Start with discovery, not migration. When the developer is gone and nothing is documented, the first job is to find out what the store actually does: its version, modules, data and integrations. A short discovery engagement produces a scoped plan and a cost, and it protects you from starting a migration that surprises everyone halfway through.
Below is a practical discovery path, what the database gives you, how to decide what to keep and what a realistic route to a new store looks like. Our Shopify migration service can run the discovery as a separate, small engagement, and our migration SEO answer covers the redirect plan.
The discovery-first approach
Five steps, in order.
| Step | Action | Output |
| 1. Secure | Back up files and the database. Confirm hosting, domain and admin access. | Safe copies |
| 2. Identify | Find the PrestaShop version and PHP version. | Version record |
| 3. Inventory | List modules, theme, overrides, cron jobs and integrations. | Feature inventory |
| 4. Measure | Count products, customers, orders and content. Note languages and currencies. | Data inventory |
| 5. Decide | Mark each item migrate, replace or abandon. | Scoped plan |
- Check the admin footer, which often shows the version.
- In older 1.6 stores, look in config/settings.inc.php.
- In 1.7 and later, look in app/config/parameters.php.
What can be extracted from the database
Most of the valuable data is in MySQL.
| Data | Where it lives | Notes |
| Products and combinations | Product tables, with a shop prefix, often ps_ | Combinations map to Shopify variants |
| Customers and addresses | Customer and address tables | Passwords will not carry over |
| Orders and order lines | Order tables | Often migrated as records or archived |
| Categories, CMS and blog | Category and CMS tables | Rebuild as collections and pages |
| Images | Files on the server | Copy from the image folders |
| Redirect candidates | Rewrite URLs from the old store | Needed for the redirect map |
Table names and prefixes vary by version and install. Verify against your own database.
Deciding what to migrate and what to abandon
A simple filter.
Rule of thumb: migrate for value, archive for record-keeping, drop the rest.
The cost of discovery as a separate engagement
Small, fixed and decisive.
- It turns unknowns into a scope you can price.
- It lets you compare vendors on the same plan.
- It exposes risky modules before you commit.
- It yields a redirect and data inventory you keep.
We do not quote a discovery price here, because it depends on store size and access.
A realistic path to a new store
Four stages.
| Stage | What happens |
| Discovery | Version, modules, data, SEO inventory |
| Plan | Scope, platform choice, redirect plan, timeline |
| Build and migrate | Theme, apps, data import, testing on staging |
| Launch | Delta sync, DNS, redirects, monitoring |
PrestaShop migrations, and what we cannot show
We migrate legacy stores to Shopify, starting with discovery. We do not have a published PrestaShop case or a data-extraction guide on our site yet, so we do not cite one.
Read more: our Shopify migration service
Tell us your PrestaShop version and what you can access, and our migration team will scope a discovery and give you a plan.
Frequently Asked Questions
Start with discovery: identify the PrestaShop version, back up the files and database, and inventory modules, themes, integrations and data. Then decide what to migrate or abandon.
Check the admin footer or the configuration files. Older 1.6 stores use config/settings.inc.php, and 1.7 and later use app/config/parameters.php.
Products, customers, orders, coupons, CMS pages and often reviews and content. Table names usually share a prefix, commonly ps_, though yours may differ.
Themes and customisation, third-party modules and customer passwords do not carry over. Plan to rebuild the theme and replace modules with apps.
Often yes. A short paid discovery gives a fixed scope and cost before you commit to the full migration. Our Shopify migration service can start there.
