Chapter 1. Building Your PrestaShop

I don't believe in hanging around! So let's get right on with setting up PrestaShop. Take a look at what we will do next.

In this chapter we will:

• Download and prepare the PrestaShop files

• Make a database

• Install PrestaShop

• Implement post-install security

• Have a look at your shop from a customer's viewpoint

• Have a look around your new admin control panel

Here we go...

Case studies

To make this book realistic, I will refer to two fictitious stores—fluffyteddies.com and guns4u.com. The diverse and extreme nature of the case studies will help to clearly demonstrate the "real" application of some PrestaShop features. I will refer to the case studies from time to time to discuss how the topic in question might fit in with one or perhaps both of them. Here is a bit more about the case studies.

• Fluffyteddies.com

  Fluffy Teddies is a brand new small scale business. It is the fulfillment of a dream for a teddy bear, doll, and accessories hobbyist. It is his plan to offer a wide and diverse range of the most delightful and collectable products of their type, available in one place.

  He is passionate about his range and aims to project this to his customers through an interesting and useful website content as well as good quality merchandise.

• Guns4u.com

  Guns4u is the web outlet for a major arms reseller. Guns4u has a very wide range of weapons from small arms to intercontinental ordinance with various warheads as well as state-of-the-art missile defense systems.

  Guns4u plans to make their product range available to a wide and diverse range of customers. Operating from the independent island of Tropicano in the South Pacific, it is not governed by restrictive laws on arms sales.

  Just as long as Guns4u complies with the stringent tax laws of the ruling dictator of Tropicano, it will have a free reign to sell its wares to whoever it chooses. Guns4u intends to offer a retail range to anybody and a bulk discounted range for its bigger customers.