<b>Magento vs PrestaShop - A Look at the Best</b>

When you know you need to choose the right eCommerce platform, it's important to look at the best choices on the market. A good look at Magento vs. PrestaShop will help you get closer to the right choice. After comparing the two, you will have a better idea of which one fits your needs the best. We have done the hard work for you and here is our comparison of Magento and PrestaShop.

<b>What you Get with Magento?</b>

Magento provides plenty of features and it's an open-source eCommerce solution with all kinds of flexibility. You're the one in control with this eCommerce solution and you can change the look, content and how it functions. The way Magento is set up makes it easy to use it for search engine optimization and you can even use it as a catalog-management tool.

With plenty of experience behind this program, since it was founded in 2001, you won't struggle to find answers to your questions. A recent partnership with eBay makes the system even more powerful and adds more developers to the community.

Magento gives users all kinds of modules, features and extensions. Many have praised the technical sport and some have even called it the best in the business. It's suited for professional online stores and works great for anybody trying to run a fully online or partially online business.

<b>What you Get with PrestaShop?</b>

PrestaShop is another open-source eCommerce solution with plenty of features. You can use the basic set up free of charge, but you will need to purchase templates, themes and modules if you want the most out of this system. It was launched in 2007 and targets small to medium business looking to gain an online presence.

PrestaShop is available in 40 languages, but only supports fully in English and French. They don't offer an official support team, but you can find plenty of developers and users in the PrestaShop forum. You don't need to meet many requirements to use the program, except PHP 5.2, MySQL 5 and a Linux, UNIX or Windows operation system.

<b>Comparing Magento vs. PrestaShop</b>

When looking at these two eCommerce solutions, PrestaShop provides options small to medium businesses need, while Magento provides options larger businesses may prefer.
<ul>
	<li>PrestaShop is easier to install than Magento</li>
	<li>Magento has more out-of-the-box features than PrestaShop</li>
	<li>PrestaShop has a lower system requirement</li>
	<li>Magento doesn't have any compatibility issues, while PrestaShop does</li>
	<li>It's easier to customize PrestaShop</li>
	<li>Magento provides more custom features and options</li>
	<li>Magento comes with a technical support team and a large community of developers, while PrestaShop only provides a forum for support</li>
	<li>PrestaShop is much smaller than Magento</li>
	<li>Search capabilities are more important to PrestaShop than Magento</li>
	<li>Magento provides more themes for the user than PrestaShop does</li>
	<li>Magento gives the user SEO features not found with any other eCommerce solution</li>
	<li>Both Magento and PrestaShop provide a robust system with a web 2.0 feel</li>
</ul>
<b>The Overall Picture</b>

After looking at a comparison of some of the major offerings of PrestaShop and Magento, it's easy to see they cater to different types of online stores. PrestaShop isn't as popular as Magento, but it has become more popular over the past few years. It's newer to the market compared to Magento and many experts believe PrestaShop will become a major competitor in the next couple of years.

<b>Who should Choose Magento?</b>

Magento is perfect for those looking for full control over the customization of their online store. Larger businesses or those planning to grow quickly will find the features of Magento a better fit than PrestaShop.

<b>Who should Choose PrestaShop?</b>

Smaller businesses or those not looking to grow quickly will find the user-friendly option of PrestaShop to fit perfectly with their needs. This system makes it easy to keep cost down and you won't need to invest as much time into setting everything up.

<b>Where to Start?</b>

Regardless of which you choose between Magento vs. PrestaShop, you need to start with the right hosting. If you know PrestaShop is the choice, you need hosting that fits the requirements. Magento fits with just about any type of hosting, but you still want to get the best in the business. The best hosting for Magento and PrestaShop is found at ITX Design.