Throughout my career, trading has taken place on numerous platforms. Some platforms were fun to use and great places to work homepage. Others made it difficult to get to sleep at night. There are many trading platforms, from bad platforms to great ones.
Let’s say that I only list platforms with high quality. If I followed this approach, I would get a lot of cease and desists or lawsuits. So I’ve selected the most effective features from great platforms and listed my reasons. Platform’s success will depend on the quality of its data feeds. This article assumes we have access to sufficient data to be able to discuss the issue on all platforms.
1. A platform that is successful should have access to high-quality charting instruments.
Active charts and trading require that you are able to draw pivot points, Fibonacci lines and trend lines. These symbols can easily be drawn without needing a physics degree. Entry of trendlines and other symbols should not take too much effort. Do not forget that the main focus of trading is price action.
2. A good platform must be easy to read, and easy to interpret.
Easy-to-use platforms should be straightforward to set-up and easy to navigate. There are not 200 pages of manuals required to use the software. The chart must be understandable and clear. Index readings should also be visible and easily readable. It is a waste of time for trader to set up platforms that are complex or require frequent maintenance. The program will automatically start the next day with the settings that you saved. Quality programs won’t require you to regularly update your indicators or oscillators.
3. A platform that has a strong foundation includes a wide range of indicators, oscillators, and other tools.
There is nothing more frustrating than a platform without a set indicator or an option to add them. Many platforms at lower prices only offer five to six basic indicators. That’s it. You should be able to adjust the indicator time periods and other variables depending on your preferences. These functions shouldn’t take much time. These functions should be simple and clear, so you don’t have to read the 200 page manual.
4. A platform allows you to have many exit and entry options.
Trading platforms let you quickly select the type and amount of contracts you would prefer to trade. They allow you to set your profit limit or stop loss limit. This is not complicated nor should it take too much time. Many of the top trading platforms let you scale out trades at set profit points. Another important feature in a top platform is an easily-understand trailing stop function. It should be very easy to set up bracket trades.
5. An excellent platform is always in good hands.
There is nothing more frustrating than trading platforms that crash. Software compatibility should not be a reason to abandon operating systems. Your profession depends on your platform. It should be functional. I hate this. I was once a trader on a platform that was highly unstable. It made for a very frustrating day. I have never used the platform again and will not do so again. Software developers are very aware of the design flaws inherent in trading platforms. These should be addressed to ensure that traders have a safe trading platform. Buggy software makes trading more difficult than it should be.
There are many flaws within trading platform software. But these five are my top picks as deal killers. I won’t accept any of these flaws. If I do, I’ll switch platforms immediately. Normal is a glitch that only happens once in while. An incessant and recurring glitch with trading platforms software is unacceptable.