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List of known good modules & themes or developers?


Karakko

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Hi.

 

As we know a lot of modules/themes or developers on the marketplace are bad. Whether they're advertising features that they don't actually have, or stealing modules/themes from other developers, or the product doesn't work at all, or simply the developers aren't responsive for weeks on end.

 

What I'd like to know is:

1. Whether there's a list or known good modules/themes or developers? Products or developers that you trust.

2. If there's a way to know for sure that a module/theme you're buying is good. Should I only watch ratings? The demo?

3. Maybe we could start this list now? Everyone start linking to products or developers that you know are good and can trust.

 

 

I've tried the Addons search engine, and in my experience it's almost useless because many developers are lying about the features they provide. I've contacted two different theme developers, one is a "Super Hero" rank the other is a newcomer. Both of them confirmed that they do not provide a feature that they've listed on their description page!

 

I've reported this to the Addons PrestaShop employees but they have been dodging the issue.

 

EDIT:

Can you recommend other e-commerce shops for small-medium business? I still like PrestaShop, but seeing how many people have problems with PrestaShop employees and the addon developers, I'm starting to consider other options.

Edited by Karakko (see edit history)
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Hi.

 

As we know a lot of modules/themes or developers on the marketplace are bad. Whether they're advertising features that they don't actually have, or stealing modules/themes from other developers, or the product doesn't work at all, or simply the developers aren't responsive for weeks on end.

 

What I'd like to know is:

1. Whether there's a list or known good modules/themes or developers? Products or developers that you trust.

2. If there's a way to know for sure that a module/theme you're buying is good. Should I only watch ratings? The demo?

3. Maybe we could start this list now? Everyone start linking to products or developers that you know are good and can trust.

 

 

I've tried the Addons search engine, and in my experience it's almost useless because many developers are lying about the features they provide. I've contacted two different theme developers, one is a "Super Hero" rank the other is a newcomer. Both of them confirmed that they do not provide a feature that they've listed on their description page!

 

I've reported this to the Addons PrestaShop employees but they have been dodging the issue.

 

EDIT:

Can you recommend other e-commerce shops for small-medium business? I still like PrestaShop, but seeing how many people have problems with PrestaShop employees and the addon developers, I'm starting to consider other options.

 

This comment make me sad :( I hope PrestaShop take some action.

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As we know a lot of modules/themes or developers on the marketplace are bad. 

 

WoW this is so harsh.

 

First of all disclaimer: I am representing the company which has handful of modules Addons marketplace.

 

I also bought some modules and well... some experience was really crappy, still I don't think that all developers are bad.  

Yes, I also noticed that there are misleading advertising and if I think more about it, majority of my issues were with theme developers. 

 

What I advice for my client: write to the developer a few questions before buying. But then again, some developer gladly answer questions before buying and provide no support after you bought.

Another advice is: look at this forum, some of developers really help people for free without asking anything for return and others just spam about they modules without trying to help anyone. 

 

And the last thing is to understand that sometimes the clients are also bad. We want to help them but they do not provide access to their websites or do not describe the issue in the way that we could reproduce it and we can't find the bug. 

 

I hope you will find good developers. 

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WoW this is so harsh.

 

First of all disclaimer: I am representing the company which has handful of modules Addons marketplace.

 

I also bought some modules and well... some experience was really crappy, still I don't think that all developers are bad.  

Yes, I also noticed that there are misleading advertising and if I think more about it, majority of my issues were with theme developers. 

 

What I advice for my client: write to the developer a few questions before buying. But then again, some developer gladly answer questions before buying and provide no support after you bought.

Another advice is: look at this forum, some of developers really help people for free without asking anything for return and others just spam about they modules without trying to help anyone. 

 

And the last thing is to understand that sometimes the clients are also bad. We want to help them but they do not provide access to their websites or do not describe the issue in the way that we could reproduce it and we can't find the bug. 

 

I hope you will find good developers. 

 

And some customers buy a car and complain because it does not fly :) So as you said, ask any doubt before buying! And ask for a demo if it's not available in the module sheet.

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  • 2 weeks later...

1. Whether there's a list or known good modules/themes or developers? Products or developers that you trust.
2. If there's a way to know for sure that a module/theme you're buying is good. Should I only watch ratings? The demo?
3. Maybe we could start this list now? Everyone start linking to products or developers that you know are good and can trust.

Personally, I haven't had any issues with modules and I've bought modules from three different developers. I think the reason people have issues is that they try to go for the least expensive module that does what they want. That is just asking for trouble. I choose who I buy from based on the forums. Developers are less active on the forums then when I started but basically, if someone was on here offering help I knew that if there was an issue with the module they would be responsive. I also felt it was appropriate to reward people who volunteered their time. Honestly, if you're in a developed country and considering starting a store and spending $100+ on a module is a dealbreaker then you should probably reconsider the venture. That isn't a lot of money and you should be willing to pay more just to not have problems.

 

From personal experience, my go to for modules is Presto Chango http://www.presto-changeo.com/ My first store required a module that only they offered so I had no choice but to try them. They turned out to have amazing customer service -- really beyond anything I expected so I am very loyal. If they offer a module I need I just buy it without even looking at other options. As such most of my experience is with them. I honestly can't say enough good things about them.

 

My second choice is https://mypresta.eu/ the guy who owns that used to be very active on the forums when I first started using PrestaShop. I don't see him around as much these days but back then he was very active. He also has a lot of tutorials on his own site that I found useful. I've bought one module from him and it looks like I'll be getting a second for my next store if I use PrestaShop. I also use two of his free modules.

 

Lastly https://dh42.com/ -- I've never bought anything from them but you can just tell from the effort put into the tutorials and content on their site that they will be a good developer to work with. I say work with because while they sell modules their modules are inexpensive and I don't think they are the main offering. This is where I'd likely go if I was looking for custom work.

 

 

:

Can you recommend other e-commerce shops for small-medium business? I still like PrestaShop, but seeing how many people have problems with PrestaShop employees and the addon developers, I'm starting to consider other options.

It is probably a little inappropriate to have this discussion here but whatever -- it isn't like it is any big secret that the two main options are Magento and PrestaShop with OpenCart as a distant third. When I'm starting a new store I look at the product types and decided between the two main platforms which would be best. For me that works because all my stores involve products that are highly configurable and how a platform handles product customization is going to be the most important consideration. If you just sell products where size or colour are the only options then just pick the one you like best as there is no difference. Personally, I always start with PrestaShop if I can but that is because I know it best. Magento has the larger install numbers. Both will work just fine for 90% of stores. It is the last 10% where you need to choose between them.

 

With respect to people having trouble -- I don't get that. I have never had any major issues with PrestaShop and I've been using it since 1.5. Yeah, you have the occasional issue but e-commerce is pretty complex and I've never had a critical problem. I think a lot of the problems stem from people using cheap shared-hosting -- no you won't get any e-commerce platform to work properly on sub $10 hosting from some guy or EIG. I really believe that you shouldn't even use shared hosting and that e-commerce has to be on VPS as a minimum. I also would say a lot of the problems you see are people being completely clueless. You don't have to be able to code or be a sysadmin to setup an e-commerce site but you should be comfortable with computers and at least have an understanding of how stuff works. I don't think the problem is PrestaShop but rather the people trying to use PrestaShop.

 

That said I do wish the forums were more active -- they used to be when I started. I think it is really difficult to maintain volunteer help though when there is no payoff. Too many of the people asking for help are not willing to spend money to buy a module or get custom work done and they make that clear so why would developers waste their time helping people? The motivation to do it is marketing and marketing to freeloaders is just frustrating. I go long periods with participating for the same reason. I try to answer as many novice and intermediary questions as I can with the hope that some of my expert level questions will get answered but lately they rarely do. Without receprocity there isn't much reason to feel motivated. This is a problem on all community support sites where the user base has not hit some really high number -- there needs to be a solution to that. Possibly start allowing members to tip helpful members. When I first joined there was lots of time were I'd have been more than happy to press a button and send someone $20 for beer money because they helped me out. 

 

The only other thing I can say about e-commerce platforms is if you go out there and talk to developers people will push WooCommerce on a Wordpress platform -- run from any developer that would suggest that. That is the standard suggestion of people who don't know any better. 

 

The other thing is platforms that are SaaS-based -- Shopify being the big one in that market. If you want to sell ugly Christmas sweaters or jams you make at home then Shopify is great. It is a great platform for non-complex short-lived ventures or hobby businesses. It isn't appropriate for a serious business.

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1. Whether there's a list or known good modules/themes or developers? Products or developers that you trust.
2. If there's a way to know for sure that a module/theme you're buying is good. Should I only watch ratings? The demo?
3. Maybe we could start this list now? Everyone start linking to products or developers that you know are good and can trust.

Personally, I haven't had any issues with modules and I've bought modules from three different developers. I think the reason people have issues is that they try to go for the least expensive module that does what they want. That is just asking for trouble. I choose who I buy from based on the forums. Developers are less active on the forums then when I started but basically, if someone was on here offering help I knew that if there was an issue with the module they would be responsive. I also felt it was appropriate to reward people who volunteered their time. Honestly, if you're in a developed country and considering starting a store and spending $100+ on a module is a dealbreaker then you should probably reconsider the venture. That isn't a lot of money and you should be willing to pay more just to not have problems.

 

From personal experience, my go to for modules is Presto Chango http://www.presto-changeo.com/ My first store required a module that only they offered so I had no choice but to try them. They turned out to have amazing customer service -- really beyond anything I expected so I am very loyal. If they offer a module I need I just buy it without even looking at other options. As such most of my experience is with them. I honestly can't say enough good things about them.

 

My second choice is https://mypresta.eu/ the guy who owns that used to be very active on the forums when I first started using PrestaShop. I don't see him around as much these days but back then he was very active. He also has a lot of tutorials on his own site that I found useful. I've bought one module from him and it looks like I'll be getting a second for my next store if I use PrestaShop. I also use two of his free modules.

 

Lastly https://dh42.com/ -- I've never bought anything from them but you can just tell from the effort put into the tutorials and content on their site that they will be a good developer to work with. I say work with because while they sell modules their modules are inexpensive and I don't think they are the main offering. This is where I'd likely go if I was looking for custom work.

 

 

:

Can you recommend other e-commerce shops for small-medium business? I still like PrestaShop, but seeing how many people have problems with PrestaShop employees and the addon developers, I'm starting to consider other options.

It is probably a little inappropriate to have this discussion here but whatever -- it isn't like it is any big secret that the two main options are Magento and PrestaShop with OpenCart as a distant third. When I'm starting a new store I look at the product types and decided between the two main platforms which would be best. For me that works because all my stores involve products that are highly configurable and how a platform handles product customization is going to be the most important consideration. If you just sell products where size or colour are the only options then just pick the one you like best as there is no difference. Personally, I always start with PrestaShop if I can but that is because I know it best. Magento has the larger install numbers. Both will work just fine for 90% of stores. It is the last 10% where you need to choose between them.

 

With respect to people having trouble -- I don't get that. I have never had any major issues with PrestaShop and I've been using it since 1.5. Yeah, you have the occasional issue but e-commerce is pretty complex and I've never had a critical problem. I think a lot of the problems stem from people using cheap shared-hosting -- no you won't get any e-commerce platform to work properly on sub $10 hosting from some guy or EIG. I really believe that you shouldn't even use shared hosting and that e-commerce has to be on VPS as a minimum. I also would say a lot of the problems you see are people being completely clueless. You don't have to be able to code or be a sysadmin to setup an e-commerce site but you should be comfortable with computers and at least have an understanding of how stuff works. I don't think the problem is PrestaShop but rather the people trying to use PrestaShop.

 

That said I do wish the forums were more active -- they used to be when I started. I think it is really difficult to maintain volunteer help though when there is no payoff. Too many of the people asking for help are not willing to spend money to buy a module or get custom work done and they make that clear so why would developers waste their time helping people? The motivation to do it is marketing and marketing to freeloaders is just frustrating. I go long periods with participating for the same reason. I try to answer as many novice and intermediary questions as I can with the hope that some of my expert level questions will get answered but lately they rarely do. Without receprocity there isn't much reason to feel motivated. This is a problem on all community support sites where the user base has not hit some really high number -- there needs to be a solution to that. Possibly start allowing members to tip helpful members. When I first joined there was lots of time were I'd have been more than happy to press a button and send someone $20 for beer money because they helped me out. 

 

The only other thing I can say about e-commerce platforms is if you go out there and talk to developers people will push WooCommerce on a Wordpress platform -- run from any developer that would suggest that. That is the standard suggestion of people who don't know any better. 

 

The other thing is platforms that are SaaS-based -- Shopify being the big one in that market. If you want to sell ugly Christmas sweaters or jams you make at home then Shopify is great. It is a great platform for non-complex short-lived ventures or hobby businesses. It isn't appropriate for a serious business.

 

 

You don't consider buying at Addons?

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By Addons do you mean the main PrestaShop addons store? 

If yes then I have bought themes from there but I have never bought modules. For themes, the addon store is my first choice and likely the only place I'd buy from. For modules, I would go to the add-ons store third if neither of the two places I typically buy from had something suitable. With the addon store, you get the guarantee that PrestaShop is going to be there acting as arbitrator and basically backing unknown developers so it is much more comforting than buying from some random site. That said it also adds a person in the middle which adds complexity. If I hadn't been forced to take a risk for a unique module that I absolutely needed I would probably have been official addons store only but I needed AWP and once you have a positive experience it just makes sense to return. My ranking would be Trusted Independent >> Addons >>>>>>> Unknown Independent.  
 

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If I were to buy a module or template, I would buy it earlier in the developer's shop than in the official Prestashop store.

 

At least the developer gets 100% of the sale and not with the 70% as it happens in addons.
 
In addition, you have better contact with the developer. (Usually)
 
It's just a personal opinion.
 

Sorry for my English,

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That said I do wish the forums were more active -- they used to be when I started. I think it is really difficult to maintain volunteer help though when there is no payoff. Too many of the people asking for help are not willing to spend money to buy a module or get custom work done and they make that clear so why would developers waste their time helping people? The motivation to do it is marketing and marketing to freeloaders is just frustrating. I go long periods with participating for the same reason. I try to answer as many novice and intermediary questions as I can with the hope that some of my expert level questions will get answered but lately they rarely do. Without receprocity there isn't much reason to feel motivated. This is a problem on all community support sites where the user base has not hit some really high number -- there needs to be a solution to that. Possibly start allowing members to tip helpful members. When I first joined there was lots of time were I'd have been more than happy to press a button and send someone $20 for beer money because they helped me out.

For example, in the past I have been trying to help the Spanish Comunity  for a long time, but the lives of the people change, they have other priorities, in the end people have responsibilities, and when one user disappears, others appear, goes by time. In some epochs there is no activiad, others with little activity and others with more activity.
 
Obviously the activity that existed for years in the forum is complicated, people are not clones, are new times, new users, different perspectives.
 
The company Prestashop also has not worried to take great care of the Community, or so it seems.....
 
Greetings from Spain.
 
Sorry for my English,
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1. Whether there's a list or known good modules/themes or developers? Products or developers that you trust.
2. If there's a way to know for sure that a module/theme you're buying is good. Should I only watch ratings? The demo?
3. Maybe we could start this list now? Everyone start linking to products or developers that you know are good and can trust.

Personally, I haven't had any issues with modules and I've bought modules from three different developers. I think the reason people have issues is that they try to go for the least expensive module that does what they want. That is just asking for trouble. I choose who I buy from based on the forums. Developers are less active on the forums then when I started but basically, if someone was on here offering help I knew that if there was an issue with the module they would be responsive. I also felt it was appropriate to reward people who volunteered their time. Honestly, if you're in a developed country and considering starting a store and spending $100+ on a module is a dealbreaker then you should probably reconsider the venture. That isn't a lot of money and you should be willing to pay more just to not have problems.

 

From personal experience, my go to for modules is Presto Chango http://www.presto-changeo.com/ My first store required a module that only they offered so I had no choice but to try them. They turned out to have amazing customer service -- really beyond anything I expected so I am very loyal. If they offer a module I need I just buy it without even looking at other options. As such most of my experience is with them. I honestly can't say enough good things about them.

 

My second choice is https://mypresta.eu/ the guy who owns that used to be very active on the forums when I first started using PrestaShop. I don't see him around as much these days but back then he was very active. He also has a lot of tutorials on his own site that I found useful. I've bought one module from him and it looks like I'll be getting a second for my next store if I use PrestaShop. I also use two of his free modules.

 

Lastly https://dh42.com/ -- I've never bought anything from them but you can just tell from the effort put into the tutorials and content on their site that they will be a good developer to work with. I say work with because while they sell modules their modules are inexpensive and I don't think they are the main offering. This is where I'd likely go if I was looking for custom work.

 

 

:

Can you recommend other e-commerce shops for small-medium business? I still like PrestaShop, but seeing how many people have problems with PrestaShop employees and the addon developers, I'm starting to consider other options.

It is probably a little inappropriate to have this discussion here but whatever -- it isn't like it is any big secret that the two main options are Magento and PrestaShop with OpenCart as a distant third. When I'm starting a new store I look at the product types and decided between the two main platforms which would be best. For me that works because all my stores involve products that are highly configurable and how a platform handles product customization is going to be the most important consideration. If you just sell products where size or colour are the only options then just pick the one you like best as there is no difference. Personally, I always start with PrestaShop if I can but that is because I know it best. Magento has the larger install numbers. Both will work just fine for 90% of stores. It is the last 10% where you need to choose between them.

 

With respect to people having trouble -- I don't get that. I have never had any major issues with PrestaShop and I've been using it since 1.5. Yeah, you have the occasional issue but e-commerce is pretty complex and I've never had a critical problem. I think a lot of the problems stem from people using cheap shared-hosting -- no you won't get any e-commerce platform to work properly on sub $10 hosting from some guy or EIG. I really believe that you shouldn't even use shared hosting and that e-commerce has to be on VPS as a minimum. I also would say a lot of the problems you see are people being completely clueless. You don't have to be able to code or be a sysadmin to setup an e-commerce site but you should be comfortable with computers and at least have an understanding of how stuff works. I don't think the problem is PrestaShop but rather the people trying to use PrestaShop.

 

That said I do wish the forums were more active -- they used to be when I started. I think it is really difficult to maintain volunteer help though when there is no payoff. Too many of the people asking for help are not willing to spend money to buy a module or get custom work done and they make that clear so why would developers waste their time helping people? The motivation to do it is marketing and marketing to freeloaders is just frustrating. I go long periods with participating for the same reason. I try to answer as many novice and intermediary questions as I can with the hope that some of my expert level questions will get answered but lately they rarely do. Without receprocity there isn't much reason to feel motivated. This is a problem on all community support sites where the user base has not hit some really high number -- there needs to be a solution to that. Possibly start allowing members to tip helpful members. When I first joined there was lots of time were I'd have been more than happy to press a button and send someone $20 for beer money because they helped me out. 

 

The only other thing I can say about e-commerce platforms is if you go out there and talk to developers people will push WooCommerce on a Wordpress platform -- run from any developer that would suggest that. That is the standard suggestion of people who don't know any better. 

 

The other thing is platforms that are SaaS-based -- Shopify being the big one in that market. If you want to sell ugly Christmas sweaters or jams you make at home then Shopify is great. It is a great platform for non-complex short-lived ventures or hobby businesses. It isn't appropriate for a serious business.

 

 

Great truths and nice advices!

 

Too many of the people asking for help are not willing to spend money to buy a module or get custom work done and they make that clear so why would developers waste their time helping people?The motivation to do it is marketing and marketing to freeloaders is just frustrating

 

 

Probably if prestashop worked deeper some gamification (the "likes" are obviously not enough) (with this gamification you could win money via marketing ..etc..) the people will get more involved. But obviously this is not going to happen..

 

 

 

The only other thing I can say about e-commerce platforms is if you go out there and talk to developers people will push WooCommerce on a Wordpress platform -- run from any developer that would suggest that. That is the standard suggestion of people who don't know any better.

 

 

I though the same but there's much people that states that for small shops maybe it's enough. I didn't try it because I looked in the past at the data model (wordpress + plugins) and from my developer point of view it seems crazy not having the "normal" tables (products, orders, invoices, customers,.. no language tables).

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