PrestaShop Development UK: Modules, Upgrades and Integrations

PrestaShop in brief

PrestaShop is an open source PHP ecommerce platform, popular across Europe and well suited to stores that sell in several languages, currencies or countries. It is self-hosted, so you own the code and the data, and it has a large module marketplace. Its multi-store feature lets one installation run several shops with shared or separate catalogues, which is useful for businesses with separate trade and retail sites or regional brands.

Like any open platform, its quality depends on how it is built and maintained. Most PrestaShop problems we see come from old versions, conflicting overrides and modules that were never updated for newer PHP.

PrestaShop 9: what changed

The PrestaShop project released PrestaShop 9.0 on 10 June 2025. The main changes for anyone running or developing a store:

• Symfony 6.4 LTS. The back office continues its move from the legacy framework onto Symfony, now on the 6.4 long-term support release.
• PHP 8.1 to 8.4. PHP 8.1 is the minimum and 8.4 is supported. Since PHP 8.1 itself lost security support at the end of 2025, we recommend running 9.x on PHP 8.3 or 8.4.
• A new Admin API. PrestaShop 9 introduces a modern API for back-office operations alongside the older Webservice API, which helps when integrating with ERP and accounting systems.
• Module compatibility. Modules that rely on removed legacy code or old Symfony components need updating, so an upgrade is a project rather than a button press.

PrestaShop 8 remains a reasonable stepping stone for some stores. PrestaShop 1.6 and 1.7 are well past the point where they should be on the public internet without serious attention.

Modules, not overrides

PrestaShop lets developers override core classes. It is tempting and it works, until two modules override the same class or an upgrade changes the class underneath. The PrestaShop developer documentation recommends hooks wherever possible, and so do we.

We build modules that:

• Register on display and action hooks such as actionValidateOrder or displayProductAdditionalInfo to add behaviour and content.
• Use Symfony controllers, forms and services in the back office on 8.x and 9.x.
• Keep their own database tables, created on install and removed on uninstall.
• Use overrides only when no hook exists, documented clearly so the next upgrade does not surprise anyone.

If your store is full of overrides, we can audit them, replace what we can with hook-based modules and leave you with a store that can be upgraded.

Upgrading an older store

Upgrading from 1.6 or 1.7 to 9 is usually a migration in all but name. Our approach:

1. Audit the current store: version, PHP, theme, modules, overrides and custom code.
2. Check every module for a 9.x-compatible release; plan replacements or rewrites for those without one.
3. Build the new store on staging, migrate products, customers, orders, CMS pages and URLs.
4. Rebuild the theme for 9.x or adopt a maintained theme and customise it.
5. Test checkout, payment, tax and shipping with real scenarios, then switch over with a final data sync.

Sometimes the audit shows that another platform would serve you better. If so, we will say, and handle an ecommerce migration instead.

Performance and day-to-day running

A PrestaShop store that feels slow usually has one of a handful of causes: too many modules hooked onto every page, Smarty cache and compile settings left in development mode, oversized product images, or cheap hosting without OPcache tuned. We profile the store with the built-in debug profiler and server tools, fix the biggest costs first and then look at caching.

For day-to-day running we set up a staging copy of the store, keep modules and the core updated there first, and make sure back-ups are taken and tested. Small habits like these are what stop a minor update turning into a weekend of firefighting.

Integrations and starting a project

PrestaShop's Webservice API, and now its Admin API, let us connect the store to the rest of the business: orders and customers into Xero, Sage or QuickBooks, stock and prices from an ERP or warehouse system, labels and tracking from courier platforms, and listings on marketplaces. We build these with queues, retries and duplicate protection, with a log your team can read. See ecommerce ERP integration.

New module, upgrade or integration, it starts with a free chat and a fixed-price quote for a defined scope. Tell us about your store.

What we deliver

• Custom PrestaShop modules using hooks, Symfony controllers and the Admin API
• Upgrade plans and delivery from 1.6, 1.7 or 8.x to PrestaShop 9
• Removal of conflicting overrides and replacement with hook-based modules
• Multi-store and multi-language configuration, with shared or separate stock
• Integrations with accounting, ERP, couriers and marketplaces
• Bulk product imports, feeds and catalogue tools

How it works and what it costs

Every project gets a fixed-price quote after a free initial chat and a short scoping stage. You own the code and the data.

1. Free chat

   Tell us the problem in plain English: what you do now, what goes wrong and what "better" looks like. No charge, no obligation.

2. Scoping

   We map the processes, systems and data involved, agree what is in and out, and write it down so there are no surprises.

3. Fixed-price quote

   You get a fixed price for the agreed scope, or a phased plan for bigger builds, so you can start small and prove it works.

4. Build and test

   We build in short stages you can see and try, test against real data, then go live carefully with a rollback plan.

5. Hand over and look after

   You own the code and the data. We can host it, support it and keep improving it, or hand it to your own team.

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