PrestaShop 1.7, 8 or 9: Which Version to Choose, Hosting Requirements and How to Upgrade Your Store

PrestaShop is one of the most popular free e-commerce platforms in Europe, and plenty of stores in Ukraine run on it too. But they vary enormously in age: from PrestaShop 1.6, which is more than ten years old, to the latest 9.x branch built on Symfony 6.4. The version determines everything — which modules are available, which PHP version you need and how much it will cost to maintain the store.

In this article we compare PrestaShop 1.7, 8 and 9, go through the hosting requirements and set out a safe upgrade order — one that costs you neither orders nor search rankings.

Short answer

For a new store in 2026, go with PrestaShop 9.1 on PHP 8.4–8.5. If your store runs on PrestaShop 8, start planning the move to the 9.x branch. A store on 1.7.8 should be upgraded in stages, alternating PrestaShop and PHP upgrades: 1.7.8 on PHP 7.4 → PrestaShop 8 → PHP 8.1 → PrestaShop 9 → PHP 8.4 or 8.5. With PrestaShop 1.6, you are looking at a data migration to a new version rather than an upgrade.

Every step is rehearsed on a copy of the store first, and the final upgrade of the live site is done at a quiet time, with a backup in hand.

PrestaShop versions and their requirements

For the database, all current versions need MySQL 5.7 or later, or MariaDB 10.2 or later; in practice, MySQL 8 is the better choice. To compare these with the requirements of other CMS platforms, see our PHP compatibility table.

What changed in PrestaShop 9

• Symfony 6.4 and PHP 8.1+. Moving from the 8.x branch to 9.x is the biggest technical leap in years: the core has switched from Symfony 4.4 to 6.4, and some deprecated features have been removed.
• A new Admin API. The 9.x branch brings a new interface for integrations, which makes it easier to connect a CRM, inventory management and marketplaces.
• The Hummingbird theme. In 9.0 it arrived as an optional modern theme, and in 9.1 it became the default for new stores: Bootstrap 5.3 and a gradual move away from jQuery.
• Multiple carriers per order and new discounts. In 9.1, a single order can be shipped by several carriers, and discounts are split into types. For now, both features are switched on with separate feature flags.

For a store owner, this means the new branch is faster, more secure and better prepared for integrations, but old modules and themes will not work in it unless they are updated.

Hosting requirements for PrestaShop

• the right PHP version for your branch — ideally selectable per site, so that you can upgrade in stages;
• PHP extensions: cURL, DOM, Fileinfo, GD, Iconv, Intl, JSON, mbstring, OpenSSL, PDO and PDO MySQL, SimpleXML, Zip;
• settings: memory_limit of at least 256 MB for PrestaShop 8 and at least 512 MB for 9, allow_url_fopen enabled, and sufficient execution time and upload limits for product imports;
• MySQL 8 or MariaDB 10.2 or later;
• web server: Apache 2.4 with .htaccess for friendly URLs, or Nginx with routing rules;
• cron for Google Merchant feeds, exchange rates, 1C sync and abandoned-cart emails;
• SSL for online payments and daily backups of the order database.

On cheap hosting with tight limits, PrestaShop 9 often crawls in the back office, and imports break off midway. That is exactly why, on our PrestaShop hosting, you choose the PHP version (from 5.6 to 8.5) for each site separately, and we tune the limits to your catalogue.

How to upgrade PrestaShop without losing orders

1. Back up and make a copy of the store

Make a full backup of the files and database, then deploy a copy of the store on a test subdomain. Block the copy from indexing and switch the payment modules to test mode, so that a stray order on the copy does not turn into a real payment.

2. Audit modules, the theme and overrides

List your modules and, for each one, check whether there is a version for the target branch — on PrestaShop Addons or from the developer. Take a separate look at the override folder: overrides of core classes are the most common cause of errors after an upgrade. A theme built for 1.7 will have to be updated or replaced for the 9.x branch.

3. Step up PHP and PrestaShop in turn

The golden rule: change PHP and PrestaShop one at a time, never both at once:

1. PrestaShop 1.7.8 on PHP 7.4;
2. upgrade to PrestaShop 8, which also runs on PHP 7.4;
3. switch PHP to 8.1 and test;
4. upgrade to PrestaShop 9, which runs on PHP 8.1;
5. switch PHP to 8.4 or 8.5 and run a final check.

The core is upgraded with the official Update Assistant module (formerly 1-Click Upgrade). At each step, the store must run without errors before you move on to the next one.

4. Testing after the upgrade

Clear the cache in the var/cache folder, re-save the friendly URL settings so that PrestaShop regenerates .htaccess, and go through the whole customer journey: catalogue, filters, cart, checkout, payment, delivery, and the emails to the customer and the store manager.

5. Upgrading the live store

While you are testing the copy, new orders and customers keep arriving on the live site. That is why the final upgrade is done on the live store in maintenance mode, at a quiet time, repeating the steps you have already rehearsed on the copy. The alternative is to carry new orders over from the live database before the switch, but that is more complicated and riskier.

How to keep your search rankings

• leave the product and category URL patterns in the SEO settings unchanged, so that the addresses stay the same;
• if the addresses do change, set up 301 redirects for every old page;
• check titles, descriptions, canonical URLs and language versions;
• update the sitemap and submit it to Google Search Console;
• after launch, check the speed — the new theme and PHP should make the store faster, not slower.

For more on optimising categories, filters and product pages, see our article on e-commerce SEO.

Common mistakes

• switching PHP and upgrading PrestaShop at the same time — and then being unable to tell what exactly broke;
• upgrading without auditing the overrides in the override folder;
• forgetting to clear var/cache — and getting a 500 error after the upgrade;
• testing only the storefront rather than checkout with the real payment and delivery modules;
• spending weeks upgrading the copy, then copying it over the live store, old database and all — and losing new orders;
• leaving memory_limit too low — so the back office and imports fail halfway through.

How we help with PrestaShop

We move PrestaShop stores to our hosting free of charge — files, database, images, modules, email and SSL — and sync orders right before the domain is switched over. Hosting plans for online stores start from ₴250/mo. Upgrades to PrestaShop 8 or 9 and module replacements are handled as part of our website support: first an audit and an estimate, then the work on a copy. If you are still choosing a platform, the options are compared in our article on which platform to choose for an online store.

Conclusion

PrestaShop 9.1 is the right choice for a new store and the upgrade target for an older one. The road from 1.7 runs through PrestaShop 8 and gradual PHP upgrades, and the keys to a safe upgrade are a copy of the store, a module audit and testing the whole customer journey. If you need help with a migration or an upgrade, contact BB STUDIO.