Promote your sales at your website with the help of prestashop themes

Ecommerce is an amazing field in our technology today. The market place in the internet has been taking place effervescently and effectively. Depend on the Internet, the owners can introduce and sale their products easily beyond any time and distant.

Certainly, the shop owners must have their web in a best way to make sure all the transaction success. Making an online professional website is a great solution gave out.

To help them promote the process purchase – sale, many experts in web designers create themes and templates to make the site more wonderful. It’s important for owner to decorate and make the website friendly to customers. Therefore, choosing a theme for their web is very important. By setting up theme for webs, with the help of Prestashop themes, owners can provide the great and attractive design on their website. That brings the customer the great experiences in shopping.
Depend on the help of PHP programming and coding, theme was made. The themes can produce an effect that is more attractive as the new products are added when they are altered and the more items inside can be added late on.

In addition, the owner can show their product in slides and cascading forms. The products can be zoomed and these themes can be installed in any web browser. The customer can be easy to learn the front office and back office functionalities in these themes. More than 120,000 active stores are using Prestashop to expand their online business around the world. Most of them find it easy to download and install. Also, one of the best advantages they got is that the themes can accommodate a large variety of products and subcategories of products. For customer, these varieties of products are quite attractive as they get huge options to make their choices. The website owners can add their own features through downloading themes and incorporating small changes inside.

User can find the Shopping cart facilities, payment gateways of various types, photoshop, etc at portals. The customer can pick their products after looking at them from different angle. So, the experiences from shopping can be improved quickly. They will come back again and again your web. And certainly, the transactions will be done regularly and your sales will increase.

Now, what are you waiting? Hurry up to come and enjoy the great features inside Prestashop theme at:

http://www.prestalive.com

http://www.prestalive.com/5-prestashop-modules

http://www.prestalive.com/13-prestashop-themes-free

Slideric Pro – jQuery Nivo Slider Prestashop Module – Only 8 euros

This is a Slideric Pro module with small price. Slideric Pro module is the upgraded version of our old Slideric module. It has a lot of features than free version. It is totally remade when you compare with old one.

The Nivo Slider is world renowned as the most beautiful and easy to use slider on the market now it is on the Prestashop modules market. There literally is no better way to make your website look totally stunning. If you don’t believe us, check out the list of features below and you soon will. Without touching any code you can create multiple sliders that can be included anywhere and customized using the familiar Prestashop backoffice.The Slideric Pro makes displaying your gallery of images a beautiful experience, by using amazing transition effects ranging from slicing and sliding to fading and folding. There simply is no better way to showcase your amazing work than to make the presentation of it looks just as beautiful.

* 16 unique transition effects
* Simple clean & valid markup
* Loads of settings to tweak
* Built in directional and control navigation
* Packed version only weighs 12kb
* Supports linking images
* Keyboard Navigation
* HTML Captions
* 2 Slick Themes

* Create multiple sliders from the Prestashop backend
* Multilanguage images, titles, captions
* No coding required
* Animation chooser
* Theme chooser
and much more…

Nivo Slider has been tested in the following browsers:
* Internet Explorer v7+
* Firefox v3+
* Google Chrome v4
* Safari v4
* Opera v10.5

Get more information and Download Module

Source: Dev7studios

View the original article here

Saatmatik

Theme (www.saatmatik.com) modified from firsatsunum.com. Project finished in 6 days. Company sells swatches.

View the original article here

Get the “What’s New in PrestaShop 1.5″ Guide

What’s New in PrestaShop 1.5? Let’s just say – a lot! Read on to find out how to get your free guide.

PrestaShop has been working on version 1.5 for over a year now and it looks like they aren’t too far away from releasing a stable version. According to their website, as of today, they are 70% complete. You can download the the most current PrestaShop beta version here.

Here’s a screen shot of their progress:

For the last two years that I’ve been following PrestaShop, users have provided tons of great suggestions and feature requests that has led the PrestaShop team to sculpt version 1.5. It’s got a pretty high bar to jump, though, since many of the user’s requests conflict with each other.

Users want lots of features and a light footprint. They want high performance with low hosting requirements.

These things are tough to do since more features usually means a larger program that might have performance issues unless you are using a web host that has the resources to handle these new requirements. Of course, it will also depend heavily on how many products and customers your store has.

It’s a bit early to say if PrestaShop succeeded with balancing feature requests and program performance, but I’ll let you know my opinions as I get to spend more time with it over the next year.

That brings us to the purpose of this article…

I’m happy to announce that we just completed an amazing guide covering most of the new features of PrestaShop 1.5. I don’t know that we have or could cover them all because PrestaShop changes regularly and it’s still in beta release. I think we did a great job of hitting the important stuff, though.

Adrian Nethercott, of Nethercott Constructions, is the author of the report and I think he did a fantastic job creating an easy-to-read summary of features that I’m sure you’ll want to know about.

The report wound up being a whopping 46 pages and contains 87 screen shots. We even got fancy and included a table of contents in case you didn’t want to read the whole report.

Now, not everyone can get the report. To find out how to get your copy click on the image below to watch a short video and find out how to get your copy.

Related posts:

What Would You Like for a Free PrestaShop Resource?Poll Results – What Do You Need the Most PrestaShop Training On?

View the original article here

IonCannon’s Express Checkout V1.0

- Provide a faster/easier checkout process for customers

- Increase conversions and decrease cart abandonment

- Minimize impact to Prestashop’s core functions

- It’s free to try, use, modify as you see fit for your store

- Adds an express/guest checkout feature to Prestashop 1.1 or 1.2+

- All steps are on one page except final payment.

- Billing AND shipping addresses are entered in beginning to reduce this confusion for customers

- Shipping address can be copied from Billing details

- Guest’s accounts are created but registered user features are hidden

- Guest’s can later activate their Express accounts if they choose

If you would like to make a small donation to this module, especially if you feel it has benefited your shop feel free to send via Paypal to sales@glasswaredreams.com. This module will remain freeware.

Download: ionexpress-v1.01-ps-1.2

Source

View the original article here

Comparing the PrestaShop PrestaBox Service with Self-Hosting PrestaShop with Your Own Web Host – Part 1

Editor’s Note:

This article was co-written by Karine Bernasse and Vincent Millet of StoreCommander, which is based in France.

This article is not an endorsement either of the methods mentioned below for getting your PrestaShop up and running. There are many ways of hosting a PrestaShop store and you should perform your due diligence to see which is going to work best for you.

Lastly, I do not recommend using PrestaBox for store owners based in the USA.  PrestaBox is based in Europe and I do not have confidence that it works as well in the USA as other readily available options.

This article has been carefully researched and is entirely based on information published by PrestaShop team members either on their public PrestaShop and PrestaBox websites, in FAQ’s, in general terms and conditions, in forums or blogs and is deemed accurate as at the date of publication.

The comparative table below was created by StoreCommander, web experts for the past 13 years and specialists in the PrestaShop open source solution since its launch. The rationale behind this article is to help PrestaShop merchants and forum members make informed decisions by providing them with practical answers to recurring questions on the subject.

Should you notice any potential inaccuracies, please contact the authors so that they may make any necessary amendments.

Would like to start an e-commerce store using PrestaShop?  Do you own one or more physical stores and you are thinking of opening an online store?  Do you have an online store with PrestaBox and you would like to host the store for yourself so you have more control?

If you are an established store or would-be e-commerce merchant in one of these situations, then here are a few pointers to guide you in your choices.

PrestaBox is a turnkey solution entirely based on the PrestaShop open source solution and targeted at novices with little or no IT knowledge.  It provides a merchant a fast track to opening their store.

Self-hosting PrestaShop on the other hand, is a choice that provides you a complete e-commerce solution requiring some technical knowledge.  Self-hosting PrestaShop allows the merchant to customize his or her store by selecting templates, adding modules, plug-ins and deciding which specific features they want to include.

Depending on the merchant’s objectives, both solutions have advantages and disadvantages.  In order to clarify matters, we created the following comparative table that we hope will give all established and would-be PrestaShoppers an overview of the main differences.  In this first article (Part 1), we shall take a look at the differences relating to domain names, web hosting, set up, customization, and technical aspects.

Click the Image to See a Larger Version

In a couple of weeks, Part 2 of this article will tackle the issues related to installing modules and themes, migrations and costs-related issues.  So, stay tuned!

As the designer and editor of the well-established and powerful back office application for PrestaShop, StoreCommander has specialized in PrestaShop solutions since they launched in 2008.

StoreCommander is a supplier of modules and tailored services for PrestaShop and has been providing web services for the past 13 years.

Click here to check out StoreCommander.

Related posts:

Best PrestaShop Webhost – Bluehost or Hostgator – Part 2Who is the Best PrestaShop Web Host?Best PrestaShop Webhost – Bluehost or Hostgator – Part 1

View the original article here

12 Tips to Optimise your php.ini File for PrestaShop

With the many varying PHP configurations on different hosts, it can be difficult to get all the features in PrestaShop working correctly.  Read on for 12 tips to optimise your php.ini file for PrestaShop.

PrestaShop requires an Apache 1.3 or IIS 6 or later server with at least PHP 5.1.0 and MySQL 5 installed and the GD Library enabled.  Most hosts’ servers meet these requirements, but check on your host’s website to make sure the package you purchase lists these as features.  When you run the PrestaShop Installer, it will check to make sure your server meets the requirements on the second step.  If your server meets all the requirements, then you should see the following in the “Required set-up” section:

If you see a red X instead of a green tick for any of the options, then you won’t be able to install PrestaShop.  If “Is PHP 5.1.0 or later installed?” or “Is MySQL support is on?” has a red X, then your host’s server isn’t capable of running PrestaShop.  If it’s “Is GD Library installed?” that has a red X, then you’ll need to ask your host to install the GD Library on your server.  If it’s “Can create new files and folders?” that has a red X, make sure your host account has permission to create new files and folders.  If it’s “Can upload files allowed?” that has a red X, then your server’s default PHP configuration will prevent you from installing PrestaShop.

Fortunately, most hosts let you override the default PHP configuration.  When a PHP file is executed, PHP will look for a php.ini file in the same directory as the file that is being executed.  If it finds one, it will read it and override the default PHP settings.  PrestaShop doesn’t automatically create these files for you, since many of the settings are optional, and some users may have other software like WordPress installed that requires different settings.

For this reason, you need to manually copy your php.ini file to three different places.  First, you must put a copy in the root directory, which is read whenever the Front Office is viewed.  Second, you must put a copy in the renamed admin directory, which is read whenever the Back Office is accessed.  Lastly, you must put a copy in the install directory, so that the installer reads the file, displays green ticks instead of red Xs, and lets you proceed with the installation.  What you enter in your php.ini file depends on which items have red Xs.

Tip 1: If the “Can upload files allowed?” item has a red X, you should search for and change the file_uploads setting in php.ini, or add it if it doesn’t exist:

; Allow files to be uploaded
file_uploads = On

If you’ve done this correctly, then the red X should change to a green tick and you will be able to continue with the installation.  That doesn’t necessarily mean that all of PrestaShop’s features will work.  There is another “Optional set-up” section with more configuration options that should be met for PrestaShop to run optimally.

The optional set-up section has many items that will improve the security and performance of PrestaShop:

Tip 2: The “Can open external URLs?” item checks whether PrestaShop can connect to external URLs to display the latest news and help information and automatically update currency rates.  If you have a red X for this item, you should search for and change the allow_url_fopen setting in php.ini, or add it if it doesn’t exist:

; Allow external URLs to be opened
allow_url_fopen = On

Tip 3: The “Is PHP register global option deactivated (recommended)?” item recommends that you disable the register global option in PHP to improve security.  The register global option automatically turns query strings in the URL into global variables.  If you forget to initialise a variable, it is possible for anyone to initialise it with whatever value they like just by adding a query string to the URL, which could be misused by hackers.  For that reason, if you have a red X for this item, you should search for and change the register_globals setting in php.ini, or add it if it doesn’t exist:

; Disable PHP register globals
register_globals = Off

Tip 4: The “Is GZIP compression activated (recommended)” item checks whether PrestaShop can extract GZIP files on your server, which is done when installing modules and localisation packs from the Back Office.  If this item has a red X, you should search for and change the zlib.output_compression setting in php.ini, or add it if it doesn’t exist:

; Enable GZIP compression at the default level
zlib.output_compression = On
zlib.output_compression_level = 6

The compression level can be set between 1 and 9, where 1 is the least compression and 9 is the most compression.  It is best to leave the compression level at 6, which provides the best compression without degrading server performance.

Tip 5: The “Is Mcrypt extension available (recommended)?” item checks whether PrestaShop can encrypt its cookies using Mcrypt, which is faster than the Blowfish that is used by default.  If this item has a red X, you should search for and change the following setting in php.ini, or add it if it doesn’t exist:

; Load mcrypt extension
extension=mcrypt.so

Tip 6: The “Is PHP magic quotes option deactivated (recommended)?” item recommends that you disable magic quotes, which automatically escapes all variables so that ‘, ” and \ are converted to \’, \” and \\.  Although automatically escaping strings may sound useful, it is better to disable it to manually escape strings instead, so that you can choose exactly which strings you want escaped.  If this item has a red X, you should search for and change the magic_quotes settings in php.ini, or add them if they don’t exist:

; Disable PHP magic quotes
magic_quotes_gpc = Off
magic_quotes_runtime = Off
magic_quotes_sybase = Off

Tip 7: The “Is Dom extension loaded?” item checks whether PrestaShop can use the PHP Dom extension to read XML files, which has more features than SimpleXML.  If this item has a red X, you should ask your host to install this extension on your server.

Tip 8: The “Is PDO MySQL extension loaded?” item checks whether PrestaShop can use the PDO MySQL extension, which provides a uniform API so that SQL code can continue to work even if the database type is changed.  If this item has a red X, you should search for and change the following settings in php.ini, or add them if they don’t exist:

; Load PDO MySQL extension
extension=pdo.so
extension=pdo_mysql.so

After following these tips, you should now have all items ticked in the installer and be able to use PrestaShop in its optimal configuration.

There are times when you may encounter an error because you’ve exceeded a PHP limit that is set on your server.  You can increase these limits in your php.ini file.

Tip 9: One common limit that is exceeded is the memory limit.  One case where you may encounter this limit is when you upload a full-resolution image and PHP is unable to load the entire image into memory.  In this case, you could manually reduce the size of the image before uploading it, or you could increase the memory limit by searching for and changing the memory_limit setting in php.ini, or add it if it doesn’t exist:

; Set memory limit in megabytes
memory_limit = 128M

If you are using shared hosting, which is common with inexpensive hosting packages, try to set the smallest limit you can that stops the memory limit error.  If you set the memory limit too high, it is possible for inefficient code to use up too much memory and cause performance issues for other users on your server.  In that case, your host may shut down your account until you reduce your memory usage.

If you find yourself needing a high memory limit, it may be better for you to upgrade to a virtual private server (VPS) or a dedicated server so that you don’t have to share the server’s RAM.  You can then increase the RAM as high as you like, as long as it doesn’t exceed the total RAM that is available in the server.

Tip 10: The other common limit that is exceeded is the maximum execution time.  One case where you may encounter this limit is when you import a large number of products.  Once the maximum execution time has elapsed, PHP will stop the script and display an error message.  You can increase the maximum execution time by searching for and changing the max_execution_time setting in php.ini, or add it if it doesn’t exist:

; Set maximum execution time in seconds
max_execution_time = 120

Like the memory limit, if you are using shared hosting, you should try to set the shortest time you can that stops the timeout error.  If you set the maximum execute time too high, it is possible for inefficient code to cause many PHP scripts to be running at the same time for an extended period, using up a lot of the server’s resources.  In that case, your host may shut down your account until you reduce the number of PHP scripts that are running.

If you find yourself needing a high maximum execution time, it may be better for you to upgrade to a VPS or a dedicated server so that you don’t have to share the server’s resources.

Tip 11: When uploading a large product image, you may also encounter the maximum file upload size limit.  In this case, you could manually reduce the size of the image, or you could increase the maximum file upload size by searching for and changing the upload_max_filesize setting in php.ini, or add it if it doesn’t exist:

; Set maximum file upload size in megabytes
upload_max_filesize = 32M

Set the value to the size of the largest product image or downloadable product you expect to upload through the Back Office.  That way, you will get an error message if you accidentally upload a product image that is too high resolution.  It is best to resize product images to the resolution they are displayed in the Fancybox before uploading to minimise the amount of disk space used on the server.  Downloadable products should also be compressed as ZIP files to reduce the amount of space used.

Tip 12: Two more limits that may be encountered are the maximum post size and maximum input time.  One case where you may encounter these limits is when you are saving a large number of module translations.  In this case, you will need to increase the maximum post size and maximum input time by searching for the post_max_size and max input time settings in php.ini, or adding them if they don’t exist:

; Set maximum post size in megabytes
post_max_size = 32M

; Set maximum input time in seconds
max_input_time = 180

If you are using shared hosting, you should try to set the smallest values you can that stop the error messages.  A value that is too high may use up too much disk space or other resources on the server, causing performance issues for other users on your server.

So there you go.  That’s 12 tips on how to get the php.ini file working for you instead of against you.  Please let us know what your experiences have been with php.ini files in the comments below.

If you enjoyed this article, you’ll be interested to know that we’ve created a video version of these tips as part of our premium training – PrestaShop 1.4 Tutorials.  This is just one of the many tutorials to help you get your PrestaShop store up and running the easy way.

Along with this tutorial, you’ll find over 36 other tutorials on the installation, setup, and configuration of a PrestaShop store.  Check out PrestaShop 1.4 tutorials.

Adrian Nethercott is a web developer with more than three years of experience working with PrestaShop. His website Nethercott Constructions has free PrestaShop guides and sells PrestaShop modules.

 

Related posts:

Create a .htaccess file in PrestaShopCreate a robots.txt File for PrestaShop

View the original article here

Msn and skype contact on header

This module will replace block permanentlinks.

Ok, make sure of make a copy of it. the images are in spanish language , of course you can change them.

THIS MODULE WILL REPLACE blockpermanentlinks ( FAV, CONTACT, SITEMAP )

Steps:

1) replace the blockpermanentlinks folder to yourshopname/modules/

2) open global.css, on line 747: put this

#header_links a { display: block; height: 50px; color: #000000; padding-top: 19px; text-align: right; text-decoration: none; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-position: top right; background-color: transparent}#header_links #header_link_sitemap a { background-image: url('../img/icon/chat.png') }#header_links #header_link_contact a { background-image: url('../img/icon/nada.png') }#header_links #header_link_bookmark a { background-image: url('../img/icon/skype5.png') }

3) copy the images in folder “icon” on yourshopname/themes/yourthemename/img/icon/

4) Getting your own links

Skype: just your ID

Msn: http://settings.messenger.live.com/applications/CreateHtml.aspx?wa=wsignin1.0

5) open yourshopname/modules/blockpermanentlinks/blockpermanentlinks-header.tpl with any text editor and change THE LINKS.

5) Done

Download link:
http://www.the-science-of-living.com/blockpermanentlinks.rar

Example at:
http://www.ejemplotienda1.tk/test/

View the original article here

Cached Categories – HUGE Speed Increase

This module can make page load quickly. It is a mod of the categories block renamed to “blockcategoriescache”. It should be completely independent (renamed files, changed module name, module variable names, etc) so you can just upload and test. You have to update the cache manually every time you change/update your category list

To clock the page generation time to see if there is an increase, add 2 lines in index.php. Change it from this:

assign('HOOK_HOME', Module::hookExec('home'));$smarty->display(_PS_THEME_DIR_.'index.tpl');include(dirname(__FILE__).'/footer.php');?>

to

assign('HOOK_HOME', Module::hookExec('home'));$smarty->display(_PS_THEME_DIR_.'index.tpl');include(dirname(__FILE__).'/footer.php');echo(round(microtime(true) - $dwTimeStart, 3) . "s");?>

Whenever you load the main page, it will display the seconds it took to generate the page on the bottom.

Installation Instructions:

1.) OPTIONAL – Change the index page as indicated above so you can see performance impact.
2.) OPTIONAL – Load main page 3 times and average page generation times
3.) Download attachment, extract
4.) Upload “blockcategoriescache” to http://www.YOUR-SITE.com/modules/blockcategoriescache
5.) On modules list in prestashop backoffice, uninstall “Categories block” and install “Categories block (Cache)”
6.) Update cache – goto http://www.YOUR-SITE.com/?debug=cat (You will need to do this each time you update categories)
7.) Load page and see speed increase
8.) OPTIONAL – Load main page 3 times and average page generation times. Post old and new times on this thread.

[Download Source Code Here]

View the original article here

Where to Start to Become a PrestaShop Developer – Software Every Developer Needs

When learning how to become a PrestaShop developer, it can be difficult to know where to start.  This series of articles aims to provide you the information you need to start developing for PrestaShop.  In this first article, I will compare the different tools PrestaShop developers can use when programming.

There are three types of tools that a developer should use when doing PrestaShop programming.

The first is a text editor that supports code highlighting.  It is possible to program using a simple text editor like Notepad in Windows or TextEdit in OS X, and some experienced programmers may choose to do just that, but if you are less experienced or would like some help spotting syntax errors in your code, you should use an editor with code highlighting.

The second type of tool that a developer should have is a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) client, which is used to transfer files between a local computer and a remote server.

The third type of tool that a developer should use is Subversion (SVN), which keeps track of the changes made to files and lets you revert to an older version of a file if needed.  SVN is useful as a backup in case you make a big mistake like accidentally deleting a large portion of code and saving the file.

With SVN, you can simply open a previous version of the file and get back the code that was lost.  SVN is also an absolute must if you have multiple developers working on the same project, since it allows different developers to check out and work on the same file and then commit the changes for all the other developers to see.  SVN will automatically merge all the changes together so you don’t have to worry about conflicts.

The PrestaShop developers use SVN, and they’ve made it publicly readable, so anyone can access the latest version of PrestaShop, even before it’s been released.  Click here to access the latest PrestaShop code.  Of course, you can’t actually change any of the code here, even if you use an SVN client.  Only the PrestaShop team can do that.

There are many different implementations of these tools, and it can be hard to choose which to use.  Since different programmers may have different needs and preferences, I’m going to show you three different software packages that I consider good, better and the best.

Notepad++ is a simple text editor that has code highlighting and lets you open files in separate tabs.  The advantages of Notepad++ are that it is free and open source, and it is very small in size (the current v5.98 is only 5.36MB).  Click here to download Notepad++.

Filezilla is a cross-platform FTP client that supports both FTP and secure FTP (SFTP).  The advantages of Filezilla are that it is free and open source, and it is very small in size (the current v3.5.3 is only 4.30MB).  Click here to download Filezilla.

TortoiseSVN integrates with Windows Explorer to add SVN features.  It allows you to turn any folder into a SVN repository.  The advantages of TortoiseSVN are that it is free and it is very small in size (the current v1.7.4 is only 13MB).  Click here to download TortoiseSVN.

Using Notepad++, Filezilla and TortoiseSVN together provides all the tools you need.  The advantages are that they are all free and quick to download, and they take up very little space on the hard drive.  The disadvantage is that you must launch three separate applications to edit, upload and check in a file.  If you are looking for free software and don’t need an integrated package, this may be the way to go.

Eclipse is an integrated development environment (IDE) originally designed for writing and debugging Java programs, but it also comes in a version customised for PHP development.  Click here to download Eclipse for PHP Developers.

It features code highlighting like Notepad++ and a very flexible extension system.  Aptana is an extension for Eclipse that adds many features including FTP.  Click here to download Aptana.

Another important extension is Subclipse, which adds SVN support.  Click here to download Subclipse.

The advantage of using Eclipse is that it is free software that has many extensions that can do just about anything you want.  The disadvantages are that Eclipse is a big download (143MB excluding extensions at the time of writing), and since Eclipse relies on Java, it can run slowly at times.

If you are looking for an IDE and you are an advocate of open source software or can’t afford to pay for proprietary software, this may be the way to go.

I’ve tried to use free, open source software when programming, but I always end up back using Adobe Dreamweaver.  It has the code highlighting, FTP and SVN built into a single package without needing to install any extensions.  It also has a live preview mode and PHP documentation built in that I find invaluable, since the order of parameters in PHP can be inconsistent at times.

For example, sometimes I forget whether it’s the needle that comes first or the haystack in the strpos function.  Dreamweaver reminds me in a tool tip that the haystack comes first, so I don’t have to search the PHP documentation in my browser.  If you want the best tools available, then this may be the way to go.

Unfortunately, as with most proprietary software packages of its size, Dreamweaver is expensive.  At the time of writing, it costs US$399 for a single license for Dreamweaver CS5.5.  Upgrading from an earlier version of Dreamweaver is a couple of hundred dollars cheaper.  Alternatively, you can pay US$29 a month or US$228 a year for a subscription license.  Click here to try out or buy Dreamweaver.

Now you know the tools I use for PrestaShop development and some other free alternatives.  Please let us know your experiences with the software in this article in the comments below, or tell us about the tools that you use for PrestaShop development.

If you enjoyed this article, stay tuned for the next article “Languages to Know”, where you will learn more about the languages you need to know to become a PrestaShop developer.

This is just one of the many tutorials to help you get your PrestaShop store up and running the easy way.  Along with this tutorial, you’ll find over 36 other tutorials on the installation, setup, and configuration of a PrestaShop store.  Check out PrestaShop 1.4 tutorials.

Adrian Nethercott is a web developer with more than three years of experience working with PrestaShop. His website Nethercott Constructions has free PrestaShop guides and sells PrestaShop modules.

 

No related posts.

View the original article here

Scroll to Top and Accordion slider Prestashop modules

We would like to announce release of our new modules which will be useful in your store. By these modules you will make your site easily to survey by customers. Modules tested on Prestashop 1.4+.

Below we are presenting you the best and the most beautiful and fully functional jQuery modules which will certainly increase your website`s pageviews!

To view this post content please Like it on Facebook!

Scroll to top module will add a button that hovers in the bottom right corner of your screen that allow users to smoothly scroll up.

Demo | Download

The module allows you to upload images from your computer, which will then be used to generate a jQuery Accordion of the images. Each image can also be given a title and a URL.

Demo | Download

If you use one of our modules, please feel free to share your site with our followers.

View the original article here

Croll Custom CSS

Why you need this module? Because it can make your page size small and speed up page load.

Module lets you include CSS files on each page according to different params:

. The name of the php file
. The value of variables

For example i can include beautiful.css on all pages, product_special.css only for products which id 3 and 4, content_magnifier.css to sitemap.php, my_custom_page.php and CMS page with id 3. Etc.

Here the process in images:

Choose CSS file

Edit “hooks”:

List:

At this time, there is no interface for CSS upload. You need to put them in the “css” folder of the module.

Only tested with Prestashop 1.3. Let me now if it doesn’t work with previous versions.
This module is in beta version and licensed under GPLv2.

You can download it here.

Original post on the french forum.

View the original article here

Firsatsunum

Firsatsunum (www.firsatsunum.com) is the Turkish base company that sells watches. Theme integrated from old version to the latest Prestashop 1.4+.

View the original article here

Free Prestashop Themes 1.4

In the beginning of 2011, we published post about free themes for Prestashop 1.3 version and Christmas themes.  But this time we will sort some 1.4 themes which we liked.

To view this post content please Like it on Facebook!

Demo – Download Prestashop theme

View the original article here

Comparing the PrestaShop PrestaBox Service with Self-Hosting PrestaShop with Your Own Web Host – Part 2

Editor’s Note:

This article was co-written by Karine Bernasse and Vincent Millet of StoreCommander, which is based in France.

This article is not an endorsement either of the methods mentioned below for getting your PrestaShop up and running. There are many ways of hosting a PrestaShop store and you should perform your due diligence to see which is going to work best for you.

Lastly, I do not recommend using PrestaBox for store owners based in the USA. PrestaBox is based in Europe and I do not have confidence that it works as well in the USA as other readily available options.

A couple of weeks ago we started discussing the advantages and drawbacks of creating a Prestabox versus a self-hosted Prestashop e-commerce store depending on what your project entails.  I personally asked myself all those questions since I now own a Prestashop store and I would have loved to have this comparative table then!

A number of items have to be carefully reviewed in order to make an informed decision and we went over domain names, web hosting, set up, customization, and technical aspects in Part 1.

In this second part, let’s review other major aspects relating to purchasing and installing modules, migration-related issues, not forgetting costs considerations with both Prestabox and self-hosted Prestashop solutions.

Click the Image to See a Larger Version

Click the Image to See a Larger Version

To sum up, if you are an IT novice who can’t be bothered getting your head around PHP code and doesn’t want to pay a web agency or other professional service provider to do the job, then PrestaBox is an all-in-one package that will get your e-store online quickly and easily.

However, you need to be aware that it does have considerable limitations and the support, according to numerous testimonials on the PrestaShop forum, is somewhat less than responsive.

If your e-commerce project has been well prepared and researched, and if you prefer to retain control over the e-store’s development, then a self-hosted PrestaShop solution would seem a more logical choice. With self-hosting, you benefit from the support of a larger community of users, a wider choice of themes and modules etc and the ability to make your store evolve the way YOU want it when you want it.

As the designer and editor of the well-established and powerful back office application for PrestaShop, StoreCommander has specialized in PrestaShop solutions since they launched in 2008.

StoreCommander is a supplier of modules and tailored services for PrestaShop and has been providing web services for the past 13 years.

Click here to check out StoreCommander.

Related posts:

Comparing the PrestaShop PrestaBox Service with Self-Hosting PrestaShop with Your Own Web Host – Part 1Best PrestaShop Webhost – Bluehost or Hostgator – Part 2Who is the Best PrestaShop Web Host?

View the original article here

Shopping gets easier with Prestashop v1.4

Shopping gets easier with Prestashop v1.4 and upper versions. Firstly, we want to thank all of our customers for their feedback and cooperation.

We updated almost all of our prestashop templates to Prestashop v1.4.6.2.  Up to now we have released 10 templates for Prestashop v1.4.x, 9 templates for v1.3.x, 2 free templates for 1.3.x, 3 free modules and custom templates. Taking into account high prices for Prestashop Templates on the web, we developed a right combination of more affordable high quality prestashop templates and agile customer support. Feel free to share the experiences you had with us in comments below including a link of your website.

Our prices start from 49€. We also make discounts for those who want to buy bundle of templates. Just drop us a line.

Here is the list of prestashop templates organised by categories but you can use any template for any type of product.

View the original article here

Shopperland Prestashop v1.4 Template

Shopperland is a 3 column, premium Prestashop 1.4+ template with a custom Nivo slider module, custom top category drop-down module and improved, jQuery powered catalog layout.Compatible with Prestashop 1.4.x.

Shopperland Prestashop Template

Built-in custom Nivo Slider module – the module is controlled by the admin area. Upload images, attach link and alt text to every image with 2 clicks.Bonus custom header category drop-down module – This theme comes with a custom module which allows the user to activate a drop-down category menu in header.jQuery improved catalog view – Product details in catalog view have a sliding info panel containing the product model, product price and product special price.jQuery scroll to top control – Animated scroll-to-top function added.Visually improved layout and higherarchy – Hover effects in category and catalog view, visually improved nested subcategory ul in left column moduleCompatible with Prestashop v.1.4+Compatible with all default prestashop modules3 column prestashop themeCompatible with all the latest web browsersValid HTMLMultilanguage is 100% compatibleInstallation Manual is included in zip file

View the original article here

E-commerce Prestashop theme

E-commerce Prestashop template is professional theme and based on PSD ecommerce. Theme has 3 columns and mainly red colors are used. Template can be used with all kind of stores. Theme is compatible with all the latest browsers.

Compatible with Prestashop v.1.4+Compatible with all default prestashop modules3 columns themeCompatible with all the latest web browsersOptional dynamic horizontal drop-down menu which can be editable from back officeMultilanguage is 100% compatibleInstallation Manual is included in zip file

View the original article here

Do You Want to Be a Content Creator for PrestaTraining.com?

Have you ever wanted to be a writer for a magazine or blog?  Do you like making video tutorials?  Are you a good interviewer?  Can you teach people how to accomplish complex tasks with ease?  Do you want to be associated with a top quality company?  If you said yes to any of these, we need to talk.

I’ve reached a point with PrestaTraining.com where I need some help.  I simply can’t do everything I want to do myself anymore.  So, I’m looking for some very talented people who are interested in creating content (articles, video tutorials, or podcasts) for one of the best PrestaShop blogs around.  Here’s the cool part…  I’m going to pay for each piece of content.  If that sounds interesting, read on to find out more.

Ok, so here’s the deal.  I’m currently looking for one, possibly two people who can create one to three pieces of high quality PrestaShop related content per month.  The actual quantity and type of content will depend on the complexity of the topic.  I fully intend to tackle subjects that will require time, effort, and research.

I do have specific content in mind that I want created, but I’m always open to exploring your ideas as well.  The only catch is that whatever we decide to create, it must benefit the readers of PrestaTraining.com immensely.  Only top notch work will be accepted.

I am looking for people with some, or all, of these qualities:

Significant real world experience with PrestaShop Having a live and profitable e-commerce site is ideal.  If you don’t have your own store but you are a PrestaShop ace, I definitely want to talk to you as well.Theme expertiseModule expertiseSuperb written and verbal English skillsMy blog is read by people from all over the world.  However, I’m based in the USA and most of my readers are based in the USA or other English speaking countries.The ability to convey complex concepts in a way that even a beginner can understandI pride myself and PrestaTraining.com on being able to break down the complexities of PrestaShop so that even the least experienced PrestaShop user can learn something.Detail oriented with a big picture mindsetWow, I’m not asking for the world, am I?  Details are important, especially for beginners.  Too often tutorials and training leave out key elements that are essential for students to totally understand the material.  It is crucial that you have both the mindset and patience for providing details.  At the same time, you must be able to step back from the trees and see the forest.

Here are some of the benefits of working with PrestaTraining.com:

Exposure to a growing group of PrestaShop enthusiastsAn opportunity to build your reputation as a PrestaShop expertThe ability to promote your website, blog, newsletter, Twitter, or Facebook accounts by including that information in the signature of your articleAn opportunity to share your talents with a worldwide market of people who want what you have – PrestaShop experience.You’ll be paid $100 for each acceptable piece of content.  Possibly, $150 if the content justifies that amount.

Even though this is a paid position, your primary motivation should be to provide incredible value to the PrestaShop community.

If this sounds like something you want to learn more about, please send me a quick e-mail indicating your interest at support(at)prestatraining(dot)com.  For those people who contact me, I’ll send additional information that will provide a more detailed explanation of what I’m looking for.

I’m excited to hear from you!

Sincerely,

Curt Donohue

Related posts:

PrestaTraining Survey UpdateShould I Create A Premium Membership for PrestaTraining?

View the original article here

Best PrestaShop Webhost – Bluehost or Hostgator – Part 1

Have you ever wondered who are the best shared web hosts for PrestaShop?  Well, you’re about to find out who, at least in my opinion, provide the best overall price, features, and reliability in the USA.

I’ve created a 3-part series of articles discussing the merits of my two favorite shared web hosts – Bluehost and Hostgator.  This first article (Part 1) will cover the essential information you should know about Bluehost from pricing to features to things that I don’t like.

Part 2 will cover the same details for Hostgator.

Part 3 will summarize the details of both hosts so you can get an idea of which host might be best for you.  Even though I recommend both of these hosts, there are several differences that could be important to you and that’s what we’ll discuss at length.

Before we get started, though, you should know that some of the links in this article are affiliate links, which means I get paid a commission if you sign up through either of these providers.  If you choose to do that, thank you in advance.  I use both hosts and give them my highest recommendation for shared hosts in the USA.

I’ve also heard of people using these hosts outside of the USA with good success.  However, I don’t have any direct experience with that.  If you use either of these providers outside of the USA, please leave a comment below.  I’d love to hear your experience – the good, the bad, and the ugly.

OK, let’s get on with the show…

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of web hosting companies available and making a choice on which one to trust with your business can be tricky. Your final choice should be based on a combination of reliability, trustworthiness, professionalism, the options you require, and value for money.  You also need to make sure that the company you select has technically competent staff who are trained to the highest level and have considerable experience in hosting and web security.

Most importantly, I firmly believe that you should only work with web hosts that offer 24/7/365 toll free phone support, which Bluehost does.  Rest assured that when you have a problem, and you will sooner or later, you’ll appreciate being able to speak to someone directly or use Live Chat if that is your preference.

Bearing all these factors in mind, it is best to select an established company that has a big customer base, as that indicates that the company is obviously able to provide a first-rate service.

Bluehost is a market-leading web hosting company that has been in business for 16 years. The company has ensured that it keeps its technology up-to-date, that it focuses on customer satisfaction, and that it delivers optimum performance at budget prices.

Bluehost’s approach to technology is what makes it stand out from many other hosting companies. It has its own dedicated data center, builds all its own web servers, and has its own nationwide fiber-optic network. This means that the company has complete control over every aspect of its hosting and it does not outsource any of its operations, including its customer support division.

Unlike most hosting companies, which offer both Linux and Windows hosting, Bluehost provides Linux hosting only, using Apache servers, thus making sure that in-house expertise is concentrated on a single set of skills.

Bluehost simplifies your hosting choices by providing just two hosting packages – Standard and Pro.  Let’s take a look at the Standard package first.

The Standard package starts at just $6.95 per month, based on a 1-year contract. This includes free registration of your domain name for one year as well as unlimited disk space and unlimited bandwidth.  You can get the costs down to $5.95/month by signing up for a two or three year package.  I purchased the three year package when I originally signed up.

A word of warning – while you may be seduced by low initial cost and ease of registering your domain name with Bluehost, don’t do it.  You should never register your domain name with the same company who provides your hosting.  You can learn more about this in the Domain Registration section of the Resources tab.

Many hosting companies place limits on space and bandwidth and charge additional fees if the limits are exceeded, making it difficult for you to really know what your costs will be.  For applications like PrestaShop, the unlimited bandwidth that Bluehost offers may prove particularly significant. Bandwidth is a measure of the amount of data transferred, and that amount can be very high where lots of customers are browsing through lots of product photographs.

The Standard package also includes unlimited email accounts and you can host unlimited domains, add-on domains, sub domains and parked domains. Other companies place restrictions on these features.  Once again, even though you can register your domain(s) here, don’t do that.  Register them elsewhere to keep your business risks diversified.

Bluehost’s Standard web hosting package is probably adequate for the majority of PrestaShop owners. This is the package that I use.

However, if you expect to generate very high volumes of traffic and consequently high volumes of data transfer, you might want to consider upgrading to the Bluehost Pro package.

The Pro package includes all the features of the Standard package but allocates more CPU, memory, and server resources to your site and the applications running on it, like PrestaShop. This gives you more speed, power, and performance.

The Pro package also includes:

Free Site Backup ProA free dedicated IP addressA free SSL CertificateFree domain name for lifeFree domain privacy10 free Postini anti-spam email accounts

Postini is an industry-leading application that helps filter unsolicited junk mail and prevent possible threats like viruses and malware from damaging your server.

The Pro Package run $19.95/month ($24.95/month renewal).  If you purchase the Pro Package as a new account, it is currently available for a 1 year term and the total cost would be $239.40 per year.

If you decide to check out the Pro package further, you will find very little information available on the Bluehost website about it.  There is just a small amount of information when you sign up and that’s it.

Because of that I called the Bluehost sales department and asked for additional information.  You can download a detailed e-mail I received describing the Bluehost Standard and Pro packages here.

Bluehost makes managing your web assets a snap because they use the cPanel management suite of programs. CPanel is a comprehensive and versatile set of tools for carrying out all the tasks involved in managing your site. Because it is so versatile yet simple to use, cPanel has established itself as the most popular site management program package.

You can manage your site from any location by simply logging into your cPanel (cPanel stands for control panel) with your unique user ID and password. After successfully logging in you will be presented with cPanel’s home page, which is divided into various sections. From here you can access a whole range of site management tools.

You can use cPanel to view your website traffic statistics and see a list of your latest visitors. Cpanel gives you the option to use Webalizer or Awstats or both as your statistics gatherer. Both these statistics programs provide you with a complete breakdown of your website’s traffic, offering valuable information that will help you target your site marketing efforts.

If your website is not functioning as expected, then cPanel gives you access to the site error logs, which will help you to determine what is causing any unusual errors or problems.

CPanel is also the primary resource for setting up and managing the email accounts associated with your site. CPanel’s email options allow to you to set up mailing lists and auto responders as well as anti-spam and forwarding options. CPanel comes complete with 3 different webmail programs that allow you to send and receive your site’s mail from any location.

You can use cPanel to manage all aspects of your domain and to create add-on domains and sub domains. CPanel can also be used to build and manage MySql and Postgres databases and you can edit or delete files directly on your website using cPanel’s File Manager. The package has many other options for expert users including site security options and setting up and running cron jobs.

One of the most popular cPanel features is the ability to install a selection of packages such as PrestaShop with just a single mouse click. Bluehost offers more than 50 packages and scripts that can be installed so simply.

The level and efficiency of the support provided by the web host will be a major consideration for most PrestaShop owners and is particularly important for first timers.

Bluehost has 24/7/365 support available via toll-free telephone (with an average hold time of less than 30 seconds) or via online live chat. The majority of support issues are resolved in a single contact session.

To close this article out, I want to reiterate that Bluehost is a hosting service that I have personal experience with and I can confidently recommend the company.  For me, Bluehost has provided fantastic and speedy customer support on the few occasions I’ve needed it.

Does that mean they were able to solve every issue I had, no it doesn’t.  But, that was usually because I was asking them to do something that they did not do.  On the other hand, they’ve gone out of their way on more than one occasion to help with things that really weren’t part of their job description.

Keep in mind that there is no perfect web host.  If there was, we probably couldn’t afford them anyway.  Bluehost, however, is one of the best I’ve tried.  Try them out and if you’re not happy, you can always get a refund.

Click here to sign up for a Bluehost account.

Keep an eye out for the next installment of our head to head reviews of Bluehost and Hostgator.  The next article, Part 2, will cover Hostgator in detail.  See you then.

No related posts.

View the original article here

Add Google Maps to contact page

To add or embed Google Maps to your PrestaShop contact page, only one file needs to be edited and uploaded to your theme folder.

Add Google Maps to your site’s contact page will provide convenience to your potential customers. Also, putting a map and physical address will give more confidence to those who are considering to buy merchandise from you.

Click here to download the zipped contact-form.tpl file.Unzip the contact-form.tpl file to any location on your computer.Open the contact-form.tpl file with any text editor.Get your API key from Google — Go to http://code.google.com/apis/maps/signup.html, enter your domain and get the key (it’s a long line of seemingly random characters).Copy and paste the key to contact-form.tpl — replace the text YOUR_API_KEY_HERE with your key (line 8).Get the exact latitude/longitude of your business location at http://www.gorissen.info/Pierre/maps/googleMapLocation.php — Scroll and zoom in as close as possible to get the accurate position.Replace the (latitude,longitude) data (two locations — line 48 and 52).Change the business name/details (line 34).Save the file and upload to your theme folder:  \themes\YOUR_THEME\contact-form.tpl — It’s recommended that you download and backup a copy first before overwriting.That’s it. Open your PrestaShop site’s contact page in any browser and see the result.

CAUTION:
When you paste the Latitude and Longitude data, make sure you follow the order (Latitude, Longitude).

IMPORTANT NOTE:
The file above is for PrestaShop 1.3 and PrestaShop 1.3.1. If you have any other older or newer version of PrestaShop, you can download the file, then copy the lines of code between and , then paste to your own contact-form.tpl file at about the same location.

Browser compatibility: Tested with Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera, Safari, IE6, IE7 and IE8.

Original Post

View the original article here

Best PrestaShop Webhost – Bluehost or Hostgator – Part 2

Welcome to Part 2 of our 3-part series on who is the best PrestaShop shared web host – Bluehost or Hostgator?

In the previous article, Best PrestaShop Webhost – Bluehost or Hostgator – Part 1, we discussed the merits of Bluehost.  In this article, we’ll talk about Hostgator, which is another great shared web host that is extremely PrestaShop friendly.

As a PrestaShop store owner, one of the biggest decisions you can make is who you should host your store with.

A good decision means you should have good performance and excellent customer service.  A bad decision means you may not have either.  Read on to learn how to make a good decision.

Before we get started, though, I want you to be aware that some of the links in this article are affiliate links, which means I get paid a commission if you sign up these services after you click through any of the affiliate links. 

It won’t cost you any more or less and if you choose to do that.  So, if you feel that this content was useful and you sign up for one of these hosts by using a link in this article, thank you in advance. 

I use both hosts and give them my highest recommendation for shared hosts in the USA.

Hostgator has been in the hosting business for more than 9 years and they provide fast, efficient, economical, and professional service with hosting packages to suit very diverse requirements.

Hostgator is one of the top hosting companies in the world with more than 7 million domains currently hosted and a staff of more than 750 employees.

It has established itself as a leading hosting company by its attention to detail, the features it offers, the competitive pricing on its packages, and its first class support, which is something that any PrestaShop store owner should care about.

One of the biggest differences between Hostgator and Bluehost is that Hostgator offers more hosting options.  You can choose from three levels of shared web hosting, virtual private servers (VPS), or even dedicated servers.

This article is going to primarily cover the three shared hosting plans.  We’ll have to talk about VPS and dedicated servers another day since that is a huge topic.

Let’s first talk about some of the general features of a Hostgator web hosting account.

You’ll find that each of the Hostgator web hosting plans include some basic features.

These features start with unlimited disk space, bandwidth, and email accounts.

Unlimited disk space and bandwidth is pretty helpful considering some hosts still charge for how much you have stored on your web server and your bandwidth usage.

It’s also great to have unlimited e-mail accounts because you might need to setup multiple e-mail addresses for your store.

For instance, you might need a support@yourdomain.com, info@yourdomain.com, help@yourdomain.com, etc.  Instead of paying for each e-mail address individually, you can have as many as you want for free.

In my experience, I have a couple e-mail accounts that are separate from my web hosting accounts and I pay about $10/month for that service.  To set those e-mail accounts up, I also had to pay an initial fee of $25.

Now, I’m not saying you shouldn’t set up e-mail accounts outside of your web hosting.  In fact, many people would say this is a smart thing to do since it diversifies your risk if you get into a dispute with your web host and they shut your account down.

If your web hosts shuts you out of your account and you have your e-mail account set up through another provider, at least you’ll still have working e-mail accounts.  I can tell you that losing access to my e-mail would be a huge problem for my business.

That’s why I do have some e-mails outside of my web host.  You should strongly consider this too.

All hosting plans also come with Sitestudio and Sitebuilder website building tools at no charge and 4,500 free website templates, which could be great resources for any PrestaShop user who is creating a new website or sprucing up an old one.

While the Sitestudio and Sitebuilder options are nice, my personal preference would be to create blog/website with WordPress and link the blog/website to my PrestaShop store.  In my opinion, there is no better content management system than WordPress.

For those with existing websites that they want transferred to Hostgator, all plans also offer free services for domain transfer, website transfer, script transfer, and MySQL transfer so users don’t have to redo all the PrestaShop settings from scratch.

One of the most user-friendly components that all Hostgator web host plans feature is the intuitive cPanel Control Panel.

cPanel, which is short for control panel, is the back-end administrator for the Hostgator shared plans.  cPanel is a versatile and easy to use package of tools for handling all the background tasks you will use to get the most from your site.

cPanel is quite possibly the most popular control panel software and its popularity is due to its simple but powerful interface.

In cPanel, you can set up and manage your email accounts.  There you’ll be able to set up forwarding options, auto responders, mailing lists, and anti-spam options.  You can also access your mail from anywhere using cPanel’s web-mail programs.

If you want to set up and use MySQL databases, cPanel provides all the necessary tools.

You can also edit files directly on your site using cPanel’s File Manager and carry out security related tasks.

cPanel on Hostgator includes QuickInstall, which is a wonderful tool to make installation of packages such as Prestashop a piece of cake.  In fact, there are more than 75 software packages that can be installed with one click including Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, and Wiki Hosting, just to name a few.

I can personally attest that the Quick Install feature is one of the most useful things that hosts like Hostgator offers.  It will make your life so much easier when it comes to installing programs that can otherwise be quite difficult, or nearly impossible, to install.

After your initial registration with Hostgator, you’ll also receive $100 worth of Google Adsense credit, which is a great little perk for anyone interested in trying out Adsense.

Several additional benefits come with each web hosting plan, so let’s take a more detailed look at Hostgator’s three shared server plans.

The entry-level plan is the Hatchling plan, which provides hosting for a single domain and is available for as little as $3.96 per month based on a 3-year commitment.

If a 3-year plan is more than you want to bite off, you can pay month-to-month for as little as $7.16/month.

All of the Hostgator web hosting plans provide you with unlimited disk space, bandwidth, and e-mail accounts.

The Hatchling plan also provides access to a shared SSL certificate, which is OK but, there are better options.

If your going to take e-commerce seriously, you really need a dedicated IP address and a private SSL certificate.

You can get these features by signing up for the Business Plan.

Just as I warned you in Part 1 of this 3-part series, I’ll warn you again.  While you can get a good deal on registering your domain name through Hostgator, just like you can with BlueHost, I would not recommend doing that.

You should always register your domain name separately from your web host just in case you get shut out of your web hosting account.  That way, you can take a copy of your website, which you should have store somewhere other than your web host, and create a new hosting account with another provider.

Instead of losing your website for some indeterminate amount of time, you will only be down for the amount of time it takes you to set up another hosting account and move your site to that account.  That might take a day or two.

The next level is the Baby plan, which should be adequate for most small to medium-sized businesses.  This is the plan that I currently use and I highly recommend it.

However, I’m considering moving up to the Business Plan sometime soon because of the private (dedicated) IP address and SSL certificate.

The Baby plan starts at $6.36 per month based on a 3-year contract.  If you want a month-to-month option, you’ll pay $7.96/month.

With the Baby plan, you’ll get everything the Hatchling plan provides, plus the following upgrades:

unlimited domainsunlimited addon domains and parked domains

The top-end Hostgator shared hosting package is the Business plan.  This plan includes everything in the Baby Plan plus the following upgrades:

Your own free toll-free (US) numberDedicated IP addressPrivate SSL certificate

If you’re really serious about your e-commerce business providing a high level of security for you and your customers, you need the dedicated IP address and private SSL certificate.

You can promote your private SSL certificate as an added benefit to your customers so they know they are working with a store that is serious about their security.

The Business plan pricing starts at $10.36 per month based on a 3-year contract.  If you want a month-to-month option, you’ll pay $11.96/month.

The Hostgator interface is very intuitive and simple to understand, and most people will have little difficulty managing the basics. The company’s own website provides hundreds of articles to help you understand the ins and outs of website ownership.  If you do need more support, though, Hostgator offers a whole range of online resources.

The company has a comprehensive, searchable database of common questions and problems along with their solutions. It provides more than 500 video tutorials giving step-by-step instructions on how to carry out various tasks. The company hosts a range of forums dedicated to various topics where peer support is available.

If you cannot find a solution or an answer for your particular problem, there is toll-free telephone support or online live chat available 24 hours a day every day of the year and in both cases the response is very fast.

Hostgator is an excellent hosting provider that I highly recommend.  I’ve had great success with their shared hosting services.

I don’t want you to think that Hostgator is perfect.  They are not.  In my opinion, they are vastly better than most of the web hosts out there.

I do have one complaint with Hostgator.  On occasion, I have run into a rather impatient technical service representative.  This seems to happen more with Hostgator than it does with Bluehost.

When that does happen, I typically will find a way to get off the call and just call back and speak with a different representative.  Most of the time, I get a representative that is more patient.  If I don’t, I call back until I do get someone I’m comfortable talking with.

On my last call with Hostgator, the technical support representative was very impatient.  He was also typing furiously in the background we where talking about my issue.

I’m not sure if he was trying to also answer e-mail support questions while he was trying to answer my question.  Whatever he was doing, it was very distracting and unhelpful to solving my issue.

I did manage to get the answer I needed, but it was a uncomfortable call for me and my client who was listening to the call.

Alright, that’s it for our detailed Hostgator evaluation.  In the next article, we’ll take a comparative look at Bluehost versus Hostgator and try to determine which one would best suit your web hosting needs.

If you’d like some additional resources regarding domain names and web hosting, check out the PrestaTraining Resources section.

You can also go directly to the web hosts reviewed in this article by clicking on the links below:

See you in the next article.

Related posts:

Best PrestaShop Webhost – Bluehost or Hostgator – Part 1

View the original article here