PrestaShop multi-shop
Manage multiple stores with PrestaShop
Available since PrestaShop version 1.5, multi-shop is a feature that allows you to manage, as the name suggests, several stores from a single dashboard. If you're interested in this mode, we'll tell you all about it.
What is multi-boutique?
PrestaShop multi-boutique is a system that lets you manage multiple e-commerce sites from a single interface.
In technical terms, all you need is a single back office to manage your front-office stores. You'll be able to make individual modifications to your e-commerce sites, as well as group modifications.
- Manage quotes, orders, invoices and administration rights for each store.
Have a different graphic theme for each of your stores.
Manage a catalog of distinct products and their various online distribution outlets.
Create different domain names for each store.
Why choose this feature?
Addressing different targets
If you need to display different product catalogs to suit your branding or the people you want to reach, it may be worth using this feature. Similarly, if you need to adapt your store to international markets, this management mode will help. You can adapt each of your sites to the specificities of different countries, whether in terms of language, marketing message or currency...
Ease of management
Choosing this feature allows your stores to share the same order and invoice history. This gives you a global view of your inventory management. Task processing is also simplified, with modifications applicable to all stores from a single interface.
How can I avoid the SEO problems associated with multiple stores?
The risk of duplicate content
Search engine optimization (SEO) can be quite a problem when you run several stores with products in common. As a reminder, natural referencing is the set of practices that enable a site to be better placed in search engine results, when someone types in a keyword relating to your sector of activity, without you having to pay to appear at the top of the results. One of the most important aspects of SEO is the originality of your content. If your products are similar on every site, especially as their descriptions are exactly the same, search engines like Google may consider one of your stores to be duplicate content.
A site that plagiarizes another will be poorly referenced and will not appear in the first results pages, or will even be blacklisted. Organic traffic is therefore likely to be severely impacted.
Two solutions
Depending on your needs and strategy, our teams will advise you on whether or not to opt for multi-boutiques, and help you implement your multi-boutique projects.
1 - Create original content
One of the solutions to this type of problem will be to create original content, with reworked descriptions for each product. This can be quite an arduous task, but it's the most interesting.
2 - Dereferencing your duplicate content
The other solution would be to simply "noindex" the store(s) with duplicate content, so that the search engine doesn't take them into account. But this will make them invisible in the search results, and you'll have to rely on SEA (Search Engine Advertising) or, more simply, advertisements to drive traffic to the sites.
PrestaShop multi-shop FAQ
1 - What is a PrestaShop multi-store?
PrestaShop's multi-shop functionality is a powerful solution that enables merchants to manage multiple online stores from a single back office. This means you can manage stores with different assortments, designs and configurations, but which share common elements such as customers, orders or inventory, if required. This is ideal for companies wishing to target different markets or offer distinct shopping experiences, while simplifying overall management.
2 - What are the main advantages of setting up a multi-boutique store with PrestaShop?
Benefits include better market segmentation, allowing you to customize each store for a specific audience. This improves the user experience and can increase conversions. Centralized management of products, orders and customers simplifies administration and reduces operational costs. What's more, you can optimize your SEO efforts for each store and more easily expand your international presence.
3 - How do I set up a PrestaShop multi-store?
To set up a multi-shop store in PrestaShop, you must first activate the functionality in the advanced settings of your back office. Then you can create new stores, set up different URLs for each store, and decide which settings to share between stores. Each store is then customized via the themes, modules and products you choose to activate or deactivate for each.
4 - Can I use different themes for each store in a multi-store configuration?
Yes, PrestaShop lets you assign different themes to each store within a multi-shop configuration. This offers considerable flexibility to customize the look and feel of each store to the specific needs of your market or audience.
5 - Is stock management centralized in a PrestaShop multi-store?
Yes, PrestaShop offers the possibility of centralizing stock management across all your multi-boutique stores, enabling a global view and efficient management of stock levels. However, you can also set up independent inventories if this better suits your business strategy.
6 - Is it possible to set different prices for the same product in different PrestaShop stores?
Absolutely, with multi-shop configuration, you can adjust prices for each store individually, allowing you to pursue a flexible pricing strategy according to the different markets or customer groups you're targeting.
7 - How do I manage customers in a PrestaShop multi-store configuration?
PrestaShop allows you to share or separate customer accounts between stores. You can choose to centralize customer management to simplify tracking and marketing, or separate databases to offer more personalized experiences and manage privacy preferences more strictly.
8 - What SEO considerations need to be taken into account with a multi-boutique store?
Each store in a multi-shop configuration can be optimized for SEO independently, enabling targeted strategies. It's crucial to ensure there's no duplicate content between stores, to optimize metadata for each store, and to build distinct external link profiles to boost each site's authority in search engines.
9 - How does PrestaShop manage currencies and languages in a multi-store configuration?
PrestaShop is equipped to handle multiple languages and currencies across different stores. You can configure each store to operate in a specific language and currency.
