Compare ecommerce platforms: which requirements matter?

An attractive demo theme does not establish whether your team can work effectively with a platform. Selection depends on details such as variant management, the source of prices and what happens when a customer requests an order change. To compare ecommerce platforms, describe those workflows before requesting proposals.

At sjmedia, PrestaShop is our preferred starting point for merchants with tailored requirements. We want that recommendation to fit your business. A concise requirements brief establishes what must work at launch, what can follow later and how delivery will be tested.

What belongs in an ecommerce requirements brief?

Describe the task from the perspective of the people doing the work. “ERP integration” is only a heading. “After a price change in the ERP, the store must receive the new price without duplicate manual entry” is testable. Add the acceptable delay and identify who should notice a failed transfer.

For an initial comparison, we group requirements into six areas:

• Catalogue: products, variants, pricing rules and the product information actually needed.
• Customers and orders: customer groups, accounts, delivery addresses and important exceptions.
• Data and integrations: authoritative systems, transfer methods and ownership of failures.
• Selling and content: languages, markets, search and editorial maintenance.
• Operations and support: updates, backups, a test environment and available contacts.
• Scope and budget: launch requirements, later development and total costs.

Smaller businesses do not need a lengthy specification to begin. What matters is using the same tasks for every candidate. A short brief with sample data is often more useful than a long list of features whose intended use has not been established.

How do you separate essential requirements from preferences?

An essential requirement is necessary to operate within the agreed scope. A convenience feature makes work easier but does not necessarily prevent launch if absent. Make this distinction with the people responsible for orders, data maintenance and shipping.

Consider a deliberately simplified example: a spare-parts merchant must retain existing product codes and map variants unambiguously. An elaborate personalised homepage for each customer can wait. Without that distinction, a platform might be rejected for a secondary feature despite meeting the core operational needs.

Record any acceptable temporary solution for each essential requirement. A manual import for a limited period may work for a small dataset. With frequent price changes and a large catalogue, the same process may create unnecessary work. Base the decision on real volumes and workflows.

Why do we assess PrestaShop first for tailored requirements?

PrestaShop Classic is based on open software and supports a choice of hosting, modules and custom development. We see this as a strong foundation where the store needs to fit established business processes. Control over the operating environment and targeted extensions provide practical flexibility.

We first establish which requirements PrestaShop already covers and which need suitable extensions. “Customisable” does not mean “included” or “inexpensive regardless of scope”. A particular pricing rule needs a maintainable implementation, just as an integration does. The proposal should make those distinctions explicit.

Shopify can also be a candidate for largely standard workflows; Shopware or WooCommerce may fit other environments. Require every candidate to pass the same test cases. Our PrestaShop specialism provides the starting point, but does not replace evidence that the solution fits your store.

How do you turn a requirement into a useful test case?

Describe the initial conditions, the action and the expected result. For example, an employee updates the stock for a particular size in the authoritative system. That exact variant must then display the agreed availability status in the store, while other sizes remain unchanged. Record the expected time for the update as well.

Ask the supplier whether the workflow uses standard functionality, a named module or custom development. Record versions, additional costs and responsibility for updates. A verbal assurance that something is possible is insufficient for a firm selection decision.

B2B requirements may include company accounts or negotiated pricing. Our guide to choosing a B2B platform covers these cases in more detail. For integrations, see our explanation of store and ERP responsibilities.

How do you compare proposals and ongoing costs?

Proposals should cover the same essential requirements and the same comparison period. Beyond setup and data migration, include hosting or subscription, modules, integration maintenance and support. Separate fixed assumptions from usage-based charges. Establish which tasks remain with your own team.

A simple selection rule avoids false precision: essential requirements must first be satisfied or covered by an accepted solution. Only then compare convenience and costs. A low total price does not compensate for a missing process that the business needs to operate.

Our store cost calculator supports budget comparisons for PrestaShop, Shopify and Shopware. It does not replace a requirements brief or a proposal. Our PrestaShop costs guide explains the individual cost categories. Swiss merchants should use their actual contract currencies and quoted terms.

What should be settled at the end of selection?

You need a justified platform decision, a defined scope and testable acceptance criteria. Assign responsibility for resolving outstanding questions before the project starts. Later features can remain visible without quietly expanding the launch scope.

We recommend assessing PrestaShop first when adaptability and integration with existing workflows matter most. Add a suitable comparison candidate where useful. As a PrestaShop agency, we translate the requirements brief into an implementation approach that distinguishes existing features, modules and development. If you already use Shopify, our guide to switching or optimising addresses the earlier question of whether migration is necessary at all.