WooCommerce and PrestaShop are two of the most popular eCommerce platforms available. They both have their own pros and cons, but which one is right for you?
WooCommerce
WooCommerce is a plugin for WordPress, which is a content management system (CMS). WordPress is used by millions of people around the world, so it’s no surprise that WooCommerce is one of the most popular eCommerce platforms. It’s estimated that WooCommerce powers around 30% of all online stores.
Pros:
- WooCommerce is free to use.
- It’s easy to set up and use.
- There are thousands of plugins and themes available for WooCommerce.
- You can extend WooCommerce with add-ons to create a custom solution for your store.
- WooCommerce is open source, so it’s constantly being improved by the community.
Cons:
- Because WooCommerce is a plugin for WordPress, you need to have WordPress installed first. This can be a bit confusing for beginners.
- You need to take care of your own website hosting and security.
- WooCommerce can be slow if you don’t optimize your website properly.
PrestaShop
PrestaShop is another open source eCommerce platform that powers around 3% of all online stores. It’s similar to WooCommerce in many ways, but there are also some key differences.
Pros:
- PrestaShop is also free to use.
- It’s easy to set up and use, like WooCommerce.
- PrestaShop has a built-in blogging platform, so you don’t need to install WordPress separately.
- PrestaShop comes with more built-in features than WooCommerce, so you don’t need as many plugins or add-ons.
Cons:
- You need to purchase a domain name and hosting plan separately – unlike with WooCommerce where everything is self contained within WordPress.
- There are fewer themes and plugins available for PrestaShop.
- PrestaShop can be slow if you don’t optimize your website properly.
- Unlike with WooCommerce where you can host everything on WordPress.com – with PrestaShop you need to find your own hosting provider.
