Step 3 - System Configuration

The third step of the PrestaShop installer is used to connect PrestaShop to your database.  Enter the database details you used when creating your database.  Click the “Verify now!” button to make a test connect to your database to confirm that your database details are correct.

PrestaShop allows you to choose between InnoDB and MyISAM as the database engine in MySQL.  Each database engine has its own advantages and disadvantages.  One difference between them is that InnoDB uses row locking instead of the table locking that MyISAM uses.  This may improve performance by allowing concurrent connections to different areas of a table.  Unless you have a good reason to change it, leave the database engine on InnoDB.

PrestaShop puts a database prefix in front of all of its database table names.  This prevents PrestaShop from conflicting with other e-commerce solutions installed in the database.  It also allows PrestaShop to be installed multiple times in the same database without conflict.  If you haven’t already installed PrestaShop in your database, leave the database prefix as ps_.

You also have the option to install all basic modules and sample products.  If you choose the “Full Mode” option, then you will end up with a demo website like the one on the PrestaShop website.  It will have all the basic modules installed in their default positions and have the demo products.  Choosing this option will save you time, since most of the modules you want will already be installed, but it also means you will have to delete the demo data in the Back Office.

If you choose the “Simple mode” option, then you will end up with a website with no modules or sample data.  When you first visit your website, you will see nothing but your logo in the top-left corner.  You will need to go to the Modules tab and install each module you want to use.  You may also need to go to the Modules > Positions tab to rearrange the modules so they appear the same as the header on the demo PrestaShop website.

You can also test that PrestaShop can send emails through your server.  Enter your email address in the text field and click the “Send me a test e-mail” button.  You should then receive a test email in your inbox.  If you don’t receive an email, then the mail() function must not be enabled on your server.  You can ask your host to enable it, or you can choose to use SMTP instead.  To do that, click the “Configure SMTP manually” checkbox, then enter your SMTP details.  For example, to send emails to a Gmail account using SMTP, enter the following:

It is important to enter correct email settings that result in a test email being received, since sending emails to customers and employees is an important feature of PrestaShop.  The PrestaShop Installer may also fail to finish if incorrect email settings are entered, though there is a workaround.  If you can’t get the test email to work, contact your host to confirm your email settings.