In this video tutorial we will see how to install a template in PrestaShop 1.7. In detail, the iqit-commerce Warehouse theme will be installed. The template includes and integrates Elementor Page Builder , well known in the Wordpress CMS, this plugin for PrestaShop allows you to create and configure the pages of our ecommerce without knowing anything about programming. The installation of a template in PrestaShop as we will see is very simple and does not require technical skills, it is however recommended to know a minimum of HTML and CSS , they are not programming languages, but markup: simplifying a set of instructions that can be learned quickly consulting some guides on the web.

What is an Ecommerce Template

A template is, simplifying, the graphic aspect of a website and the most correct Italian translation is Template . Similarly to the templates that we can find in various programs from text editors to professional publishing programs such as Adobe's InDesign, a Template serves to standardize the style of our website independently of the data and content represented.

In the specific case of PrestaShop a front-end template is developed through Smarty which is a template engine written in PHP, which allows you to separate the PHP code, the software programming from the HTML code. With version 1.7 of PrestaShop, it was decided to migrate to the Symfony framework, as Smarty has been surpassed by Twig , but this migration mainly concerns the BackOffice. Both are currently used and it is not certain that Smarty will not be abandoned completely in the future.

This information is not necessary if you do not intend to develop a Template from scratch or modify the theme pre-installed with the CMS through the use of a Child theme. In most cases, in fact, you will buy a template that is very close to the graphics you want to create and you will simply install it.

Features of a PrestaShop Theme

The main commercial themes that you find on addons are extremely simple both to install and to modify, even if you don't know anything about web programming. Once you have purchased a template, we will have an installation package that will do everything for us, including the installation of some sample data and configuration. The characteristics are as follows:

  • The presence of modules such as Teme Editor that allow us to quickly change the graphic appearance.
  • They allow to standardize the style and appearance of the whole ecommerce.
  • A package of the most common modules: Wish List, Product Comparison, Cross selling, Slide, PopUp, etc. useful for recreating the look and functions present in the Template demo.

These features are common, some templates allow us to go much further by also adding a Page Builder, a real page configurator that allows us to change the appearance of each content. Warehouse includes as already mentioned Elementor , other themes such as Leos include Ap Page Builder . Page builders can also be purchased on addons and installed on many themes that don't include them, but if already included in the theme, they are much better integrated.

What is a Page builder

The page builders are literally page builders, they are modules that allow us to build web pages in an extremely simple way, using a technique called drag & drop , i.e. dragging and moving elements with the mouse anywhere on the screen. They are therefore WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editors, that is: what you see is exactly the result you will get. The real strength of this approach is precisely that of having immediate feedback on how our web page will appear.

Page builders have some disadvantages, this freedom comes at a cost in terms of performance, they have a lot of impact on loading times and they require more resources on the hosting side. On the other hand, however, they allow you to manage your site without becoming a web programmer and, if you are a Developer, to save hours and hours of work.

Using a pre-packaged template allows us to contain costs, but paying a price in terms of loading times of our ecommerce, which can be partly solved with the use of advanced cache modules.

Why not use a custom template?

For our ecommerce we can also choose to have a specific template developed from scratch, all of our own. As a tailored suit, it would have many benefits, among them high performance. This, however, if the "tailor" performs a professional job, otherwise like the woolen sweaters from the grandmother, we will have only an uncomfortable and ugly item of clothing.

A Custom Template , in addition to a high cost would present a poor scalability, we will have to resort to the developer every time our business grows and new features are needed and every time we have to update the CMS. With the speed of change of the modern market, such a solution is impossible except for ecommerce that bill hundreds of millions of euros, and above all they have to handle a huge traffic of users and have the necessary professional figures on their staff. In this case the choice is dictated by technical needs and CMS are not used, or if used they are completely rewritten. So in the jar of CMS such as Wordpress, PrestaShop, Magento, etc ... the best solution is a professional template, with the development of a Child theme that brings to the same a level of customization that makes it unique and very similar to a solution. Custom.

Author: Loris Modena

Loris Modena

SENIOR DEVELOPER

For Ind Loris Modena , owner of Arte e Informatica , he began working in the IT sector in 1989 as a system engineer in charge of the maintenance and installation of IT systems. He started programming for the web in 1997 dealing with CGI programming in PERL and then moving on to programming in PHP and JavaScript. In this period he approaches the Open source world and the management of Linux servers.

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