PrestaShop 9 – Explore Key Highlights, What’s New and Improvements

The latest version of the globally renowned CMS, PrestaShop is available for use. PrestaShop 9 comes with loads of enhancements focussed on frontend, backend, SEO, and other important parameters. The latest PrestaShop version emphasizes functionalities focussed on business growth and introduces a completely new API.

There’s also support for Symfony 6.4 and PHP 8.4 which makes it more secure and scalable than its predecessors. Overall, it provides a robust, future-ready foundation for merchants, developers, and integrators.

Here are key highlights of PrestaShop 9

• Built on Symfony 6.4 LTS, ensuring long-term stability and support
• Compatible with PHP versions 8.1 through 8.4 for enhanced performance and security
• A powerful new Admin API built on API Platform for seamless integrations
• A sleek and responsive Hummingbird theme for modern storefronts
• Fully reimagined back office interface, now entirely rendered using Symfony
• Significant boosts in site speed, SEO performance, and image optimization (with native WebP and AVIF support)
• A redesigned product management experience in the admin panel
• Ongoing codebase refinement and architectural enhancements for better scalability
• Early support for a Symfony-based front office container, paving the way for future upgrades

Clearly, there’s a lot on the plate. Let us examine how these new features and improvements can help businesses stay ahead.

New features in PrestaShop 9

Symfony 6.4 and PHP 8.4 compatibility

PrestaShop 9 marks a huge technological leap by adopting Symfony 6.4. This means users get access to the latest long-term support (LTS) version of the framework. It also includes security updates guaranteed until November 2027. This transition from Symfony 4.4 automatically introduces a wealth of enhancements, like:

• Superior performance
• Reduced memory consumption
• A stronger, more secure foundation against common web vulnerabilities
• More clean and easy-to-maintain architecture 

All of these lay the foundation for simplified future development and reduced technical debt. In parallel, PrestaShop 9 extends support for PHP 8.1 through to 8.4. So, you can expect smooth compatibility with actively supported versions of the Hypertext Preprocessor scripting language. This enables:

• Faster, more efficient execution
• Access to modern PHP features for safer, more expressive code
• Improved future-proofing through better alignment with the PHP ecosystem and third-party libraries

So, what’s the significance of these introductions? In simple words, the support for the latest PHP version will enable developers to build clean and secure code with best practices. On the other hand, online store merchants will benefit from faster and more scalable eCommerce sites. 

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A modern and developer-friendly admin API

With PrestaShop 9, a new era of integration begins. The platform now includes a completely redesigned Admin API. It is powered by the API Platform, a modern, flexible API framework trusted across the PHP community.

This strategic upgrade lays the groundwork for greater openness and modularity across PrestaShop, delivering:

• Smooth integration with external platforms like CRMs, ERPs, and various marketing channels
• Greater automation of administrative tasks, reducing reliance on manual processes
• A modern, standards-based API (REST + JSON), making it easy to adopt for any developer familiar with today’s web services
• Modular, extensible design to support future enhancements and community-driven contributions

While the core API features are already in place, it’s important to note that development is ongoing. These are focused on refinements based on the feedback from actual users.

Introduced the Hummingbird theme

PrestaShop 9 unveils Hummingbird. This is a completely new frontend theme that lays the foundation for ensuring modern standards for PrestaShop storefronts. It has been built with Bootstrap 5 front-end framework and uses the TypeScript programming language. The theme is built with the BEM (Block Element Modifier) methodology. 

Hummingbird offers a fresh start—built from the ground up and aims to provide users with greater flexibility. The theme will also boost scalability and performance. 

Key highlights include:

• Full Bootstrap 5 LTS integration: This will ensure a consistent and responsive UI framework
• Modern SCSS architecture using @layer: This is aimed at promoting modular styling and simplified maintenance.
• Structured, BEM-based CSS naming: So the styles are easier to read, override, and scale.
• Clear separation between PrestaShop-specific and Bootstrap styles: This offers reliable support for cleaner customizations.
• Streamlined directory layout: This has replaced the outdated _dev structure with a more maintainable format.
• Support for Bootstrap dark mode: This is toggleable via a single SCSS (Sassy Cascading Style Sheets) variable.
• Reduced reliance on external libraries: You get greater emphasis on native Bootstrap components
• Extensive template refactoring: It provides a more consistent, modular, and reusable foundation for theme developers.

Hummingbird is more than just a design update. In simple words it’s a strategic rethinking of how PrestaShop themes are built and maintained. So, merchants and developers move faster with fewer constraints. A PrestaShop developer can build a modern website using Hummingbird with ease. Reasons to hire dedicated PrestaShop developer includes quick access to talented skills and proven expertise for your upgrade.

Additional enhancements in PrestaShop 9

Frontend improvements

PrestaShop 9 delivers a range of front-end improvements aimed at boosting performance, usability, and customer experience:

• Native support for WebP and AVIF image formats: These are aimed at helping improve load times and overall store speed. Consequently, users will experience a fast website with a hassle-free shopping experience.
• Customer cart notifications: eCommerce sites can easily alert shoppers whether a product they’re viewing is already in their basket. This will help users avoid mistakenly buying the same items/services.
• Faster guest checkouts: Developers can now empower online stores with smooth guest check-outs. So, users can buy from the platform without having to register their customer account.
• Optimized rendering: This includes categories, manufacturers, suppliers, and store listings. Moreover, it uses Presenters for greater consistency and performance.
• Breadcrumb navigation now reflects the active category: It is easier than ever before for users to understand where they are in the store hierarchy.
• Accelerated loading of jQuery UI components: This will improve the responsiveness of websites and online stores built on Shopify.
• Experimental Symfony service container: PrestaShop developers can access this container in the front end. So, business projects are equipped with modern tools to build and extend functionality.

Improvements in the SEO & URL management

The new version introduces out-of-the-box SEO practices and cleaner, more manageable URLs:

• Simplified product URLs with category segments removed by default
• Optional removal of the default language prefix from URLs to reduce unnecessary redirects when adding new languages
• Inactive categories now support 301 or 302 redirects, giving merchants finer control over search engine indexing
• Filtered product listings are now excluded from indexing in line with SEO best practices

Enhanced product management

PrestaShop 9 introduces a significantly upgraded product management experience:

• The new product editing interface is now the default, offering faster and more intuitive control over your catalog (legacy version retired)
• Manual and automatic sorting of product feature values
• Performance improvements across product pages are especially beneficial for stores with large inventories.

Modernized backend

The back office receives a comprehensive redesign and architectural upgrade, making it more user-friendly and developer-centric:

• A fresh, contemporary interface aligned with PrestaShop’s current branding
• Full Symfony and Twig rendering throughout the back office—part of the ongoing migration to a more modern codebase
• Pages now fully migrated include Login, Products, Orders, Attributes, Statuses, and more
• Improved layout consistency, clearer language, and more intuitive navigation
• Ability to manually create guest customers, streamlining manual order creation

Security and debugging improvements

Security and maintainability have also been strengthened:

• Debug mode access can now be restricted by cookie, improving control during troubleshooting.
• Randomized table prefixes are applied by default at installation to reduce exposure to database-based attacks.
• Direct access to PHP files is blocked, following best practices for file system security.
• Module action logging has been improved, offering better traceability for installs, updates, and removals.

Upgrading to PrestaShop 9

Whether you’re a merchant or a developer, now is the time to prepare for your transition to PrestaShop 9. There are various reasons why you should upgrade to the latest PrestaShop version. This major release brings substantial gains in performance, architecture, security, and usability. Consequently it sets a strong foundation for the future of your ecommerce platform.

To support a seamless transition, PrestaShop 9 introduces the Update Assistant (previously known as 1-Click Upgrade). The Version 7 of the tool has been completely re-engineered to provide:

• A redesigned, user-friendly interface that walks you through backup, upgrade, and restore processes
• A powerful Command-Line Interface (CLI) for developers looking to automate updates
• Faster execution and greater reliability, even in stores with large databases and complex setups
• Enhanced system checks, detailed logs, and proactive error reporting to reduce upgrade risks
• Comprehensive documentation, giving you clear, step-by-step guidance throughout the process

Seamlessly upgrade to the latest version with Pesta Web Developer

Upgrading to PrestaShop 9 doesn’t have to be complicated. At Pesta Web Developer, we handle every aspect of your upgrade. We tackle from backup and compatibility checks to theme and module adjustments and ensure minimum downtime with complete data integrity. 

Our team ensures your store is faster, safer, and fully aligned with the latest industry standards. Let us help you unlock the full potential of PrestaShop 9 with confidence.