Choosing a Forex trading platform is the first step towards trading success. This is crucial considering how the platform will be your main ‘tool’ in placing trades and in some cases, you will be using it to ‘decide’ on your trades. This is why when choosing a platform, it’s important that you first consider several factors, paying close attention to what the site can offer. For new Forex traders, following are some tips on how to make that choice:
How Much Does It Cost?
There are two types of platforms today: free and paid. If you’re new, opting for the free platform to start you up is always a good idea. However, a paid platform typically comes with more features to help you with your trade. If you aim to really learn in the market, it’s usually better to get a paid platform with a reasonable price.
Software Used
What software is being used to run the platform? This can be anything from Windows to Mach – or perhaps the platform is HTML based. Make sure that your device is compatible with whatever software you use.
Analysis Tools
There are several types of analysis tools in the market today: technical and fundamental are some of the most common and typically the most important. Charting, indicators, and currency pairs are some of the elements that you should look for. Fundamental analysis tools refer to news feeds, providing you extrinsic information regarding the status of your currency pairs.
Downtime
Although there’s no such thing as a perfect platform, downtimes must be scheduled, allowing you to easily anticipate any problems that might occur. This is important considering how time is money in the Forex market and that trades are very volatile. You’ll have be to available at all times placing the important trades and you can’t do that if your platform is down all the time.
Security
Of course, don’t forget about the level of security provided by the platform. Make sure to check what kind of protection they use to find out if your account is completely safe. After all – you’ll be entering sensitive information in the platform, therefore making it crucial that your private data remains private. Also note that security doesn’t just refer to privacy. Ideally, there should be no data loss whatsoever when using the system.
Support
Lastly, take a good look at their support system. Is it available 24 hours a day at all times? Do they respond quickly? Strong support is a good indicator of a strong platform.
Of course, those are just few of the factors to consider when choosing a Forex platform. Understand that you’re not bound to stay in just one platform for long. As you increase your knowledge on the subject, you’ll find yourself shopping for better platforms.