Good advice for maintaining your Prestashop webshop

A large number of tasks follow when you have a webshop. First of all, the webshop must be taken care of; orders must be processed, products must be kept up to date, new products must be created, discontinued products must be removed, the webshop and the products must be marketed and much more.

In addition to these tasks, it is also important to ensure that the webshop runs smoothly and that the technology works optimally. Maintaining the webshop's technical foundation is therefore also an extremely important task - regardless of which webshop system you use.

If your webshop has been developed in Prestashop, there are therefore also a number of tasks that you should regularly carry out to ensure that everything works as it should. That's why we come up with a number of good tips for maintaining Prestashop in this post.

If you need help to take care of the maintenance of your Prestashop webshop, we can help you. Read more about our Security and Update Subscription here.

Take regular backups

First of all, it is a really good idea to back up the webshop regularly. Especially because it is a webshop, we recommend that you take a backup at least once a day.

There can be many reasons why it is necessary to restore a backup of your Prestashop; Unforeseen events such as server crashes, hardware failures or software problems can result in the loss of critical data. There may also be a risk that your Prestashop webshop will be affected by a security breach.

Regardless of the reason why a backup needs to be restored, it contributes to a shorter downtime - and therefore a faster recovery of the webshop, so that you can once again sell your products online.

How should you take a backup?

There are several different ways to backup your Prestashop webshop. On the one hand, Prestashop has a backup module that you can use, and on the other hand it is a good idea to also take an external backup. It can be, for example, a backup from your hosting provider (the web hotel).

When you have a security and update subscription with itpilot, we ensure that your webshop is backed up daily. In this way, you are sure that a backup copy from the day before can always be restored if the accident happens. This also limits how much data may be lost.

Keep both platform and modules up to date

Prestashop is open source, and this gives you great flexibility in terms of functions and design on the webshop. The source codes for both Prestashop and modules are publicly available and this also means that there will be cybercriminals trying to find security holes and vulnerabilities in these source codes.

This applies to all open source CMS, and although it may sound like a big security risk, the risk is very small - if you remember to keep both Prestashop and the modules up to date.

It is not only to maintain the security of your webshop that you must carry out these updates. The updates often also include optimizations that improve both performance and stability. This can therefore contribute to faster loading times and a more reliable webshop experience for your customers.

Finally, there is also the possibility that the updates provide new functions and improvements that can strengthen your options and provide access to the latest technologies and trends.

If you do not want to handle these updates yourself, read more about our security and update subscription.

Protect the webshop from malicious activities

The success of your webshop largely depends on your customers feeling secure when they shop with you. Both antivirus software and browsers can warn that a webshop is not safe if they think there is malicious code. This means that your customers do not enter your webshop, but instead choose to shop at one of your competitors.

If your webshop is exposed to harmful activities, it can have serious consequences, including data loss, downtime and loss of reputation. Therefore, it is important that you are proactive when it comes to the security of your webshop. 

Some of the ways you can protect your webshop are by removing unused modules and themes, managing user roles and setting up security measures and SSL certificate.

Remove unused modules and themes

Unused modules and themes - especially those that are not regularly updated by the developer - pose a potential security risk for your webshop. Older or inactive code may have vulnerabilities that can be exploited by malicious software.

In addition, you must also be aware that each installed module and theme adds code to your webshop. Even if a module is inactive, its code can still have an impact on the webshop's performance. By removing unused elements, the load on the webshop is reduced, which can lead to faster load times and better performance.

It will also be easier for you to maintain an overview and to maintain and manage your Prestashop webshop if a large number of modules are not installed that do not really serve a purpose for the webshop. It also makes it easier for you to identify and solve problems if they arise.

Manage user permissions

It is always a good idea to only assign the necessary access levels to users on the webshop. Unnecessary administrator rights should be restricted to reduce the risk of unauthorized access.

In addition, it may be a good idea to have a policy of regularly changing passwords for all users with access to the webshop. We recommend that you use strong and unique passwords to prevent unauthorized access. If necessary, use a password manager to keep track of your various passwords. 

Also make sure to implement two-factor authentication (2FA) – especially for your administrators. 2FA provides an extra layer of security by requiring additional verification beyond username and password.

Safeguards and SSL

With an SSL certificate, the communication between the webshop and the customer's browser is encrypted. In this way, a secure online environment can be created, where the customer does not have to worry about personal or payment information being intercepted by unauthorized third parties.

In addition to an SSL certificate, you should also consider implementing a Web Application Firewall, which can protect your webshop against various types of cyber attacks, including SQL injections, cross-site scripting (XSS) and other types of malicious activities.

Regular security scans should also be performed, which can identify and remedy any security risks.

Monitor the performance of the webshop

The performance of your webshop has several advantages. A high performance helps to create a positive user experience. Slow pages can lead to loss of customers as many consumers expect fast and responsive websites. In addition, the search engines also prioritize fast websites in the search results.

By monitoring the webshop's performance, you will quickly discover if the webshop is not performing optimally - then you have the opportunity to quickly intervene and solve the challenges.

What happens if Prestashop is not maintained?

PrestaShop is a powerful e-commerce platform, but like any other technological solution it requires regular maintenance to function optimally. If you ignore the maintenance of Prestashop, it can have major consequences for the functionality, security and user experience of the webshop – and it can be expensive for you in the end.

Without regular updates, your PrestaShop webshop will be vulnerable to security threats, and if you don't have a backup that you can restore if the accident happens, it can be both expensive and extensive to re-establish the webshop. In addition, it can also mean that your customers' data is compromised and that you generally risk losing your good reputation..

Another aspect is that if your Prestashop webshop is not maintained, you risk slower loading times, checkout errors and a general deterioration of the user experience. New PrestaShop updates often include new functions, improvements and innovative solutions, so when you don't update, you miss these opportunities to improve the webshop, optimize processes and offer customers new and better experiences.

Get a professional business partner

The above are just a few examples of what consequences it can have if you do not maintain your webshop. If you do not have the skills or the time to maintain your Prestashop webshop yourself, it is a good idea to get a professional business partner like itpilot.

At itpilot, we have many years of experience with the development and operation of both websites, webshops and software solutions. Our team of experienced developers and technical experts are ready to handle all aspects of maintenance, updates and debugging of your Prestashop webshop.

If you want to hear more about how we can help you, contact us for a non-binding conversation. Call us on tel: +45 87 25 07 87 or fill out the contact form below.