What PrestaShop is, and where it fits
PrestaShop is open-source ecommerce software built on PHP and MySQL, most commonly self-hosted, though PrestaShop also offers its own cloud hosting option. Being open-source means you, or your hosting provider, manage the server, PHP version and database directly, and you have full access to the underlying code, unlike closed SaaS platforms. It has a particularly strong presence among merchants in France, Spain and other European markets.
Storefronts are built with PrestaShop's own theming system, with themes and modules sourced from the official PrestaShop Marketplace (Addons) or built custom. Because the codebase is open, a PrestaShop store's customizations can range from simple configuration to deep, custom module development, and how much custom code a store carries is one of the first things that shapes a migration scope.
Products, categories and the data model
PrestaShop's catalog model is built around products with combinations (its term for variants, like size or color) organized into a native, unlimited-depth category tree, plus separate "features" and "attributes" for structured product data. That native category tree makes PrestaShop a reasonable target for catalogs with deep hierarchical structures, and it's one of the things we map carefully when migrating a category tree onto it, or off it onto a platform with a flatter model.
Customers and order history live directly in PrestaShop's MySQL database, which for a self-hosted store means direct database access is often available for exports, rather than being limited to whatever a REST API exposes. That can simplify some parts of a migration, but it also means store-specific customizations to the database schema, from custom modules, for example, need to be identified before assuming a standard export will capture everything.
Modules, themes and what doesn't move automatically
A working PrestaShop store usually depends on installed modules, for payments, shipping calculation, marketing, or catalog features not in PrestaShop core. Module data and configuration doesn't automatically transfer in a platform migration; moving off PrestaShop means identifying what each module stores and exporting it separately, and moving onto PrestaShop means installing and configuring equivalent modules from the Addons marketplace or through custom development.
PrestaShop themes are tied to its own templating system and don't translate to other platforms, so a move off PrestaShop typically means rebuilding the storefront design on the new platform, and a move onto PrestaShop means adapting a marketplace theme or commissioning a custom one. Self-hosted stores sometimes also carry theme-level custom code that needs to be reviewed separately from the visual design itself.
SEO, URLs and how we handle a PrestaShop migration
PrestaShop allows fairly flexible, configurable URL rewriting for products, categories and CMS pages, which is helpful when trying to preserve URL structure during a migration, but it still needs to be set up deliberately rather than assumed. Moving off PrestaShop means mapping its URL patterns, which can vary significantly store to store since they're configurable, to the new platform's requirements.
As part of a managed migration we review your existing PrestaShop URL configuration, or the target's if you're moving onto PrestaShop, build a redirect map between old and new URLs, and carry over metadata that's still accurate, using the same approach described in our SEO & Redirect Migration service, applied to PrestaShop's specific routing setup.
Frequently asked questions
Is PrestaShop free to use?
PrestaShop's core software is open-source and free to download and self-host. Costs come from hosting, developer time, paid modules and themes, and any PrestaShop cloud hosting plan you choose instead of self-hosting.
Can you migrate my PrestaShop modules and their data?
We migrate the core store data a module relies on, but module-specific configuration and stored records typically need a separate export from that module, or need to be rebuilt using an equivalent on the target platform.
Does PrestaShop's category structure transfer well to other platforms?
It depends on the target. PrestaShop's native, unlimited-depth category tree maps cleanly to platforms with a similar model, but needs to be re-mapped to tags or collections on platforms that don't support true nested categories.
What version of PrestaShop matters for a migration?
It matters quite a bit, since database schema and module compatibility can differ between major versions. We confirm your PrestaShop version during the assessment before finalizing a migration approach.