Understanding and managing geographical zones

Geographical zones in PrestaShop play a crucial role in managing deliveries, taxes and commercial restrictions. They allow you to group countries, states and regions together to apply specific rules based on the location of your customers.

1. What is a geographical zone?

A geographical zone is an entity that groups several countries or regions under a single designation. For example, the Europe zone may include France, Germany, Spain, etc. This allows for the application of common parameters, such as delivery costs.

Default zones in PrestaShop:

• Europe
• Asia
• North America
• Africa
• Oceania
• South America
• Europe (non-EU)
• Central America / Caribbean

You can edit these zones, but also create your own custom zones if necessary.

2. What are geographical zones used for?

Geographical zones play a role in several key functionalities of PrestaShop:

• Delivery costs configuration: define specific costs per carrier and per zone.

• Delivery restrictions: limit certain shipments to specific zones.

3. How to create or modify a geographical zone?

Here are the steps to manage geographical zones in PrestaShop:

Creating a new zone:

1. Log in to your PrestaShop back office.

2. Go to the International > Geographical zones menu.

3. Click on Add a new zone.

4. Fill in the fields:

   • Name: Enter a descriptive name (e.g. Eastern Europe).
   • Status: Activate or deactivate the zone if necessary.

5. Click on Save.

Modifying an existing zone:

• Click on the edit icon next to the relevant zone.

• Make your changes and save.

4. Associating countries and states to a zone

Once your zones have been created, you must associate countries and states with them:

1. Go to International > Localization > Country.

2. Click on the relevant country.

3. Select the appropriate zone in the Zone field.

4. Save the changes.

For states:

• Go to International > Location > States.

• Edit the state and associate it with the desired zone.

5. Tips and best practices

• Clearly name your zones to make management easier (e.g. South America instead of Zone 1).
• Group zones with common rules to avoid duplicates.
• Please regularly check your zones and their associations to avoid errors in the application of fees.

The correct configuration of geographical zones guarantees optimal processing of orders and precise application of fees related to different regions.

Frequently asked questions

Can a country/state be associated with several zones?

No, a country/state can only be associated with a single geographical zone.

My carriers do not have the same geographical areas as mine, what should I do?

Unfortunately, since a country cannot be associated with several geographical areas, it is possible that you may need to create an area per country in some cases.

Can I have several carriers delivering to the same area?

Yes, there is no limit on the number of carriers per area, but be careful not to offer too many, as this could make the purchasing process cumbersome for the customer.

Also, consult the tutorial on the PrestaShop Academy!