Why upgrade from prestashop 1.6 to 1.7

Prestashop is undoubtedly one of the most reliable eCommerce solutions introduced for small to medium businesses so far. This open-source software is not just rich with advanced features and functionalities but custom options as well. Regardless of the version, the platform never fails to surprise its users with optimum performance. However, with every release, the community works on enhancing the overall shopping experience for users as well as the end client. Thus it is recommended to keep your store updated to avoid any security issues, bugs or slow loading pages. In this post, we will discuss why is it important to upgrade from PrestaShop 1.6 to 1.7 because a large number of businesses are still struggling with the dilemma of upgrading.

Thought the Prestashop 1.6 version is a dependable platform to run a small-medium sized business successfully without much hassle, the major update i.e. Prestashop 1.7 overcomes any limitations with the older version. Not only does it boast a full-fledged list of advanced features but is an important milestone for PrestaShop as a whole. It is a great step forward for PrestaShop, both for developers with the introduction of Symfony and the revamping of the theme system, and for merchants with a focus on easing the first sale.

As PrestaShop puts it, PS 1.7 has a clear motto: “Sell faster. Code Better. Create easier”.

Well, this explains a lot. The statement in itself is a clear reason to upgrade. Further, this version, with some notable changes in the general configuration, has helped several businesses in enhancing the overall performance. In case you are still on PrestaShop 1.6, it’s time for you to widen your wings and spread them over to PrestaShop 1.7; and we have a list of reasons to do so.

Let’s get you acquainted.

Enhanced Product Configuration
A brand new way to add products to your catalogue!
With an engaging interface, user can benefit from automatic management, various shortcuts and quick actions. Further, store owners can quickly create product lists and organize the features as well as values. In other words, you will experience improved product navigation with rapid creation of categories & subcategories.

Improved Back Office Navigation
Experience refreshed back office, with an improved UI/UX experience for easy browsing!

In PrestaShop 1.7, the main menu is categorized into 3 different sections – sell, improve and configure. This, in turn, makes way for easy navigation between these three sections and better modules management.

Introduction of Symfony
According to PrestaShop, “The driving idea behind the 1.7 project is that we want our code to be more robust, more modular, and fully testable. The 1.6 architecture, inherited from version 1.5 and years of PrestaShop development, is not getting any younger, and its age is really starting to show.”

Well, Symphony in PrestaShop 1.7 works on the above. It allows developers and users to focus on our core business code (managing a cart, order management, price/tax calculation, invoice generation etc.) with greater efficiency.
Further, the development team can utilize the options of this robust framework to emphasize eCommerce specifics in addition to enhancing the Prestashop functionalities.

Novel Themes
With the latest version 1.7, developers need to spend only half of the usual time to create attractive themes; just a basic awareness of CSS and HTML is all that is needed.

Also, the visually light “Classic” theme gives a fresh appearance to your store and the enhanced product sheet and checkout process make selling a lot easier.

Other Features

PrestaShop 1.7 is available with an OSL 3.0 license. This means you can use, improve and contribute to the project. Further, with a massive community of over a million members, there are thousands of users connected to PrestaShop forums at any time. Finding answers to your queries is a cakewalk.
You can download and install PrestaShop 1.7 locally, select your hosting solution and have full access to your data. An import/export tool allows you to backup your data and move it around as you need.
During the checkout, your customers have options to authenticate their orders.

The major upgrade of the software to Prestashop 1.7 with impressive changes to the overall user experience has already created a wave in the industry. It’s your turn to take the lead now!