Our mission is to simplify app development for all. Creating an app should be an easier journey when you have already done all the hard work that goes into planning, developing, and launching a website.
In our CMS-to-app blog series, we have covered a range of platforms popular for developing websites and e-commerce stores. These guides are to help site owners build apps for their businesses that perfectly complement their sites.
As evident, today we are discussing PrestaShop app development. So, stay tuned and learn how you can create an app for your PrestaShop store. Build feature-rich apps using simple and affordable technologies and grow your business with a mobile-first approach.
Suggested Read: How to convert your Drupal website into an app?
In this blog
- PrestaShop: A popular e-commerce store builder
- How to create an app for your PrestaShop store?
- AppMySite: The best solution for no-code PrestaShop app development
- Frequently asked questions
PrestaShop: A popular e-commerce store builder
There are several content management and website builder solutions available online. However, some of them stand out as holistic platforms especially dedicated to e-commerce development. PrestaShop is one of them.
PrestaShop was originally named phpOpenStore and started as a student project within the EPITECH IT School in Paris, France in the year 2005. PrestaShop SA, the company, was officially launched in 2007 by Igor Schlumberger and Bruno Lévêque.
Today, PrestaShop has become a reliable and powerful open-source-commerce solution designed to help businesses build and manage online stores. It is known for its flexibility and scalability and offers more than three hundred built-in customizable features.
Around 1 percent of websites with known CMS and 0.7 percent of all websites use PrestaShop. As per BuiltWith Trends, 668,130 websites are currently powered by PrestaShop.
PrestaShop offers numerous themes and modules that make it easy to set up full-fledged e-commerce stores of all kinds. From domain and hosting to shipping and payments, it is easy to curate the end-to-end shopping experience for your customers.
However, as of now, PrestaShop does not offer an official app builder of its own. Thus, you can go with third-party tools and platforms to build an e-commerce app for your online store. Continue reading and discover the best strategies for developing your app.
How to create an app for your PrestaShop store?
Most PrestaShop users prioritize simplicity and ease. It allows developers as well as non-technical users to cut through the clutter and build a website in a straightforward environment. Thus, your app development experience should be no different.
Go through the points below and learn how you can build a PrestaShop app for your store in a streamlined and easy manner:
Start with studying the market and competitors
Having a website gives businesses a head start as they already have a clear idea of their targeted customers, potential markets, and worthy competitors. However, this does not mean that you should start developing your app without proper research and planning.
Mobile apps are a new avenue, and you must treat them as a separate and significant entity. You can conduct market research to understand how launching an app will affect your business dynamics and how you should prepare yourself for that.
Who is the targeted audience? What is the purpose behind launching the app? Who are your competitors? What can you learn from them? What customer issues will your app solve? How will your website and app bolster each other? What should be your preferred method of development? How much time and money are you prepared to invest? How will you monetize the app?
Find answers to questions like these and list down clear achievable goals. Collect actionable data and sign up for a reliable platform for developing your app. Prepare your teams accordingly and move ahead with well-informed and researched strategies.
Design and develop your PrestaShop mobile app
The advantage of in-depth research is that it paves the way for a streamlined app development journey and saves you time and resources. We recommend going with a free no-code app maker as it is a cost-effective, fast, and easy way to build apps for your website.
Else, you can code your own app if you are an expert or hire in-house teams or agencies. Based on your choice, you can start designing your app. To establish a framework, you can build wireframes or prototypes. It is the best method to create a visual outline of your app. It will allow you to share your app ideas across teams and get feedback on them.
Design your mobile app and develop the front-end and back-end. The complexity of this process will again depend on your development method and platform. Create engaging and attractive UI/UX designs and build a feature-rich and responsive mobile app.
Make sure that your app has all the e-commerce functionalities present on your website and further advances and enhances the process for your app-based customers. Develop apps for both Android and iOS or go with PWAs (Progressive Web Apps) if you want a more flexible option.
Test your app and submit on the app stores
Once your app is fully developed, proceed to test it. Do not undermine the process of mobile app testing as it is a critical and vital step in any app development journey. Analyze every aspect of your app with a zoomed-in approach and make sure that it looks and performs well.
For instance, you can test the design, buttons, screen layouts, transitions, user interface, navigation, menus, and so on. Check every feature in detail across different environments and cases. You can use professional testing tools and platforms for thorough scrutiny of your app.
Other than the visuals and features, also focus on the speed, performance, and security of your app. Make sure that it is error and bug-free and offers a smooth browsing experience to users. You can also onboard a focus group of beta testers or real-world end users to give preliminary feedback on your app.
Collect and analyze all the reviews and implement them to finetune your application. When satisfied, you can give it a final preview and then proceed to deploy and distribute your app on the top app stores. Optimize your listing for maximum visibility and continually improve and update your app to offer a smooth and rich user experience in the long run.
AppMySite: The best solution for no-code PrestaShop app development
The no-code and low-code market is on the rise like never before. Businesses are replacing highly complex and technical infrastructures with easy and agile software solutions for automating and simplifying their business processes and other goals.
AppMySite is one such no-code solution that has disrupted the app development landscape. It offers several no-code solutions, including a web to app converter, that makes it super easy for businesses to turn their websites into apps without any coding.
Here’s how you can build an app with AppMySite in only a few steps:
- Start with signing up for AppMySite and creating an account. Fill in the information as instructed, select the “Web to App” product to turn your site into an app, and hit ‘Create’ to launch your personalized dashboard.
- Start with designing your app icon and screens. Either use the built-in design editor to create your designs from scratch or upload your own artwork that aligns with your brand guidelines.
- Next, go to the ‘Connectivity’ section and connect your website and app. Sync your e-commerce store with the app to auto-populate all the data including products, descriptions, and more.
- Additionally, you can add different types of menus and define your app’s navigation. Configure other settings as desired and add features like push notifications, chat, monetization, and more.
- Review your app under the ‘Preview’ section using the Android and iOS emulators. You can also test your app on your smartphones for a real-device experience.
- Generate your Android and iOS app builds when you are ready to publish. Deploy your app builds on the Google Play and Apple App Stores.
That is it. Once your apps pass the review process, they will be live for your users to download and use. Make sure that your app is easily discoverable on the app stores. Do not forget to promote it and keep it aligned with the evolving trends and changing demands of the customers.
Frequently asked questions
What is PrestaShop?
PrestaShop is a freemium open-source e-commerce website builder. It is easy to create and manage online stores with PrestaShop and implement a range of e-commerce features and functionalities. It offers themes and templates for designing a store from scratch, product management tools for handling and optimizing your inventory, payment gateways, and several built-in marketing and SEO tools as well.
Which businesses use PrestaShop?
PrestaShop is mostly popular among mid and small-level businesses. Some examples boasted by the platform itself include names like Magimix, Huygens, Bleu de Chauffe, and Dealy, among others. Other sources also list brands like iAdvize, NETPEAK, AVEO Pharmaceuticals, GoDaddy Inc, FAIR, and so on.
Why should I create an app for my PrestaShop store?
Mobile apps are the new preferred shopping destination of customers. Users are spending most of their time on smartphones and a huge share of their mobile time is spent on apps. Eventually, almost every business out there sees apps as the ultimate tool for growth, engagement, and expansion. Thus, it only makes sense to convert your PrestaShop store into an app and unlock these potential avenues.
Which is the best PrestaShop app builder?
As of now, PrestaShop does not offer a dedicated app builder of its own. However, there are several third-party solutions that enable app development for PrestaShop site owners. AppMySite is the best solution in this regard as it offers a simple web to app converter solution that lets website owners build apps using their existing website. You can create apps without coding and import content and functionalities from your website in no time.
How to convert a PrestaShop e-commerce site to an app?
The best way to convert a PrestaShop store into an app is to go with a web to app converter. AppMySite offers a free no-code app generator platform of its own and you can use it to build an app for your e-commerce site. You can design, develop, and deploy your app in no time and import all your website content to the app with a few clicks. Set up your store on the app in minutes and start selling to your mobile-first customers instantly.