Prestashop has been a welcome revelation over the traditional open source ecommerce development platforms. Designed specifically to cater to the requirements of SMBs, it offers a staggering 300 plus features, which are good enough to create a robust ecommerce store. Initially released in 2008, Prestashop 1.7 is the latest stable version launched in November 2016. It further expanded to 1.7.x branch, Prestashop 1.7.1.1, to be precise in April 2017. Here is an insight into the multifarious features of Prestashop 1.7, which make it to stand out from the previous versions.
Comparison
As compared to older version, the latest edition of Prestashop comprises a whole lot of changes for example:
- Lighter and cleaner core
- Enhanced password security
- Improved product configuration
What’s new?
Prestashop’s new baby could well be called as the version especially created for theme designers, as it makes their task more interesting. Let’s have a look on some prominent ones:
1. Product page: Now you could add products to your website catalogue in a fresh way. Moreover, 1.7 offers automatic management, quick actions, multiple shortcuts, and even more appealing interface.
2. Modules Page: It is now easier to manage modules with the help of refurbished module page. The newly introduced tab facility makes it easier to view installed modules, modify them, and discover new modules.
3. Back Office Navigation: Prestashop 1.7 makes it easier to browse the website, thanks to the refreshed back office with enhanced UI/UX. The menu has been organized into 3 big sections – Sell, Improve and Configure.
Themes
The new version aims at helping designers to create appealing themes at only half the time as compared to Prestashop 1.6. Designer with even basic knowhow of CSS and HTML can work on it easily.
- The new default theme: The new free template, named “Classic” infuses a renewed look to your online store, with Bootstrap 4 framework and makes selling easier. For accentuated shopping experience, the visually light and neutral theme features improved product sheet and better checkout process.
- Parent/Child themes: It leverages Parent/Child inheritance feature to modify a template without disturbing the source file
- Starter theme: It saves considerable time in implementing new design since it is free from any custom style or markups.
Sympfony Framework
Last but not the least; the latest version has introduced a robust framework called as “Symfony” in the selected sections of the software. It improves the Prestashop functionalities exceptionally and enables the design team to emphasize on ecommerce specifics.