Migrating PrestaShop 1.6 to 8 or 9: do you need to go through 1.7?

Why 1.6 cannot wait any longer

PrestaShop ended maintenance of 1.6 on 30 June 2019. Since then, this version has received no fixes, not even for a security hole.

The same goes for the server. Version 1.6 runs on PHP, the language that powers the store, and PrestaShop only declares it compatible with versions 5.2 to 7.1. Yet PHP 7.1 has not received security updates since 1 December 2019. And 1.6 is not designed for later PHP versions: if your host withdraws old PHP versions, your store may stop working overnight.

The longer you wait, the wider the gap with the current version, and the more work the migration takes.

Do you need to go through 1.7?

Yes, if you use PrestaShop’s official update tool, the “1-Click Upgrade” module, now called Update Assistant. Its documentation is clear: to move from 1.6 to 8 or 9, it takes two steps. First 1.7, with an older version of the tool, 4.14.3. Then your target version, with the latest version of the tool.

That is not all: 1.7 is only compatible with PHP up to 7.4, and 9 needs at least PHP 8.1. No PHP version works with both, and the tool only offers versions compatible with the server’s PHP version. So you also go through a version 8, in practice 8.2, and change the PHP version between stages.

Sources: official PrestaShop documentation and announcements, checked in November 2026. Details on versions 8 and 9 are in my guide to 1.7.

Do not stop at 1.7: it has not been supported since June 2025, and PHP 7.4, the last PHP version it accepts, has had no security updates since 28 November 2022. Version 8.2 can serve as a stopover if one of your essential modules is not available for 9 yet, as PrestaShop still publishes its security fixes. Keep that stopover short, though: PHP 8.1, the most recent version it accepts, has had no security updates since 31 December 2025.

And if you would rather avoid the stages, there is another path.

Two paths away from 1.6

You can take the store through the stages, with the official tool. You can also install a fresh PrestaShop 9 store, then bring the 1.6 data into it. Both lead to the same result: a store on 9, with your products, your customers and your orders.

The choice is made after the audit, and sometimes after a first trial of the stages on the copy: if the update runs into too many obstacles, the fresh store takes over.

What carries over, what must be rebuilt

• Your data carries over

  Products, categories, customers, orders: in stages, the database is kept, with its whole history; with a fresh store, this data is brought into it.

• The theme must be rebuilt

  According to the PrestaShop documentation, there is no easy way to move a 1.6 theme to 1.7, and the automatic upgrade switches the store to the default theme, “Classic”. Your logo, your colours and the layout of your pages, however, can be carried over.

• Modules are reviewed one by one

  Each useful module needs its version for 9: otherwise, it is replaced or rewritten. The others go, and the store gets lighter.

• Custom code is redone

  What was coded for your store, from in-house modules to changes in PrestaShop’s core, does not carry over as is: the update overwrites edited files, and “overrides”, files that replace part of the original code, may no longer work. This is what the audit looks for, so it can be redone properly.

• Page addresses are checked

  Depending on the settings, some page addresses may change from one version to the next. The list is compared before and after, and every address that changes is redirected to the new one.

• Connections are tested

  Payment, carriers, management software, marketplaces: each connection must work with 9, and is tested end to end before the switchover.

8 steps to migrate from 1.6

Nothing happens on the live store: everything is prepared on a copy, and the switchover only happens at the end, once everything has been checked.

1. The audit. We record the exact version of the store and of PHP, then take stock: the modules, separating the ones in use from the ones that can go, the theme, changes to PrestaShop’s core and exchanges with the outside world, such as payment, carriers or management software. This inventory decides which path to take and is the basis for the quote.
2. A working copy. We work on a duplicate of the store, locked with a password: neither Google nor your customers can see it, no email goes out to your customers and no real payment is taken. Meanwhile, the real store sells as usual.
3. The new theme. Since the 1.6 theme does not carry over, the new theme is prepared for 9, using your logo, your colours and the layout of your pages. The PrestaShop documentation recommends precisely that the theme be ready before the switch.
4. The stages, or the data transfer. In stages, the copy moves to 1.7 with version 4.14.3 of the official tool, then to 8.2 and 9 with its latest version, changing the PHP version between stages and checking the store each time. With a fresh store, PrestaShop 9 is installed, the catalogue, customers and orders are brought over, then we check that nothing is missing.
5. Modules and custom code. Each useful module gets its version for 9, a replacement or a rewrite; the others go. The code written for your store is redone, piece by piece.
6. Testing. We replay every journey, on the customer side and the admin side: searching for a product, adding it to the cart, paying in test mode, checking the emails, finding the order in the customer account, processing it in the back office. Then we compare the list of page addresses before and after, and every address that changes gets its redirect.
7. The switchover. The orders and customers that came in meanwhile are brought over, then the new store takes the old one’s place, at the moment you sell the least. If something unexpected happens, the full backup made just before makes it possible to roll back.
8. Follow-up. After going live, we keep an eye on orders, errors, page speed and Google Search Console, to fix right away anything that is off.

6 pitfalls when migrating from 1.6

• Waiting for your host to decide

  Version 1.6 is only compatible with PHP up to 7.1. If your host withdraws that version, the migration happens in a rush instead of being prepared.

• Stopping at 1.7

  1.7 looks like the natural next step after 1.6, but it has not been supported since June 2025: stopping there means signing up for another migration. It is a stage, not a destination.

• Updating directly on the live store

  The update switches the theme to “Classic”: on the live store, your customers would see it change appearance, and the slightest problem would show in real time. Everything is prepared on a copy.

• Keeping old modules out of habit

  A module installed years ago may no longer have a version for 9, or even a vendor to make one. Better to know during the audit, to replace or rewrite it.

• Forgetting module data

  Customer reviews, loyalty points, blog posts: this data is managed by modules, separately from the catalogue. With a fresh store, it only comes along if its transfer is planned.

• Changing addresses without redirects

  A product or category page that changes address without a redirect starts from scratch in Google, and the links pointing to it lead to an error. Every changed address must redirect to the new one: see how to keep your search rankings.

Prefer to hand it over?

Migration from 1.6, new theme, custom modules, data transfer: I take care of everything, and you talk directly to the person who writes the code.

Let’s talk about your store → See how I migrate a PrestaShop store

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Frequently asked questions

Sources

• End of maintenance for PrestaShop 1.6 (official PrestaShop blog)
• Upgrading a 1.6 store with the official tool (official PrestaShop repository)
• Migrating from PrestaShop 1.6: the theme (official documentation)
• System requirements for PrestaShop 1.6 and 1.7 (official documentation)
• End of life of PHP versions (php.net)