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PrestaShop 1.3 Beginner's Guide

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.

Time for action - transferring files to your web host

To make this as quick and easy as it can be, I will use a few Windows shortcuts in this short click-by-click guide. Just before you dive in, you will need your FTP username and password. If you don't know it already, you can usually find this quite easily by looking in your account details in your web host's control panel. Any doubts, give them a ring. That's what you pay them for.

1. Hold down the Windows key and tap the E key twice. You will have two Explorer windows pop up. Arrange them neatly one above the other. Alternatively, you can grab a copy of a dedicated FTP program such as FileZilla from www.sourceforge.net. There is a small learning curve doing this, but once you're used to it, you will have more options when using FTP. This guide assumes you do not have FileZilla, but if you do, it won't be a problem to interpret the guide.
2. Browse to the unzipped prestashop folder at the bottom of the window. Actually click into it. We do not need the folder itself, just the contents.
3. At the top window, you need to log into your website via FTP. In the address bar at the top of the screen, type ftp://yourdomain.xxx and press Enter. When a pop-up window appears, enter your FTP username and password that you obtained earlier.
4. Now at the bottom of the window, left-click on the very first file. Hold down the Shift key and then using the down arrow key, while still holding down Shift, scroll to the very bottom of the screen so that all the files and folders are highlighted. Every single one.
5. Now let go of all the keys on the keyboard. Left-click and hold the left mouse button. You can now drag all the files from the prestashop folder on your PC up to your website in the top window.
6. Wait for the files to upload. The time will vary according to the speed of your Internet connection.

What just happened?

What you have done is put all of the files and folders containing the entire computer code, data, images, and other resources into your web host's server ready for the next phase of installation.

So let's move on.

Time for action - creating a database

First of all, you need to log in to your hosting control panel. You are looking for an option called "MySQL", "MySQL databases", or perhaps just "databases".

1. Click on MySQL databases or something similar.
2. Now we need to make another database. Look for the option Create new, Make a database, or perhaps just add. Click on it to see the options presented. Below is a screenshot of the database creation page on the Godaddy.com control panel. It serves as a good example because it has more options than most. If your screen has fewer options, that is okay. Just follow the guide for the bits you need to.
3. Description: This is an arbitrary field. Suppose over the years you open a couple of dozen stores, all requiring a database; eventually just a database name might not be enough to identify its purpose. Put something quite descriptive here, like 1st PrestaShop on www.mydomain.com. Abbreviate it if there is not enough space.
4. Database username: This is an important detail that needs to be remembered. It is case sensitive, so upper and lower case must be accurately recorded. Choose a username; again, it is arbitrary, but use something appropriate and not easily guessable, like mydomainsomesecretnumber. There will be a maximum number of characters, so you might need to use a shortened version. Write it down or copy and paste it into Windows Notepad or on a similar application. It is possible that you do not have a field for a name or it has already been filled out automatically. That's fine. Just write it down.
5. Enter a memorable but un-guessable password. Again this might be decided for you and it might not have this option at all. Re-enter the password if required. Write it down or copy and paste it in Notepad or something similar.
6. Read-Only User Name and Password: This is not required for PrestaShop, so leave it blank.
7. If you get the choice to select versions for MySQL, tick/check the option for 5 or later.
8. And, if as shown in the screenshot you get the option to Allow Direct Database Access, this is a definite No. We don't want people to fiddle with our database from far away.
9. When you're done, click to create the database— OK, Finish, Create, or whatever your web host decides to label their button with.
10. Now you should be able to see a summary of the database you created. Complete with the values you chose and the values chosen for you. The following screenshot will give you an idea. As usual, write it all down or copy and paste it into Notepad or some similar application.

What just happened?

Now we have a fresh database just itching to be filled up and manipulated. We also have the database information we need to do so. Next we can go to the most interesting part of the process and get our very first glimpse of PrestaShop in action. We'll set up the program right away.

Time for action - the PrestaShop auto-installer

To get started, type your shop domain name into your web browser. It will automatically redirect to the default start of the PrestaShop installation program. You should see the following window:

1. First up, just choose your language and click on Next to move to the SYSTEM AND PERMISSIONS screen:
2. Check that you have all green ticks, as in the preceding screenshot. If you do, then click on Next to proceed and jump to the next number. If you see some scary red crosses, don't panic because there are some simple solutions. And here they are. If you have all green ticks move on to step number 6.
3. If you have any red crosses under the PHP settings, then you need to contact your web host and ask them to make some changes for you. If your hosting package has the system requirements discussed earlier, it is most unlikely you have any crosses here. Also, if you have installed hosting on your own PC as described in my free guide, they will all be ticks. If you have crosses and need to contact your web host read the next point first.
4. Next is Write permissions on files and folders. This is the most likely area to have some crosses and also the easiest to remedy. In order for PrestaShop to install itself, it needs to be able to modify (write to) various files and folders. A red cross indicates that the folder cannot be written to. Changing this is nice and easy. Log in to your website with FTP just as we did when we transferred the PrestaShop folders there. Locate any folders with a red cross, right-click on them, and select Properties. Then put a tick in the top two checkboxes under the Write column. Done! It is possible that you might need to use your web host's file manager to do this step. Also, if you extracted the files on your web server, then the file permissions will probably not need amending at all. The last optional settings are just that, entirely optional. And again if you are pro-hosting, your web host will need to resolve this for you. But PrestaShop will still be functional without them.
5. Click on the Refresh these settings button to check if you have solved the problem(s) and then press Next and read on.
6. Next is the DATABASE CONFIGURATION screen:

7. You have probably guessed that this is where you will fill in all the database information that we collected earlier. I will go through each setting one at a time because some of the fields are described differently from host to host and by PrestaShop. I feel the need for a small table of explanations. Here it is:

PrestaShop field	Explanation/alternative name
Database server name:	The address of the computer (server) with your database on it: Sometimes called 'address', 'host name', or just 'the database server'. Type this in here exactly as it appears in your web hosting control panel.
Database name:	Simply a name given to the database on the database server: On shared hosting environments, this is often the same thing as the username (or login as PrestaShop calls it). Enter exactly as it appears in your hosting control panel.
Login:	Your MySQL username: On shared hosting environments, this is often the same as database name. Enter exactly as it appears in your hosting control panel.
Password:	Your top secret sequence of letters and numbers (Shhh…).
PrestaShop database tables prefix:	This is a short series of letters placed before all the tables (sections) of your soon-to-be-created database. When an e-commerce shop of any type is created, there are dozens of "tables" created to store all the necessary information. If you think about it, all stores are likely to have similar table names (perhaps 'customers' or 'products'). When this occurs, adding a unique prefix prevents the new table destroying the old. A prefix is a good idea at any time, a very good idea if you have any other uses for your database and essential if you have more than one PrestaShop on your database. If this is your first PrestaShop, I suggest leaving the prefix as it is, that is `ps_`. But if this is your second or third, I suggest changing it to `ps2_` or `ps3_`.

8. Select the Simple mode checkbox. This gives us a nice clean slate to work with. The other option sets up your store with sample products and lots more features all ready to go. That's cool. But do we know what we want yet? At the end of the day it is up to you. If you want to do it the Full mode way, that's fine. This book assumes that you have gone for the Simple mode installation, but the coming chapters would be quite easy to interpret if you want to do it the other way. I suggest Simple mode, but you decide.
9. Leave the Configure SMTP manually box unchecked. This is unnecessary for a pro-hosted environment.
10. Now enter your preferred e-mail address on your shop's domain that you would like PrestaShop to use. PrestaShop will send e-mails to customers to thank them for orders, notify them of dispatch, and more. PrestaShop will also contact you to let you know about important events such as when people spend money!
11. Click on Next and your shop database will be made. You will see this screen:
12. This page is really simple but with a little twist. Just fill in your first and last names along with the password you want to use to log in to your admin control panel. Do not select the Receive notifications by e-mail checkbox, as we will enable this later. There is a small bug in PrestaShop and this step avoids it. The one field that I haven't covered is the Shop logo box. I will cover this later, but if you just happen to have a 230x75 pixel graphic logo on your PC, feel free to browse to it and include it right away. Click on Next and rejoice.

What just happened?

You have just made your first PrestaShop. Cool! A few more bits and pieces to fiddle with and you're done. Was that difficult? In my opinion, if there is a technical side to running a PrestaShop e-commerce business, then that was probably about as geeky and technical as it gets! If you are reading this, you are heading for success.

Time for action - logging in to your PrestaShop control panel

Here is how to get there.

1. In your web browser type www.yourdomain.com/youradminfoldername, where youradminfoldername is the same name that you chose for your admin folder previously.
2. Enter the e-mail address you registered with and the password you gave on the last configuration page when you installed PrestaShop.
3. Hit enter and you're in.
4. Why don't you have a look at the PrestaShop live feed? This contains topical news and information about PrestaShop direct from the creators. If there is an update available for PrestaShop, you will hear about it here.

What just happened?

You took your first look inside your store control panel. Now let's click some buttons.

Control panel guided tour

Here I will quickly run through some of the general functions contained within each tab and drop-down box and mention when, approximately, we will cover them in more detail. Why not explore as we run through them? A full control panel reference is contained in Appendix 1. From left to right, we have:

Catalog: On this tab we have everything we need to manage our product range and all related aspects. For example, as well as creating the products Chapter 3 themselves, we can give our customers manufacturer and supplier information to aid their buying decision Chapter 2. We can assign advanced features to our catalog such as attributes, features, customizations, and attachments Chapter 3. We can also assign product tags to help customers and search engines easily find what they want Chapter 4.
Customers: The Customers tab allows us to view and edit our list of customers as well as creating groups of different types of customers. This as we see can be very useful Chapter 8.
Orders: Here we can manage every aspect of post-purchase communication. Things like notifying customers of dispatch or a problem and making invoices available and printing packing slips. All of this will be covered Chapter 8.
Payment: This tab lets us connect to payment providers like Google and PayPal as well as offering options such as cash on delivery and bank transfer Chapter 7. We can also add and configure the currencies we allow for payment, and create and manage gift vouchers that can be purchased Chapter 7 or given away as a promotion Chapter 8.
Shipping: Unfortunately, this tab can't actually deliver stuff for you. It does just about everything else that is related to delivering your customers' orders. You can configure shipping types, costs, and durations in just about any combination to suit your business Chapter 7.
Stats: This topic is crucial. And it is a very significant area where PrestaShop stands head and shoulders above its competitors. Capturing and using statistics Chapter 5 will allow you to measure success and decide how to change and improve your shop Chapter 9.
Modules: Just about everything in PrestaShop is a module. If you put a shopping basket here, it's a module; if you put a menu there, it's a module. We will be in and out of the module tab all the time. We will also go into greater depth about modules Chapter 2 and Chapter 5.
Employees: If you have someone else helping to run your business, the employees tab will help you manage your staff and how they interact with PrestaShop Chapter 6.
Preferences: The second-most varied tab in the whole of PrestaShop. There are many things you can do here. We will be popping in here from time to time and then covering everything we missed Chapter 5.
Tools: The most varied tab in the whole of PrestaShop. There are several things you can do here. We will be popping in here from time to time and then covering everything we missed as well Chapter 5.
Search box and drop-down: Select a PrestaShop aspect, type a related word, and hit Search. When you can't quite remember which tab is hiding the function you need, the Search box and drop-down menu in the top left is a life saver.
Quick access drop-down: Know exactly where you want to go but don't want to click multiple buttons to get there? Select your destination from the quick access drop-down. This handy feature is in your control panel at the top-right corner.

Have a go hero - hunt the PrestaShop thimble

Here is a little challenge for you. Nothing very technical but a sort of PrestaShop 'hunt the thimble'. What if you wanted to temporarily disable your shop? Maybe you wanted to close it for maintenance. Perhaps you want to close it down during development when you're not actually viewing it. Can you find where to do it?

I promise you the solution is simple but can you work out where it is hiding?

Solution: Click on the Preferences tab. Scroll down to Enable Shop and select No. The Maintenance IP box even enables you to enter your unique Internet (IP) address so that only you can see the shop. This is a perfect, secure manner to develop your store. To get your IP address visit http://www.whatsmyip.org/. Enter it in the box on your preferences tab and press Save.

Key benefits

Covers every topic required to start and run a real, trading e-commerce business with PrestaShop

Deploy PrestaShop quickly and easily, and make your PrestaShop search-engine friendly

Learn how to turn a single new PrestaShop into a thriving e-commerce empire

Step-by-step fully illustrated explanation and discussions aimed at helping beginners like you towards the realization of your own PrestaShop store and beyond

Description

PrestaShop is a hidden gem. There are many much more widely known online shopping cart solutions that have nothing like the features, potential, and ease of use that this open source, completely free-to-use, system has. But until now there has been no information available on how to make the most of it. This book takes a step-by-step approach to help you set up your own e-commerce store and maximize its potential. Even if you are totally new to e-commerce and PrestaShop, you can have your own functioning e-commerce store quickly and with tiny expenditure. Imagine the feeling when you get that glorious e-mail saying that you have your first paying customer.This practical guide follows the order of developing an active business. Packed with easy-to-follow steps with loads of screenshots and clear explanations, it follows a step-by-step approach to set up a PrestaShop e-commerce store from the very beginning through finding a web host, setting up your PrestaShop store, accepting money from customers, and planning for the future of your business.The first few chapters are a lightening, but thorough, illustration of how to get your shop online, stocked up, and looking smart and unique, including some really cool and really simple product features to show off your wares in style – very quickly. The later chapters are quite diverse and cover some exciting stuff such as newsletters, loyalty schemes, alternative revenue streams, statistics and analytics. You will also learn about security, disaster recovery, payment handling, currencies, taxes, shipping, and more. Towards the end, the chapters cover final preparations before going live, handling orders in PrestaShop, and how to promote your store and get more customers. Once the money starts to flow, the book looks at the future of e-commerce and your PrestaShop business. Then it discusses how to get to the top of your niche and stay there. And then the big secret: to use the knowledge you have gained to turn a single PrestaShop into a thriving e-commerce empire.The Appendix covers a number of worthwhile topics such as a handy PrestaShop control panel reference and various web resources for PrestaShop.

Who is this book for?

This book is for anybody who wants a fully functioning e-commerce store using PrestaShop. You do not have to have any previous knowledge of PrestaShop or any aspect of e-commerce or business in general. If you do, then you will probably find this guide really valuable as well. The book covers all you need to know about starting your own e-commerce business.

What you will learn

Install PrestaShop on a web server

Use PrestaShop catalog features to present your products in an enticing and professional manner

Write great sales copy and articles and make them available through the PrestaShop content management system

Customize and configure the look and feel of your PrestaShop to make it unique and professional

Connect PrestaShop to a choice of payment handlers to take online payments

The ins and outs of handling shipping, taxes, and currencies in PrestaShop

Secure PrestaShop using a wide range of built-in features and other tactics

Back up your business offline and learn how to completely re-deploy your business in under 30 minutes in case of disaster

Implement and use PrestaShop and Google Analytics statistics features to discover ways to improve your store

Market your new business using e-mail, social media, SEO, articles, blogs, forums, and more

Turn a new PrestaShop store into a thriving online business and then into an e-commerce empire of the future

What do you get with Print?

Instant access to your digital eBook copy whilst your Print order is Shipped

Paperback book shipped to your preferred address

Download this book in EPUB and PDF formats

Access this title in our online reader with advanced features

DRM FREE - Read whenever, wherever and however you want

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Amazon verified reviews

Mbeatle Dec 26, 2014

Very easy to follow guidance I love it and already created my very first website

Amazon Verified review

gregory May 30, 2013

Very well done and informative. This is an earlier PrestaShop version than is available now, but still quite useful for beginning your shop. The author follows in line with an open source by pointing the reader to getting the job done, your shop up and running, with the least out of pocket expenses.

DaveUK Jun 29, 2010

This book is a very detailed and informative guide yet written in such a simple and informative style that even a beginner like me can follow everything through. Exactly what I've been looking for to make PrestaShop work for me and do everything my business needs.

Tricia Neron Oct 02, 2011

I new NOTHING about e-com under the opensource world and this book was a AMAZING. Later on, I had some major security concerns with Prestashop - which forced me to contact John Horton (writer of PrestaSHop 1.3 Beginners Guide). John wrote back to me ASAP and gave me some good tips. I would recommend this book to anyone considering setting up Prestashop, it easy to understand and has some very good advice chapter to chapter.

John Jul 31, 2010

PrestaShop 1.3, Beginner's Guide by John Horton does exactly what is suggested by the title in that it provides a comprehensive and detailed guide to novices looking to set up their own online shops. While it is aimed at total beginners it never talks down to the reader and neither does it merely scratch the surface of the topic requiring you to go off and search for the real valuable information somewhere else. This book takes you from clueless beginner (which I undoubtedly was) to someone equipped with the knowledge, resources and additional support to be quite confident in setting up an effective online retail presence (which I believe I now am).From the word go, I was caught by the evident enthusiasm of the author and the fact he is clearly such an expert on the subject. I also liked the fact that he laid down his 'seven day challenge' and included some excerpts from his own 'story' throughout the book. Anyone who has even a faint idea about selling products online would undoubtedly benefit from this book as it gives you not just the technical information but the business input too. Likewise, if you already have an idea of what you want to sell and why it is a good product then you have a complete technical guide as to how to make that happen.It actually helps if you have at least a certain comfort level with some simple computing basics, but even if you don't the processes described are in sufficiently layman's terms to make it easy for almost anyone. I can be quite confident in saying that this book contains pretty much everything you will need to set up a sophisticated and successful online shop. It doesn't go crazy though and go off on any disingenuous tangents by, for example, trying to explain Content Management Systems or some other equally esoteric topic. Overall, I think an excellent balance is achieved.PrestaShop 1.3, Beginner's Guide is written in a very chatty and engaging style and the author's personality comes through loud and clear - you really do feel like he wants to make it as easy as possible for you to succeed. It is always down-to-earth and although the author clearly knows his topic well, he does go to great lengths to take everything step by step and make it as absolutely logical as possible. The level of detail is sufficient if you have never covered the particular task before.The addition of screen shots is also very convenient and makes the process easier. The 'What just happened' section is particularly good and there are plenty of reassuring summaries throughout so you can feel the book is not just running away with itself and the reader can keep recycling and reprocessing the information. Most importantly, he has done it himself and made a success of it. He has set up over 10 online shops, has been through all the different options, experienced the pitfalls, the highs and lows, and is passing on the very best information and advice possible to a new lucky group of shop owners.I am personally working in business and found the book full of very solid advice which could applied in many settings. It is also a great introduction to some of the most modern forms of online marketing including the use of Twitter, Facebook, and Google Adwords. One thing I liked was John's regular reference to the need for a strong, viable business case. Prestashop is a magnificent product but will totally fall flat if your basic offering does not create a customer which Peter Drucker famously said was the purpose of business. It is too easy to fly into the detail of a business before taking time to fully understand your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) and why people buy from you. Likewise, the author also covers key and hard-to-grasp issues like Search Engine Optimisation which I think he correctly identifies as something readers will need to understand.I can honestly say that PrestaShop 1.3, Beginner's Guide covers everything you will need. Not only that, John refers to several free resources he himself has written and provides an extensive list of resources at the end of the book.This book is almost encyclopedic in its treatment of how to set up and use Prestashop and it is certainly something that can used in that way. You don't only get Prestashop related material you also get a lot of valuable business advice, of course in a Prestashop context.Another benefit readers will receive is regular pointers to where they can find other free resources also written by the author.I have to state clearly that John is a long-term friend of mine - to give you an idea we go back to those halcyon days of the Spectrum ZX-81 and the Commodore 64 - yes, we are getting on. Bearing this in mind, I have done my best to write something honest and useful to potential buyers of this book. Although he plays it down, John has always been marvellous with computers and able to effortlessly explain complex technical issues to me, a relative technophobe. Therefore, it does not surprise me he has written something so useful, practical and frankly inspiring.

PrestaShop 1.3 Beginner's Guide: Build and customize your online store with this speedy, lightweight e-commerce solution

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