# Building a PrestaShop store

> PrestaShop is built for a catalogue with structure. Cross-referenced variants, per-group pricing, multiple carriers, several VAT rates, several storefronts on one database: all of it ships as standard. In exchange it is software you host, you upgrade, and whose security you carry.

- Source canonique : [https://allaux.fr/en/creation/creer-boutique-prestashop](https://allaux.fr/en/creation/creer-boutique-prestashop)
- Langue : EN
- Dernière mise à jour : 2026-09-30

## What is already there, and paid for elsewhere

PrestaShop’s value sits in its product model. A product carries attributes, their combinations become variants stored in ps_product_attribute, each with its own reference, stock, weight and price difference. A clothing catalogue with ten colours and twelve sizes is entered with no extension, and images attach to a colour rather than to the whole product.

Then comes pricing. Customer groups, per-customer or per-quantity specific prices and cart rules cover almost every trade selling case with no development. Then logistics: zones, weight or price bands, multiple carriers, pickup points through a module. Then tax: several rates, per-country rules, ex-VAT or inc-VAT display by group.

Finally multistore: several shopfronts, several domains, one catalogue and one back office. It is the most underrated function at decision time, and the most expensive to rebuild anywhere else.

## What PrestaShop does not give away

- Hosting. An entry-level shared plan, OVH included, will carry a shopfront but not a back office that indexes, regenerates thumbnails and exports. It needs PHP memory, real execution time and a database server not shared with three hundred neighbours.
- The theme. The default theme is a starting point, not an identity. Either you buy a market theme and accept its choices, or you have one built, and that is the most variable line in the quote.
- Payment and shipping modules. Most French gateways ship a free official module, but pickup points, labels and returns often mean paid extensions with an annual subscription.
- Upgrades. Every major version step touches the theme and the modules. It is predictable and it can be costed, but it is never zero.
- Security. The admin folder must be renamed, the install directory deleted, file permissions tightened and patches applied. Nobody does it for you.
- Importing an existing catalogue, if you have one. It is almost always the heaviest line, far ahead of appearance.

## How I set up a PrestaShop store

1. **Settle the stack before installing** — PrestaShop version, PHP version, database engine, catalogue size expected in three years. An install built on an end-of-life PHP version will have to be redone within the year; better to start on the right side.
2. **Model the catalogue before typing it in** — What is an attribute, what is a feature, what is a separate product. Getting this wrong is the one genuinely expensive mistake: rebuilding variants on a catalogue already entered and already indexed is paid for twice.
3. **Import rather than retype** — A serious catalogue arrives as a file, with references, stock, prices and images. I prepare the import, run it on a small subset, check the variants and the generated URLs, then push the full volume.
4. **Wire payment and shipping early** — These are the two points that depend on third parties. A distance selling contract and a carrier account take weeks to obtain. I connect them in test mode as soon as the accounts exist, not the night before launch.
5. **Lock it down before opening** — Admin folder renamed, install directory removed, debug mode off, automatic backups proven by an actual restore, and legal pages online.

## When I advise against PrestaShop

> A few dozen products with no variants, one carrier, one VAT rate, nobody in-house to administer it: PrestaShop will charge you for power you never use, in hosting and in maintenance. The same holds if the site is primarily a content site that happens to sell — WooCommerce makes more sense there.

## Related pages

- **PrestaShop developer** — What I actually do on the platform: code, database, server. ([/prestashop](/prestashop))
- **Choosing e-commerce hosting** — What shared hosting genuinely allows, and when you need something else. ([/guides/choisir-hebergement-ecommerce](/guides/choisir-hebergement-ecommerce))
- **Custom PrestaShop module** — When the need leaves the standard behaviour: a module rather than an override. ([/prestashop/module-sur-mesure](/prestashop/module-sur-mesure))
- **Buy a module or have one built** — An honest comparison between an off-the-shelf module and bespoke development. ([/modules/acheter-ou-faire-developper](/modules/acheter-ou-faire-developper))

## FAQ

### Which PrestaShop version should a new store use?

The latest stable branch, never a version out of support. Opening today on an old 1.6 or 1.7 means scheduling a paid migration in the short term, with modules that will not follow. The only defensible argument for an older version would be an essential module that exists nowhere else — and then you must check its publisher is still active.

### Is shared hosting enough to start?

For a low-traffic launch, often yes, provided you check three things: the memory allocated to PHP, the maximum execution time, and whether scheduled tasks can run. The back office saturates first, not the shopfront. A thumbnail regeneration or a catalogue import is what exposes the limits.

### Buy a theme or have one built?

A market theme costs tens to hundreds of pounds and imposes its choices; a built theme costs several days. The real criterion is not aesthetic: it is how many pages you will need to drag out of its template. If you already know the product page has to be rewritten, the saving on a bought theme is fictional.

### How many products can PrestaShop handle?

Product count is the wrong unit: what carries the weight is variant count and the number of active filters. A few thousand references sit comfortably on a decent server; the same catalogue with dozens of variants per product and faceted navigation open on every attribute needs indexing and caching.

### Can I build the store myself and call you afterwards?

Yes, and it happens often. The point to watch is catalogue modelling: if variants were created as separate products, fixing it later touches URLs, and therefore rankings. Have that reviewed before typing in a thousand records — half a day that saves several.