PrestaShop Stores

A new store starts with environment configuration and catalogue structure, then template, payments and shipping, and finally checkout testing and go-live. When taking over an existing store I start with a technical audit: PrestaShop and PHP version, module health, database performance, security, structured data correctness and facet indexation settings. Only then do we plan growth — extending a store with technical debt usually just produces more bugs.

I write custom modules when off-the-shelf solutions do not cover the process: non-standard pricing and discounts, B2B orders with approval, shipping cost calculation on your own rules, data imports and exports, warehouse system integrations. I also modify existing modules and templates — in child themes, so updates do not wipe the changes. Every change goes to a staging environment first, with a database and file backup.

Allegro integration — listing offers, synchronising stock and prices, pulling orders and automatic shipment confirmation. Shipping — InPost, DHL, DPD and GLS with label generation and tracking passed to the customer. Payments — Przelewy24, PayU, Tpay and Stripe with BLIK and buy-now-pay-later. Baselinker as an omnichannel hub when you sell across several channels at once. Plus ERP and accounting systems so invoices issue themselves.

PrestaShop can be fast, but the default configuration does not make it so. I optimise layer by layer: server and Smarty cache, template compilation, database cache and Redis, WebP image conversion, lazy loading, fewer external scripts and a clean analytics setup. I also check which modules run heavy queries on every request — the most common cause of a slow store. I measure the result on Core Web Vitals: LCP under 2.5 s on mobile.

Every extra checkout step is a lost order. I implement a streamlined one-page checkout with delivery details and payment on a single screen, real-time field validation and mobile handling. I also tidy the buying path: clear shipping costs already in the cart, visible delivery time, field hints and abandoned cart handling. Every change is measured — before and after — so we know it actually works.

I run migrations from PrestaShop 1.6 and 1.7 to 8.x, plus PHP upgrades to supported versions. Migration covers products, customers, orders, categories, content and module configuration, preserving URLs and adding 301 redirects so you do not lose Google positions. The whole process runs on a copy of the environment with comparative tests before traffic is switched. The old store keeps running until the new one is fully verified.

A store is a system that needs maintenance: PrestaShop and module updates, security patches, backups, uptime and performance monitoring, ongoing bug fixes and growth with new features. I offer monthly care packages with a guaranteed response time, plus per-task billing for larger changes. Every update is preceded by a backup and changes go through staging — the production store is not an experiment.