PrestaShop 8 - what you need to know

The year 2022 has gone down in history for PrestaShop software development. After six long years of waiting, the digital community has finally seen the release of a major update – PrestaShop 8. The previous major version, PrestaShop 1.7, was launched in 2016.

If you own a PrestaShop-based shop or are simply involved in the world of e-commerce, you’re no doubt wondering what benefits PrestaShop 8 has to offer. This is important not only for those planning to launch a new PrestaShop store and wondering which version to choose and why. It is also important for developers and software companies that work with the PrestaShop system.

We have scoured numerous reliable sources and compiled the most important information about PrestaShop 8 in our article. Our aim is to make valuable information about PrestaShop 8 easily accessible to anyone interested in the subject.

But how does it go from 1.8 to 8? Logic would suggest that 1.8 should be followed by 1.9, or at least 2.0. We won’t deny that this versioning surprised us, as it probably did many other web developers too. The answer is quite simple: this change simplifies the numbering scheme by removing the leading „1” and leaving three digits:

• The first digit indicates the major version.
• The second digit indicates a version with significant changes.
• The third digit represents bug-fix versions.

Thanks to these changes, PrestaShop now has a clearer and more user-friendly version numbering system. At least according to the developers; as for other people’s tastes – that’s a matter of opinion.

The first details of the new major version of PrestaShop emerged towards the end of 2021, when the announcement was officially published in a blog post dated 14 December 2021 on the official PrestaShop blog.

As expected, PrestaShop 8 was released in August 2022 as a beta version. Developers working on the system were encouraged to test it and report any issues they encountered.

In October 2022, the same platform announced the official release of PrestaShop 8.0.0, which is available for download on GitHub.

The currently available versions suggest that the appearance and functionality of the admin panel remain virtually unchanged, meaning that administrators can expect a smooth transition.

There is probably no need for major changes to the shop templates, although some minor adjustments may be required.

A more detailed analysis of the code will be carried out once the shop’s version has reached a more mature stage and the typical issues associated with the initial development phase have been resolved.

The key changes can be summarised as follows:

• Support for PHP 8 and 8.1, with a minimum compatibility level of PHP 7.2.5.
• Introduction to Symfony 4.4.
• Removal of numerous classes and methods that were previously marked as „deprecated” in earlier versions of PrestaShop.
• Changes to the Hook component.
• Updates relating to password management.

The plan is to release new versions every 6–9 months, alternating between major and minor releases.

This means that new versions containing major changes should be released approximately every 12 to 18 months.

At the same time, minor fixes in the form of patches will be released within a maximum of six weeks of the severity of a given bug being confirmed. (Patches are created only for the latest official version of the platform.).

However, it should be borne in mind that these are merely assumptions, which are subject to change.

It is difficult to estimate exactly how long the update will take, particularly as this can vary significantly depending on the specific shop and any modifications that may have been made. The information currently available suggests that, for shops without significant changes, the developers’ work should take a few hours rather than days.

Of course, the more complex the shop, the more areas there are to check, customise and test, but this update should not be compared to building a new shop, as was the case with the transition from version 1.6 to 1.7. Why do we think so?

• We refer to official information in which PrestaShop states that upgrading from version 1.7.8 to version 8 should be considerably simpler than upgrading from version 1.6 to 1.7.
• The shop templates from version 1.7 should remain compatible with the newer version.
• Many modules will work without the need for any adjustments.
• However, there may be some changes resulting from updates to core libraries or the migration to PHP 8.

It is worth noting that an article from October 2022, which announced the official release of PrestaShop 8, mentioned that the module 1-Click Upgrade, which facilitates upgrades from PrestaShop 1.7 to PrestaShop 8, is not yet ready. The author of the article recommends being patient and waiting for it to be released in a few weeks.

Official extended support for version 1.7 will continue for approximately one year from the release of version 8. Version 8 was released in October 2022, which means that support for version 1.7 should continue until at least the third or fourth quarter of 2023.

However, the end of official support does not mean that you have to update your shop immediately. It will continue to work properly, and in the event of critical issues, even after support has ended, we can help. We also strive to support customers using older versions of the shop. We have experience working with version 1.6, even though official support ended on 30 June 2019. So you can rest assured.

I need help with my PrestaShop shop

According to reports in the trade press, PrestaShop has been acquired by the Italian group MBE, which specialises in solutions for the logistics, printing and marketing sectors. The combined customer base of the two companies amounts to around 600,000 customers in Europe and over a million worldwide. This merger is intended to enable PrestaShop to strengthen its leading position in both Europe and Latin America.

In our view, and according to what is being said within the web development community, the open-source version will form the foundation of PrestaShop. As the e-commerce market evolves, PrestaShop will likely move towards offering two versions of its CMS. One – open to developers – will retain its existing features, to which developers can add their own code, whilst the other option will contain modules and services „ready” for implementation by individual users. What will be the outcome? It is very likely that the help of a developer who can successfully integrate all the modules will still be needed, but this may become easier than it is at present.

The official PrestaShop blog for developers, created by the PrestaShop team.