Consumer demands are evolving with each passing day. And, to keep up with their needs, eCommerce businesses are leaving no stone unturned in making their shopping experience seamless. In their process of making eCommerce a robust and hassle-free experience, eCommerce software vendors like you play a crucial role in providing them with SaaS solutions that give them the required functionality to streamline their online business.
E-retailers have their stores built on shopping platforms like PrestaShop, and it is essential to have store data at their disposal to have real-time updates on their business. Hence, it is even more important for the software vendors to equip their software with store data to help these retailers. And it is possible only with the help of the development of API integration for PrestaShop or for other similar platforms.
Top Reasons Why You Should Connect to PrestaShop
As an eCommerce software vendor, it is important to integrate your system with eCommerce platforms like PrestaShop, not only to help your e-retailer clients streamline their business but also to get a myriad of other benefits for your own business:
- PrestaShop features more than 723,000 online stores and is widespread across 200 countries. Moreover, it enjoys the trust of more than 318,000 members. Hence, when you invest in PrestaShop integration via a unified API for PrestaShop, you get access to the vast customer base of this eCommerce platform as your leads or prospects.
- Moreover, PrestaShop’s global presence means international exposure for your business. You can introduce and establish your B2B SaaS business across the globe with the help of a worldwide clientele.
- More customers and exposure means an increase in the revenue, and ultimately, profits. No doubt connecting with PrestaShop’s customers and developing a reliable integration with this platform can get you a significant increase in revenue and earnings of your business.
- API integration with PrestaShop can also help you serve your clients better than you are already doing. For example, it helps retrieve PrestaShop store data and gives your software the ability to perform its core functionality.
Main Aspects of PrestaShop API
Before you understand the need for integration with PrestaShop, it is crucial to know about the API of the eCommerce platform itself. It will help you understand better how to connect your software with PrestaShop.
PrestaShop API follows REST architecture and supports both XML and JSON as formats for data interchange. For data transfer, the API uses HTTP requests.
HTTP has several methods that can perform processing on data as defined in the REST architecture. Among them are five methods: POST, GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE. They help to retrieve, create, update, and delete data, respectively from the stores based on PrestaShop. Such methods help the software work with store data and perform their functions correctly.
To work with PrestaShop API and retrieve data from it—the software uses the GET method for retrieving blank data for the data resource. It is in XML. It then makes the changes as per the request.
The software uses the POST method to send a create request using XML. For updating an existing resource, the software also uses the GET method and retrieves the XML file of that resource and then uses the PUT method to send an update request with the file.
PrestaShop Integration Issues
There are many challenges associated with integration if you don’t use a unified API for PrestaShop. If you try to develop in-house integrations, your time, money, and resources are at stake. You can either use them in your core business operations or just in establishing integrations with shopping platforms. The reasons are:
- Integrations are costly. It will cost you around 4000 dollars to establish one integration and just think if you need to connect with more than one platform. You could end up spending a fortune on just integrations.
- Integrations take time and your clients may not have the patience to wait for 8 weeks to enable some software features. Moreover, your clients have their stores on multiple platforms. That means you need to integrate with more than one platform. You cannot begin to imagine the time it would take you to do so.
- Moreover, integrations are complex. Like every other eCommerce platform, PrestaShop API has a different logical architecture. If you are going to integrate your software with multiple platforms it is an even more technologically hard task.
- Further, every integration needs maintenance and upgrades because eCommerce platforms update their APIs now and then for security reasons and PrestaShop is no exception. And, guess what? Upgrades and maintenance of integrations are as costly and time-consuming as establishing new integrations
The Development of API Integration for PrestaShop
To avoid the hassles of in-house development and the challenges associated with it, you need a unified API for PrestaShop integration. With this unified API that API2Cart provides, you can connect your eCommerce software with not only PrestaShop but more than 40 other platforms and marketplaces at once.
API2Cart provides more than 100 API methods to the software vendors to work with store data. Using API2Cart API methods, your software can import orders, sync inventory levels, manage e-store customers' info, and update products on PrestaShop easily. API2Cart also eliminates the need for separate integrations and allows the vendors to instantly integrate their software with the desired platforms.
What’s more is—the unified API allows you to not just access store data but actually manage it remotely through the software. For example, you can use the following methods for PrestaShop store data:
- for working with orders: order.count / list / info/ add / update/ status.list/ shipment.list / abandoned.list
- for working with products: product.list / count / info / add/ update / attribute.list / child_item.list
- for working with categories: category.list / count / add / update / delete
- for working with customer data: customer.list / count / find / add / update / delete
Conclusion
PrestaShop integration development is important for every eCommerce software business. For its setting, nothing works better than a unified API for PrestaShop and other eCommerce platforms provided by API2Cart. This service will help you eliminate the overheads and save time you would otherwise spend on in-house integration development.
You can try API2Cart functionality for a whole month absolutely for free and see how it can help you with PrestaShop integration. All you need to do is to book a free demo right now.