From a student project to powering 300,000+ online stores worldwide
PrestaShop was born in 2005 as a school project at the French engineering school EPITECH. Five passionate students - Igor Schlumberger, Bruno Lévêque, Denis Roussel, Marc Rossi, and Laurent Basso - set out to create an accessible e-commerce solution.
Originally called "phpOpenStore," the project aimed to democratize online selling by providing a free, open-source alternative to expensive proprietary platforms. The name was later changed to PrestaShop, combining "presto" (quick in Italian) with "shop."
What started as an academic exercise quickly evolved into something much bigger. The team recognized the massive potential for a truly free e-commerce platform that anyone could customize and extend.
2005
Project launched at EPITECH
2007
Company officially founded in Paris
2011
Reached 100,000 merchants
Today
300,000+ active stores worldwide
2008 - 2014 • The Foundation Years
The first stable release marked PrestaShop's official entry into the e-commerce market. Featured basic catalog management, simple checkout, and initial multi-language support.
Major breakthrough with improved performance, better mobile responsiveness, and the introduction of the module marketplace. This version made PrestaShop truly competitive.
Revolutionary release introducing multi-store management from a single admin panel. Allowed merchants to manage multiple shops with different domains, products, and customers.
Completely redesigned back office with a modern, intuitive interface. Introduced the default theme bootstrap-based design and significantly improved page load speeds.
2016 - 2020 • The Modern Era
A complete architectural overhaul that brought PrestaShop into the modern web development age. This version introduced Symfony framework integration, dramatically improved developer experience, and set the stage for future innovation.
Built on top of Symfony components for better code quality and maintainability
Clean, responsive Classic theme became the new default with modern design patterns
New module architecture with better hooks system and improved compatibility
Streamlined checkout process to reduce cart abandonment rates
Intuitive drag-and-drop interface for customizing product pages
Optimized caching and database queries for faster page loads
2022 - 2023 • Enterprise Ready
PrestaShop 8 marked a significant leap forward with enterprise-grade features and modernized technology stack. This version focused on security, performance, and providing tools for scaling businesses.
2024 • The Future of E-commerce
The latest and most advanced version of PrestaShop brings cutting-edge technology and prepares the platform for the next decade of e-commerce. Built with modern web standards and AI-ready architecture.
Latest Long Term Support version ensuring stability and security for years
Support for the latest PHP with JIT compilation for maximum performance
Completely redesigned back office with modern UX patterns