In order to conduct tests on PrestaShop without impacting your online site, it is often recommended to install a local store, that is to say, hosted on your own computer. However, this means that this test store is not online and is only accessible via your machine.
This summarizes why PrestaShop technical support cannot intervene on your store referred to as being in a 'local environment'. The elements below provide you with more details about this operation.
What is the definition and use of a 'local environment'?
A local environment (also referred to as a local space) of a website is a version of the site in the design phase that allows developers to design it more efficiently. It is often hosted directly on its own machine or on a server that is not accessible from the outside, a local server. A workspace that will be able to access resources available on the internet, but which, on the other hand, will not be accessible via the internet. It is designed for site development or for internal use within a company. It is not necessarily required to have a site accessible to the entire world depending on the needs of the companies. The 'local' is an internal resource, at home, protected from the outside and not accessible by others.
What environment is ideal for working on PrestaShop?
The core software PrestaShop is under an open source license (more precisely theOpen Software License 3,0 or OSL-3.0, written in English). This means that anyone can freely download this open source version and install it on their own server, whether it is local or not. If an environment allows for a database server and a web server to operate, PrestaShop can be installed there. You may consult this article to learn more about how to install PrestaShop locally.
To go even further and manage a functional PrestaShop store online, a more complex environment may be necessary. To be as comprehensive as possible, it is recommended to set up:
- A local server for the design of the site.
- A developer server, to test the features developed locally. It is a space close to a copy of the production site. The development server often contains several developments in parallel but under server conditions similar to the production site.
- A pre-production server, which will be an exact copy of the production space, will be used to specifically validate the functionality tested in the development space that is ready to be deployed. This server will ensure that this feature alone will not cause any issues on the final site.
- A production server that will be the definitive site, the one accessible by your clients, used daily by you, and which will allow you to receive your payment transactions and process your orders.
These steps are not necessarily all essential, but they help to preserve the integrity of your final site.
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📝 The only server that will not be accessible from the outside will be the one locally. The others will be online, thus accessible to anyone possessing the necessary link and credentials to connect. |
In which environment can the PrestaShop Technical Support assist me?
As part of the services offered by PrestaShop's technical support, a local server will not allow us to assist you properly. It is an environment that is not accessible from the outside; it is not possible to access it for remote diagnostics.
However, the problems that may arise during the installation of PrestaShop, regardless of the environment, are rarely solvable without access to the store and its back office.
In order for us to assist you, it will be necessary for us to have access to an online environment: a development, pre-production, or production server. These accesses are provided by the host that accommodates your store. To learn more about how to obtain these accesses: Where to find the necessary information for technical support.