Over the course a career, I have traded on many different platforms web site. Some platforms were enjoyable and pure joy to use, while others made my hair go wild. There are many trading options, and they can be of varying quality.
It would simply be as simple as listing the best platforms, and not ignoring those that are less popular. That would likely lead to many lawsuits, cease & desist requests, and a lot of lawsuits. I have highlighted some of the best features of great platforms. I will also list the reasons why they are my favorite.
Any platform’s success will be directly affected if it has a good data feed. Assuming all platforms have a good datafeed, this article won’t discuss it.
1. A good platform can have quality charting tools available to them.
It is necessary to be skilled at drawing trend lines, Fibonacci returns, pivot points, or any other tools that traders may require for trading and charting. Drawing these symbols is not an essential skill. You should find it easy to enter trend lines, or other symbols. Your primary focus should be on the price action and not details about how to draw lines.
2. A good platform should not be difficult for users to use.
A platform that is good should not be difficult or confusing to use. The software does not require a 200-page user manual. The chart should be easy to understand and the index readings should be easily read. Platforms that need constant maintenance or are difficult in setting up can cause trading to be a waste of time and money. You can also save your settings with a great program. The program should open in the exact same way every day. It should open the same day.
3. A solid platform should have all of the indicators and oscillators that you need.
There’s nothing worse than a platform with limited indicators that is difficult to add to the chart. Many platforms that are cheaper only offer five to six basic indicators. You can also adjust the time periods and other variables of good platforms. These functions shouldn’t take long. These functions should be straightforward and shouldn’t require the user to go through the 200 page manual.
4. A good platform will offer many exit and entry options.
A trading platform will give you the ability to quickly determine the amount of contracts that you want to trade. You also have the option of setting your stop loss or profit targets. This should be very simple and straightforward. Many good trading platforms provide a way to scale trades up or down at specific profit levels. Good platforms will provide an easy-to use trailing stopping feature that is easy to set-up. Setup of a bracket trade shouldn’t be difficult.
5. A good platform is never in danger of failing.
Nothing can be worse than a platform’s software failing in trading. Software compatibility problems with the operating systems are unacceptable. The platform should reflect the profession you are. This is a critical requirement for me. It made it impossible for me to trade on an unstable platform. It was a frustrating day. I will never use that platform again. Software designers are acutely aware of the design flaws inherent in trading platforms. It is crucial that software developers address these flaws in order to provide traders with a smooth trading experience. Buggy software should not be an option.
Trading platform software can have many more flaws. These five are the most serious. These imperfections will not be tolerated. I will immediately switch platforms if I come across them. Expect a temporary glitch. An inexplicable, consistent glitch in the software for trading platforms can prove to be unacceptable.