PrestaShop is free, open-source software for running your own online store: catalogue, cart, checkout, orders and customers in one application that you host yourself. This guide takes you from choosing a version and installing it to your first products, payments, GST, email and a secure, fast store, with the settings that matter on Domain India hosting.
On Domain India cPanel or DirectAdmin hosting, install PrestaShop from Softaculous in a few minutes; it currently offers PrestaShop 8.2, which needs PHP 8.1 or older, so set PHP 8.1 for the domain first. Then turn on HTTPS, set up your tax rules for GST, add products, and install your payment gateway's PrestaShop module. Set email to PHP's mail() function on cPanel, because SMTP connections from PHP are blocked on our shared servers. Keep PrestaShop and every module updated, and take a backup before each upgrade.
1. What PrestaShop is, and when it fits
PrestaShop is a dedicated shop application, not a plugin. It includes product variations, stock, multiple languages and currencies, customer groups, discounts and a module marketplace. The core is free; you pay for hosting, a domain, and any premium theme or module you choose.
- Stores with a real catalogue: sizes, colours, stock and categories
- Multi-language or multi-currency shops
- Owners who want no platform fees and full control of their data
- A large choice of payment, shipping and marketing modules
- You are responsible for updates, security and backups
- Paid modules add up, and each must match your PrestaShop version
- It uses more server resources than a simple website
- A steeper learning curve than a hosted shop or WooCommerce
Not sure PrestaShop is the right platform? See PrestaShop vs WooCommerce vs Magento vs Shopify vs BigCommerce.
2. Choose a version
| Version | PHP it needs | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
| PrestaShop 9 | PHP 8.1 or newer | A new store where you install manually and your modules support 9 |
| PrestaShop 8.2 | PHP 7.2 to 8.1 | A new store installed with Softaculous, or modules not yet ready for 9 |
| PrestaShop 1.7 or 1.6 | Old PHP releases | Don't start a new store; plan an upgrade for an existing one |
Check the official PrestaShop site for the exact current requirements before you start. Beyond PHP, it needs MySQL or MariaDB, common PHP extensions (such as curl, gd, intl, mbstring, zip and pdo_mysql) and a PHP memory limit of at least 256 MB.
3. Install PrestaShop
With Softaculous (recommended on shared hosting)
Softaculous on our cPanel and DirectAdmin servers offers PrestaShop 8.2 (8.2.8 when we checked on 24 September 2026).
- Point your domain at your hostingand make sure it loads over HTTPS. Free SSL is included.
- Set PHP 8.1 for the domainin your control panel's PHP selector. PrestaShop 8.2 does not run on PHP 8.2 or newer.
- Open Softaculousin your control panel, search for PrestaShop and click Install.
- Fill in the details:your domain, an empty folder field to install at the top of the domain, the store name, and an admin email and strong password.
- Click Install.Softaculous creates the database and gives you links to the store and to the admin area.
Manual install (for PrestaShop 9)
Download the release from the official PrestaShop site, upload the ZIP to your website folder with File Manager or FTP, extract it, create a MySQL database and user in your control panel, then open your domain in a browser to run the installer. When it finishes, it asks you to delete the install folder: do it straight away.
PrestaShop renames the admin folder during installation to something like /admin482xyz. Bookmark it. The random name is a security feature, so don't rename it back to /admin.
4. First settings for an Indian store
Work through these in the back office before adding products:
- Store details.Shop Parameters, then Contact, then Stores: your business name, address and GSTIN.
- HTTPS.Shop Parameters, then General: enable SSL and force SSL on all pages once your certificate is active.
- Localization.International, then Localization: import the India pack, and set Indian Rupee as the default currency.
- Taxes for GST.International, then Taxes and Tax Rules: create rules at the GST rates your products use, with your accountant's advice for intra-state (CGST and SGST) and inter-state (IGST) sales.
- Maintenance mode.Keep the shop in maintenance mode (Shop Parameters, then General, then Maintenance) until you have placed a test order.
5. Products, categories and imports
- Categories first. Catalog, then Categories. A clear category tree helps both customers and search engines.
- Add products under Catalog, then Products: name, price, tax rule, descriptions, images, stock and SEO fields. Use combinations for sizes and colours, built from Catalog, then Attributes and Features.
- Bulk import from CSV under Advanced Parameters, then Import. On shared hosting, import in batches of a few hundred rows. On cPanel, a request that runs longer than about 60 seconds is stopped on most sites, any request ends at 90 seconds with a 504 Gateway Timeout, and raising PHP's time limit doesn't change that.
- Image size. PHP accepts uploads up to 256 MB on cPanel and 64 MB on DirectAdmin; compress product photos well below that for a fast store.
6. Payments and shipping
Indian payment gateways such as Razorpay, PayU, Cashfree and CCAvenue offer PrestaShop modules. Download the module from the gateway's own site or the official marketplace, check it supports your PrestaShop version, then install it under Modules, then Module Manager, using Upload a module. Add your API keys from the gateway dashboard and place test orders in its test mode before going live.
Set up carriers, zones and prices under Shipping, then Carriers. Courier aggregators also publish PrestaShop modules.
Payment, shipping and marketing modules connect to their providers' APIs. Some PHP functions are disabled on our shared servers for security, and on most DirectAdmin sites these include curl_exec. Test every such module on your plan before launch, and ask support if one fails. See PHP disabled functions on shared hosting.
7. Store email
PrestaShop sends order confirmations, invoices and password resets. Under Advanced Parameters, then E-mail:
- On cPanel hosting, choose PHP's
mail()function. The "Set my own SMTP parameters" option can't connect from our cPanel servers, because the socket functions it needs are disabled. - On DirectAdmin, test SMTP on your plan; if it fails, use
mail(). - Send a test email from that page, create a mailbox for the store's From address in your control panel, and make sure your domain has SPF and DKIM records.
8. Speed and performance
Under Advanced Parameters, then Performance:
- Set Debug mode to No and Template compilation to "Never recompile" on a live store.
- Turn on Smarty cache and the CCC options, which combine and compress CSS and JavaScript. Test the shop after each change.
- Clear the cache from the same page after installing modules or changing the theme.
Keep product images compressed, disable modules you don't use, and choose a lightweight theme. There is no Redis on our shared hosting plans, so leave Redis options off. For more, see my website is slow.
9. Security, backups and upgrades
- Update promptly. Most PrestaShop break-ins come through outdated modules and themes, not the core. Remove modules you don't use.
- Buy modules and themes only from the official marketplace or the developer's own site. Nulled copies often carry malware.
- Use strong admin passwords and keep the renamed admin folder private.
- Back up before every upgrade: download the files and export the database. Domain India takes weekly JetBackup backups on cPanel and DirectAdmin that you can restore from your panel, but your own copy before a change is essential. See backing up and restoring with JetBackup.
- Upgrade on a copy first. Clone the store to a subdomain, upgrade it there with PrestaShop's update module, check your theme and modules, then repeat on the live shop.
Composer isn't pre-installed on our shared hosting, so the simplest way is to install modules as ZIP files from the back office rather than from the command line.
10. Running PrestaShop on Domain India
Our cPanel and DirectAdmin shared hosting plans include Softaculous with PrestaShop, free SSL, PHP version selection and weekly JetBackup backups. For a small or growing store, a plan with room for several databases is a comfortable start:
- 50 GB NVMe SSD Storage
- 100 GB Monthly Bandwidth
- 5 Websites
- 50 Email Accounts
- 30 GB NVMe SSD Storage
- Unmetered Bandwidth
- 5 Websites
- 50 Email Accounts
For a large catalogue, heavy traffic or PrestaShop 9 with your own server stack, a self-managed VPS gives you root access and dedicated resources:
- 2 vCPU
- 4 GB DDR4 RAM
- 128 GB NVMe SSD Storage
- 3 TB Monthly Bandwidth
The cards show live Domain India prices, excluding 18% GST. New shared hosting purchases have a full refund within 30 days.
Is PrestaShop free?
Yes. The PrestaShop software is free and open source. You pay for hosting, a domain, and any premium themes or modules you choose.
Which PHP version does PrestaShop need?
PrestaShop 8.2 runs on PHP 7.2 to 8.1. PrestaShop 9 needs PHP 8.1 or newer. Check the official requirements for the exact release you install.
Can I install PrestaShop on Domain India shared hosting?
Yes. Softaculous on Domain India cPanel and DirectAdmin hosting offers PrestaShop 8.2. Set the domain to PHP 8.1 first, then install it from Softaculous.
How do I find my PrestaShop admin login page?
PrestaShop renames the admin folder during installation to a random name such as admin482xyz. Use the admin link Softaculous or the installer gave you, or look for the folder starting with admin in your website folder.
Why are PrestaShop order emails not sending?
On Domain India cPanel hosting, SMTP connections from PHP are blocked. In Advanced Parameters, then E-mail, choose PHP's mail() function and send a test email. Also check that the From address exists as a mailbox on your domain.
Can I use Redis with PrestaShop on shared hosting?
No. Redis is not available on Domain India shared hosting plans. Use PrestaShop's built-in Smarty cache and CCC options, or move to a VPS if you need Redis.
How do I charge GST in PrestaShop?
Create tax rules under International, then Taxes and Tax Rules, at the GST rates your products use, and assign a rule to each product. Ask your accountant how to handle intra-state and inter-state sales.
Ready to open your store? Compare cPanel hosting and DirectAdmin hosting plans, see VPS plans for larger stores, or open a support ticket if you want help choosing.
Install PrestaShop from Softaculous, with free SSL, PHP version selection and weekly backups included.
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