pay for advanced options, if required.
System Requirement
Prestashop has the minimum hardware and software requirements for starting the online store. The minimum requirements for using it are
- Apache Web Server 2.2 or any later version
- MySQL: 5.0 or later
- PHP 5.4+
Besides the above requirements, you will require a Computer, Internet Connection, and FTP clients for installing and using Prestashop.
Ease Of Use
Unlike other platforms, Prestashop is very easy to use. Once you installed it, the daily operations are fairly simple. Adding products is as easy as publishing blog posts on WordPress. All you need to do is upload the product and select the appropriate category.
Further, adding and removing the module from Prestashop is also simple. Within one click, you can install and uninstall any functionality on your store. Here’s the module page you’ll be able to access once you’ve installed the software.
Features
With more than 600 inbuilt features, it has everything that an entrepreneur will require to start an online store.
The basic features of Prestashop include like Inventory Management, Estimated Shipping, Abandoned Cart Notifications, Gift Packaging, Selling Digital Products, Unlimited Listing, Bulk Import and Exports, and Payment Gateway, SEO Options, CMS Page, Tax Calculation, Unlimited Currencies and Automate Emails, etc.
You can start the online store immediately with the default features of the Prestashop. For more basic and detailed features, please refer to the pricing page of it’s website.
Default Theme
Prestashop has more than 2000 responsive themes available online. The only free theme available is the default theme. Rest, are priced between $ 50 to 500.
If, at the initial stage, you are not looking for a very expensive store, then the default theme is enough for you. It has all the basic features inbuilt in it. There is no need to purchase any expensive theme for your store.
It also comes with WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor to make changes to your default theme. So, if the default theme is not what you are looking for, then you can make the necessary changes without taking any approval.
Of course, you don’t require changing code for making basic changes in your store. For example, you can upload the logo and change the page layout directly from your dashboard.
Payment Options

On Prestashop, more than 250 payment providers are available. Hence, your Prestashop can accept any currencies from any part of the world.
Some of the payment partners are PayPal, First Data, Discover Global Networks, Blue snap, etc.
Further, it is also easy to install these payment provider add-ons on your store. All you need to do is upload the module and click Install to use it.
AdSense Supported
Prestashop also allows you to make money through Google AdSense. It allows you to show Google ads on your store and make money from it.
There are two ways to show ads on your store. First, you can edit the file on your server, and second, you can install the Adsense module on your store. Both free and paid modules are available for showing ads on your store. You can download it from the Prestashop module store or forum.
Secure and Safe
Prestashop is very serious about the security of your store. Their team thoroughly checks every third-party modules before integrating it with its default theme. Further, the modules which are sold on its store needs to pass through security validation before getting approved.
Hence, Prestashop is secured and safe to use. It will be not easy for hackers to hack your store.
Customer Support

Last but the most important reason for using it is its customer support services. With more than 8 million users, Prestashop has one of the biggest communities online.
The online community of the Prestashop keeps it alive. It offers free module and technical support to all its users.
If you face any problem with your store, you can post your problem on this community at free of cost. The online experts will reply to your queries within 24 hours.
Conclusion
Whether you want to start an e-commerce or virtual store online, Prestashop has a solution for you. It has a complete solution for you.
If you want to know more about this service, then you can leave your message below in the comment box. We will be happy to help you in starting your online store.
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