What is PrestaShop? It’s a great store creation system that offers a large number of features specifically aimed at e-commerce.
Before Starting, You Should Know What PrestaShop Is
Throughout this post, two important words will appear: Backoffice and Frontoffice. Here’s what they mean:
Backoffice: This is the part where you will modify your store.
Frontoffice: This is the part your customers will see.
Enable Friendly URLs in PrestaShop
What is this for? It helps boost your store’s SEO.
To enable them, simply go to the Backoffice menu Preferences > SEO and URLs.
Once there, find the “Link Settings” section.
By enabling this, your store URLs will be SEO-friendly. This benefits your store’s search engine rankings and, as a result, your sales.
General Settings in PrestaShop: Store Information
In this step, you’ll enter billing details and your store email — essential to create an online store in PrestaShop.
To do this, go to the Backoffice menu Preferences > Store Contacts, and fill in the fields in the “Contact Details” section with your store’s information.
Change the Logo and Customisation
To change the logo, go to the Backoffice menu Preferences > Themes.
PrestaShop lets you choose different logos for desktop, mobile, etc.
To customise the template depends on the theme you are using. I’ll show you how to do it using the default theme called default-bootstrap.
Modify the Frontoffice
To modify the Frontoffice, go to the Backoffice Modules and Services menu and look for the module of the part you want to edit.
If you can’t see the picture well, click on it to enlarge it.
For example, if you want to change the large photo at the top with the two women, go to Modules and Services and look for: “Image slider for your website.”
Modify the Columns
Usually, PrestaShop templates are designed for 2 or 3 columns.
In the default-bootstrap template, you can have up to 3 columns: left column, right column, and central column.
In this theme, you can enable or disable any of the side columns.
To do this, go to the Backoffice Preferences > Themes menu and click on “Advanced Settings.”
There you will find the page to enable whatever you want.
Customise Font and Text Colour
This is one of the most important aspects for people when creating an online store with PrestaShop.
The default theme doesn’t have many options to change the font and colour, but it’s an easy way to edit your store’s look without touching the CSS code.
To change this setting, go to the Backoffice Modules and Services menu, then search for “Theme Configurator.”
Once there, enable the option.
After enabling it, go to the Frontoffice and you will see an icon.
Clicking on it will open a menu where you can modify everything to your liking.
Categories, Manufacturers, and Products
Manage Categories
Categories help keep your store well organised.
To create them, go to the Backoffice Catalogue > Categories menu.
Inside, you can create categories and subcategories.
Manage Manufacturers
You must assign manufacturers to products.
To create them, go to Catalogue > Manufacturers.
Manage Attributes and Values
Example: “Chair colour” is an attribute and “Red, Blue, Green” are values.
To create them, go to Catalogue > Product Attributes.
Add and Manage Products
To add a product, go to Catalogue > Products and click “Add a new product.”
You can also edit an existing one.
The most important sections are:
Information: name, description, reference code, etc.
Price: price without VAT and with VAT.
Associations: categories and manufacturers.
Shipping: dimensions and weight.
Combinations: attributes.
Quantities: stock.
Images: product photos.
Manage the Menu and CMS Pages
CMS pages are for information.
Go to Preferences > CMS to create them and organise them by categories.
To add them to the menu, go to Modules and Services, search for “Top horizontal menu,” and configure it.
Checkout Process, Order Management, and Customers
Checkout Process
Sign in or register
Set the address
Choose the shipping method
Choose the payment method
Configurable in Preferences > Orders.
Order Management
Go to Orders > Orders to review and update their status.
Customer Management
Go to Customers > Customers to add, delete, filter, and access complete customer profiles.
Payment Methods and Shipping Rates
To set up payment methods, go to Modules and Services > Payment.
Create Shipping Rates
First define zones in Location > Zone.
Then create countries and provinces, assign zones, and create carriers in Shipping > Carriers.
Taxes and Pricing Rules
Taxes are managed in Location > Location or Location > Taxes.
Cart Rules
Applied to the total order. You can limit them by customer, validity, minimum amount, etc.
Catalogue Rules
Applied to specific products by country, group, category, manufacturer, or attributes.
And by now, you’ll be an expert at creating an online store in PrestaShop.