Table of content

Installing PrestaShop

Quick instructions

This small section is aimed at those who are already familiar with installing PHP-MySQL web applications on a server. Should you not feel comfortable with their lack of details, you will find detailed instructions in the section following this one.

1. Download the PrestaShop archive and unzip it on your computer.
2. Create a database for PrestaShop on your server.
3. Upload all the files from the unzipped archive to your server.
4. Open the files' location in your browser; you should be redirected to the /install/ folder.
5. Using your MySQL access codes, follow the instructions from the installer's screens.
6. Once installed, delete the /install/ folder and rename the /admin/ folder to something unique to you (for instance, /4dm1n/).
7. Check that everything works:
   • Visit your website
   • Connect to your back-office (the admin folder that your renamed), using the access codes you set during the installation process.

You're done! Start adding product, changing theme, downloading modules...

Downloading and unzipping the PrestaShop archive

You can download the latest version of PrestaShop at http://www.prestashop.com/en/downloads. This page presents you with an informal form, which helps the PrestaShop team better know its users. Whether you fill the form or not, click the "Download" button to display the download page.

You have only one choice: the latest stable version, ready for all websites.

Click on the download button, and save the archive on your computer (such as on your Desktop). You should get a file named "prestashop_1.5.2.zip" (or an equivalent, depending on the version numbers).

Using a Zip tool, extract the content of the archive to a known location on your hard-drive (such as on the Desktop again). Do not upload the Zip file to your server.

Uploading PrestaShop

You should now have a hosting space at your disposal and a folder on your hard-drive with the uncompressed PrestaShop archive.

This step makes you upload the PrestaShop files on your hosting space. This is done using a FTP client, which you should have installed while reading the previous chapter of this guide, "What you need to get started".

Connect to your hosting space using your FTP client, by using the connection details provided by your web host. Once connected, it is time to transfer the PrestaShop files from your computer to your server.

In FileZilla (or any other FTP client), browse your local folders until you find the one that contains the PrestaShop files. Keep it open.

In the "Remote site" section (on the right), browse to the location where you want PrestaShop to be publicly available (root of the domain, sub-folder, sub-domain...). This can change a lot, depending on both your host and your needs:

• Your host:
  • Some hosts may require you to place your files in a specific folder, such as /htdocs, /public_html, /web, /www, /yourdomainname.com, etc.
  • Other hosts' FTP server will simply log you directly into the proper upload space.
• Your needs:
  • If you want your shop to be the main website for your domain name (i.e., http://www.myprestashop.com), upload PrestaShop at the root folder of the upload space (which may depend on the host).
  • If you want your shop to be in a sub-folder of your domain name (http://www.mywebsite.com/shop), you must first create said folder through FileZilla (right-click and choose "Create directory"), then upload PrestaShop in that folder.
  • If you want your shop to be in a sub-domain of your domain name (http://shop.mywebsite.com), you must first create said sub-domain. This depends on your host: you might be able to do it simply by adding a new folder with your FTP client, or you might have to create the sub-domain through your host's administration panel. Read your host's support documentation first. Once created, browse to the sub-domain's folder, and upload PrestaShop there.

On FileZilla's left side, you should now have the local folder where you keep the uncompressed the PrestaShop files, and on the right side, the destination location. If you haven't done it yet, uploading is simple: select all files and folders from the local folder (use Ctrl-A), and either drag & drop them to the remote folder, or right-click on the selection and choose "Upload" in the context menu.

After a short while, all of PrestaShop's files and folders should be online. Great!

Creating a database for your shop

Before you can actually install PrestaShop, you need to make sure your MySQL server has a database ready for PrestaShop's data, and if not, create one. This can be done using the free phpMyAdmin tool (http://www.phpmyadmin.net/), which should come pre-installed on your web server most of the time (read you host's documentation). Connect to it using your account credentials, which your host provided you with. It should be accessible through a standard URL, tied to your domain name, or that of your host.

In the left column, you can see the current databases. Some of them should be left alone, because they are either used by phpMyAdmin or by the host: phpmyadmin, mysql, information_schema, performance_schema and others. Read your host's documentation to know if one of these can be used as a default database.

Either way, you can create a brand new database using the central form named "Create new database" in the "Databases" tab. Simply enter a unique name, and click "Create". The name of the database will be added to the list on the left. You can now use it to store PrestaShop's data.

Launching the auto-installer

Now comes the part where it all comes together: installing PrestaShop.

The installation process is quite easy, as it is streamlined by PrestaShop's auto-installer. To launch it, simply browse to PrestaShop's location on your hosting: the script will automatically detect that it is not yet installed, and will take you to the auto-installer. From there on, you just have to read and click.

Step 1: Welcome page

This page is a quick intro into the installation process.

1. Select the language in which you wish the installer to be.
2. Read the PrestaShop license (the Open Software License 3.0, see http://www.opensource.org/licenses/OSL-3.0), and agree to it.

To access the next step, you must check the "I agree to the above terms and conditions" box, then click "Next". If you do not explicitly agree to the license, you cannot install PrestaShop.

Step 2 & 3: System compatibility & system configuration

The second page makes a quick check of all the server parameters on your host, and if nothing wrong is found, takes you directly to the third page.

System compatibility

This page checks that everything is OK with your server configuration: PHP settings, permissions on files and folders, third-party tools.

If anything goes wrong, the installer stops you here, enabling you to see the few technical details that need fixing, be it changing the PHP configuration or updating the file permissions.

While changing the PHP configuration can only be done on a case-by-case basis depending on your level of access to your server, and therefore cannot be explained here, updating the file permissions is easier to explain. This will require you to access your remote files, and therefore use your FTP client (such as FileZilla).

Log-in to your server account using your FTP client, browse to the PrestaShop folder, and find the folders that are marked by the installer as in need of a permission change.

In any case, thanks to FileZilla (and most FTP clients), you can change permissions easily and graphically: once you have found a file or folder that needs such a change, right-click on it from your FTP client, and in the context menu choose "File permissions...". It will open a small window.

Depending on your server configuration (which you don't always have a hand at), you'll need to both "Read" and "Execute" columns of boxes checked, and at least the "Owner" and "Group" rows for the "Write" column. Some host might require you to have the public "Write" box checked, but be careful with that: have anyone be able to edit the content of your folder is rarely a good thing.

For folders that the installer is needing a recursive permission change on, you can check the "Recurse in subdirectories" box.

Regularly check that you have made the correct check by relaunching the installer's compatibility checks: click "Refresh these settings" as often as necessary.

Once all indicators are green, you can click "Next". If you cannot have them all green, at least make sure the installer displays "Your configuration is valid, click next to continue!"

System configuration

This page contains a form that enables you to tell PrestaShop where the database server is, and which database it should use, along with a few other details.

Database configuration

Fill all the fields with the connection information provided by your web-host, along with the name of the database you chose/created for PrestaShop, then click the "Verify now!" button in order to check that everything is fine. If so, the installer will display the following message: "Database is connected".

Choose the prefix for your tables. "ps_" is the default, resulting in the PrestaShop SQL table having names such as "ps_cart" or "ps_wishlist"; but if you need to install more than one instances of PrestaShop on the same database, then you must use a unique prefix for each install. Note however that we recommend you to create one database per installation of PrestaShop.

E-mail delivery set-up

PrestaShop relies heavily on e-mail for notifications, both for the shop owner and its customers. This form enables you to test whether the current server configuration lets you send e-mail using PHP's mail() function. If this is not the case, then check the "Configure SMTP manually" box in order to configure your own mail server. Note that this is reserved to advanced users.

Click "Next" to continue.

Step 3: Shop configuration

This is where you can already start customizing your shop: give it a name and a logo, indicate its main activity, and indicate the personal information for the shop owner (which has legal binding in most countries)...

You can choose to install a bunch of demo products. This is great if you are discovering PrestaShop, as it helps you learn how to use the various features... and it can of course serve as a good basis for your own shop, after removing the demo products and categories!
If you know what you are doing and do not need sample products, choose "No".

As for the logo, you should note that it will appear:

• On all of your store's pages.
• In your back-office.
• In all of the e-mails sent to your customers.
• In all of your contract documents (bills, return authorizations, etc.)

It is highly recommended to not keep the default PrestaShop logo, for obvious reasons.

Click "Next", and the installer will start filling the database with tables and data. This might take a few minutes in a slow server.

Once it is done, your shop is online!

Completing the installation

As you can read about right on the final page of the installation process, there are a couple of last actions to perform before you can call it a success.

An easy way to improve your installation's security is to delete or rename some key files and folders. This is done using your FTP client, directly on the server.

Items to delete:

• "install" folder.
• "readme_*" files (the 5 of them).
• "CHANGELOG" file.

Item to rename:

• "admin" folder: you should give it a unique name, so that no attacker can access your admin files. For instance, "admin42", "secretFolder" or "xyz123" – anything unique.

Write down the new name for your admin folder, as you will from now on access your administration pages using this address.

Congratulations! Installation is now complete.

Log in to the PrestaShop back-office and start filling out your products catalog and configuring the many settings to suit your tastes and needs.

Finally, in order to close all potential doors, use your FTP client to update the files and folders permissions to 664, or 666 if your host requires it. If it turns out low access rights prevent some modules to work, you should set permissions back to 755.