When it comes to trading platforms, there are a lot of strong names out there. and they are two of the most popular, and both have a lot to offer. Deciding which one to use to get your store off the ground can be difficult unless you’re familiar with how both platforms work.
In this article, we’ll do the research for you and compare Magento vs PrestaShop using various criteria, including:
- Easy to use
- site administration
- customization options
- Performance
- Security
At the end, you will know which ecommerce platform is the most suitable for your site. So let’s talk about Magento vs PrestaShop!
Introduction to Magento vs PrestaShop
PrestaShop and Magento have several things in common, beyond allowing you to . For example, both platforms are open source and have very active communities. Besides that, both have a very similar market share.
Finally, both Magento and PrestaShop are what are known as ‘self-hosted’ platforms. That means you can download the software and install it on any server you want, and then start working on your store. Self-hosted open source platforms tend to be very flexible, as you can do pretty much anything you want with them.
Before we launch into our detailed comparison, let’s talk a bit about each solution individually. PrestaShop is a very easy-to-use ecommerce platform, with which they collaborate in its development. It also comes with a rich set of features that make it powerful enough for any type of store:
Magento is also not lacking in features. In fact, this platform contains so many features that some people find it intimidating at first. However, once you get past the learning curve, you’ll find that Magento is a fantastic option for setting up and running an online store:
Despite all that Magento and PrestaShop have in common, there are enough differences between the two that it’s not difficult to make an informed decision. To help you do that, we are going to compare Magento vs PrestaShop in several ways, starting with how the user experience is.
Magento vs PrestaShop: Ease of Use
In most cases, it is preferable to use an eCommerce platform that offers a good balance between features and ease of use. After all, it wouldn’t be very profitable if it took you months to learn the ins and outs of your chosen eCommerce software.
With that in mind, it’s very easy to get started with PrestaShop. The first thing you should do is check if your web hosting provider offers an option for . Otherwise, you’ll have to . Either way, when your PrestaShop store is live, you will have access to a panel with many options:
Although your dashboard may seem a bit intimidating at first, it’s actually quite simple to navigate. For example, if you want to add a new product, you just have to go to the tab Catalog › Products and click the button + New Products:
The PrestaShop product editor is one of the best that we have had the pleasure of using. It’s feature-rich, but still easy to navigate thanks to its well-ordered tabs:
To create a new product, all you have to do is add some photos, define a title and price, and write a description. There are many more settings you can play with, of course, like options related to the . However, you can customize each product as much or as little as you like.
The Magento setup process is very similar. Some web hosting providers will give you the option to install the platform automatically (). However, you can always opt for it if you prefer.
Once Magento is installed on your server, you will be able to access the control panel. At first glance, you will notice that it looks quite simple:
However, when you start digging into each tab, you’ll notice that Magento includes a staggering number of options for almost all of its settings. For example, here’s a quick look at what the tab looks like. Marketing:
Within a single tab, you’ll find settings for promotions, email marketing, SEO, and review management. In turn, each of those sections offers many individual options.
Let’s take a look at the Magento product editor, to see if it follows the same logic. To find it, go to the tab Products › Catalog and click Add Product. You will immediately notice that the Magento editor is not as easy to use as the PrestaShop one. However, it offers more options, and that’s a lot since PrestaShop is not exactly lacking in features:
As we mentioned, setting up a new product with PrestaShop can take as little as a few minutes. However, with Magento, you will probably need more time to get your product set up exactly how you want it.
To summarize our findings so far, Magento offers a lot more options at first glance. That’s not a bad thing, but yes it does that the platform is more complicated to use than PrestaShop, especially if you are new to the world of e-commerce. With that in mind, in this first round of Magento vs PrestaShop we give the latter platform the winner.
Magento vs PrestaShop: Site Administration
In this section, we’ll take a closer look at the settings that Magento and PrestaShop offer to help you manage your online stores.
If you take a look at the PrestaShop control panel, you will notice that there is a tab called Shop Parameters. Opening it, you will find all the main settings of your store. For example, from this tab you can force your website to load on , enable a multi-store setting, and more:
PrestaShop even comes with a built-in maintenance mode, which gives you the ability to temporarily disable the store while you work on fixing issues.
By using PrestaShop, you can also set up multiple payment options. By default, the platform supports payments via bank transfers and checks. To add more traditional payment options, you will need to install additional modules:
In general, managing your PrestaShop store is very easy thanks to its well-organized and elegant control panel.
Now let’s move on to Magento. Most of the main settings of your Magento store can be found within the tab System. There you will find options to install extensions, as well as to manage backups, notifications and users:
You can also play around with a lot of settings if you open the tab stores. For example, you can modify your settings for taxes, currencies, and even your store’s rating system:
It is worth noting that Magento also offers multi-store configurations. This means that if you want to run multiple stores using the same panel, it is possible to do so in both Magento and PrestaShop.
During our tests, we found that Magento offers more options for site administration. However, PrestaShop greatly simplifies the process of managing your stores, due to its user-friendly interface. With that in mind, we declare a tie in this round of PrestaShop vs Magento.
Magento vs PrestaShop: Customization Options
One of the most important aspects of any ecommerce software is how much it allows you to customize your store. If you don’t have enough customization options, you’ll end up with a run-of-the-mill website, which won’t help your reputation much.
PrestaShop, for example, allows you to use modules and themes to customize your store. Themes allow you to radically alter the style of your site, and they come in all shapes and sizes. Plus, you can customize any theme you use to make your site look even more original:
Modules, on the other hand, allow you to add advanced features to your store. For example, you can add modules that help you implement coupons or contact forms:
PrestaShop has more than and more than 4,000 themes that you can use. That combination gives you a high level of customization, as you can choose the style you want for your store. and implement many advanced features.
However, Magento does not disappoint when it comes to customization options. This platform also allows you to use both extensions (its version of the modules) and themes to configure your store however you want. In terms of extensions, Magento has a slight advantage, since it has:
Themes, however, are a different matter. Magento Marketplace features only a small collection of themes as it is more common for users to design their own templates. To put it another way, Magento makes it easy to customize your store layout manually, at the cost of giving you fewer predefined options.
Overall, both PrestaShop and Magento offer exceptional customization capabilities, so much so that it’s hard to say one platform is better than the other. With that in mind, this round of Magento vs PrestaShop is also a draw.
Magento vs PrestaShop: Performance
When talking about performance, it is important to remember that both Magento and PrestaShop are self-hosted platforms. Which means that the performance of your store will largely depend on the hardware you use to host it.
For example, if you are using shared hosting for a virtual store that receives thousands of visitors a day, you will have difficulties regardless of the platform you use. Choosing the right provider and that is the key.
Honestly, there are many factors that can affect your site speed, beyond your web hosting provider. For example, including too many scripts on your pages or uploading a lot of heavy images. In both cases, your site’s performance will likely suffer. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to keep your online store fast.
That said, Magento is well known for being a highly scalable platform. In technical terms, if you are using a robust hosting solution and are receiving a decent amount of traffic, a Magento store will generally be faster than one built with PrestaShop. That’s not to say that PrestaShop has a mediocre design, but that Magento is simply better when it comes to managing your server resources.
If you’re just starting a new store, the platform you use probably won’t make much of a difference. However, since Magento is a better option for larger projects, we give it the win in this round of our PrestaShop vs Magento comparison.
Magento vs PrestaShop: Security
Most of us have dozens of accounts, spread across different types of websites. This means that at one point or another, one of those accounts could have been compromised. In turn, this could leave you vulnerable on other sites.
When it comes to your ecommerce site,…
Facebook Comments
Disqus