The 20 most frequent PrestaShop bugs: what 1,052 real tickets reveal

Introduction

Since 2022 we have handled 1,052 PrestaShop tickets on our support platform. Rather than giving you a theoretical list of bugs "you might come across", this analysis is built on real data: observed frequency, average resolution time, anonymised ticket examples.

The result: an honest ranking of the 20 bugs that most often bring down a PrestaShop store, with, for each one, the most common technical cause and the fix path. If your store is already broken, jump straight to the relevant section.

Quick methodology — The analysis covers 1,052 PrestaShop tickets closed between January 2022 and April 2026 (99.6% closure rate). Clustering is done by keywords in titles and descriptions, with 62% coverage. The remaining 38% are tickets with titles too generic ("Urgent", "Hello", "Site") where the bug is described in the conversation and not automatically extractable.

What the numbers reveal before the list itself

Before diving into the details, 3 takeaways that surprised even our team:

1. PrestaShop updates are the #1 bug, far ahead of classic errors — A disproportionate share of distress calls arrive after an upgrade (10.7% of PrestaShop tickets, 528 hours average = 22 days). Merchants always underestimate the complexity of a version upgrade.
2. Shipping/delivery bugs take the longest to resolve — 1,024 hours on average, i.e. 42 days. Why: these bugs require coordination with external carriers, real parcel tests, and customer validations. Much more time-consuming than a pure code bug.
3. Hacking remains a whole cluster (4.8%) — 51 post-intrusion interventions out of 1,052. Not an edge case: one out of every 20 PrestaShop merchants who contact us does so for a compromised site.

On to the detailed list.

1. PrestaShop migration or update — 10.7% of tickets

The #1 bug by a long margin. 113 tickets, more than one call in ten. Average resolution time: 528 hours (22 days).

Main cause: third-party module incompatible with the new core version, or obsolete override in override/. PrestaShop 1.7 to 8 is particularly tricky if your modules haven't been audited beforehand.

Fix: enable debug mode in config/defines.inc.php to read the exact error, audit each module one by one, then disable obsolete modules via SSH by updating the ps_module table. A backup restore remains the cleanest path if diagnosis drags on. See our PrestaShop migration repair page for a scoping.

2. 500 error / internal server error — 6.1%

64 tickets. Average resolution: 140 hours. The classic "site down, no explanation".

Main cause: corrupt admin module, poorly regenerated .htaccess, or PHP memory_limit too low. In 2026, less than 256 MB is insufficient for PrestaShop 8+.

Fix: increase PHP memory on the server, clear the var/cache/ folder, then regenerate the .htaccess from Traffic > SEO & URLs. If the error persists, inspect Apache/Nginx logs to identify the failing script.

3. Shipping / delivery / carriers — 5.7%

60 tickets. Average resolution: 1,024 hours (42 days) — the longest cluster to resolve.

Main cause: carrier configuration (Colissimo, Chronopost, Mondial Relay) broken after a module update, pickup points no longer displaying, or shipping fee rules ignoring certain zones.

Fix: verify carrier API credentials, test a mock parcel end-to-end, and compare post-update config with a prior backup. The long average is explained by back-and-forth with the carrier and real parcel tests, not pure technical time.

4. Hacking / malware / injection / defacement — 4.8%

51 tickets. Average resolution: 274 hours.

Main cause: unpatched vulnerable third-party module, compromised FTP password, or PrestaShop version not updated for over a year.

Fix: do not just remove visible code. You must clean the database, the files, change every access credential (FTP, database, admin), and patch the original flaw. Our malware removal service covers these cases in emergency.

5. Payment / gateway — 2.7%

28 tickets. Average resolution: 537 hours.

Main cause: expired SSL certificate, obsolete Stripe/PayPal/Monetico credentials, or a payment module incompatible with PrestaShop 8.1+.

Fix: check payment module logs, test in sandbox mode, update the module to the version compatible with your core. Monetico bugs come back often, tied to bank config.

6. Hosting / server / OVH — 2.7%

28 tickets. Average resolution: 677 hours.

Main cause: full disk space (cPanel), OVH quota exceeded, obsolete PHP or PHP version incompatible with PrestaShop.

Fix: audit disk space (du -sh via SSH), purge logs and caches, verify the active PHP version. Migration to a better-sized server is often the only sustainable path.

7. Email / notifications / SMTP — 2.4%

25 tickets. Average resolution: 248 hours.

Main cause: SMTP config broken after server migration, or degraded deliverability (misconfigured SPF/DKIM/DMARC) sending mail to spam.

Fix: test SMTP config in Advanced parameters > Email, check SPF/DKIM headers via tools like MXToolbox, and switch to a transactional service (Mailjet, SendinBlue, Resend) if the own server isn't reliable.

8. Performance / slow site or back-office — 2.4%

25 tickets. Average resolution: 241 hours.

Main cause: ps_connections or ps_guest tables too large, unpurged logs, overloaded statistics module.

Fix: purge connection tables, disable native stats modules in favour of Matomo or GA4, switch cache to Redis. On a very slow back-office, the cause is usually a table that has exceeded 5 million rows.

9. Orders / order management / invoices — 2.3%

24 tickets. Average resolution: 228 hours.

Main cause: order stuck in "payment pending" due to a missed webhook, or PDF invoice layout broken after a theme change.

Fix: inspect payment module logs, whitelist the bank provider's IPs in the server firewall, and verify that the invoice.tpl template is up to date with the PrestaShop version.

10. Back-office / admin access / login — 2.2%

23 tickets. Average resolution: 87 hours.

Main cause: admin URL changed without updating .htaccess, forgotten password, or a security module blocking access.

Fix: reset the password via a direct SQL query on ps_employee, verify the admin prefix in config/settings.inc.php, and temporarily disable security/anti-brute-force modules to regain access.

11. SEO / sitemap / metas — 1.5%

16 tickets. Average resolution: 312 hours.

Main cause: sitemap not generated, 301 redirects broken after migration, or duplicated meta tags on product pages.

Fix: regenerate the sitemap from the dedicated module, audit redirects in .htaccess, and use Search Console to identify erroring pages. A full SEO audit is often more effective than an isolated fix.

12. Cart / checkout flow — 1.3%

14 tickets. Average resolution: 144 hours.

Main cause: cookie conflict between HTTP and HTTPS, PHP session not properly shared, or a third-party module (PitchPrint, product customisation) breaking order validation.

Fix: force HTTPS in config/settings.inc.php, verify PS_COOKIE_LIFETIME_FO, disable third-party modules one by one to isolate the culprit.

13. Module / plugin / addon — 1.2%

13 tickets. Average resolution: 169 hours.

Main cause: module incompatible with the active PrestaShop version, or conflict between two modules attaching to the same hook.

Fix: disable all third-party modules, reactivate one by one to identify the culprit. If it's a hook conflict, the load order can be redone in Design > Positions.

14. Database / SQL — 1.2%

13 tickets. Average resolution: 93 hours.

Main cause: lost database connection (server down, invalid credentials), or corrupted table after a crash.

Fix: verify credentials in config/parameters.php, restart MySQL service, use CHECK TABLE and REPAIR TABLE on suspicious tables. A recent backup saves enormous time in case of major corruption.

15. White screen / WSOD — 1.0%

10 tickets. Average resolution: 85 hours. PrestaShop's iconic bug.

Main cause: module incompatibility after a core update, or fatal PHP error not displayed (debug mode off).

Fix: enable define('_PS_MODE_DEV_', true); in config/defines.inc.php to show the real error, then act on the message. In 80% of cases, it's a module to disable via SSH.

16. 404 error / page not found — 0.9%

9 tickets. Average resolution: 562 hours.

Main cause: .htaccess losing its rewrite rules after an admin action, or friendly URLs poorly regenerated after a migration.

Fix: delete then regenerate the .htaccess from Traffic > SEO & URLs. Always keep a local copy of the .htaccess before any server action.

17. Products / catalogue / attributes — 0.9%

9 tickets. Average resolution: 188 hours.

Main cause: inconsistent id_shop_default in multi-shop mode, bad image-to-variant association, or attributes poorly linked after a CSV import.

Fix: clear the cache in Advanced parameters > Performance, check the ps_product_shop table for the concerned product, and redo image-variant association manually.

18. Images / thumbnails / media — 0.8%

8 tickets. Average resolution: 113 hours.

Main cause: thumbnail regeneration interrupted, or base_url still pointing to the old domain in the database.

Fix: run a regeneration from Design > Images, run an UPDATE SQL on ps_configuration for PS_SHOP_DOMAIN and PS_SHOP_DOMAIN_SSL if you changed domain.

19. SSL / HTTPS / certificate — 0.6%

6 tickets. Average resolution: 34 hours — the fastest cluster to resolve.

Main cause: Let's Encrypt certificate expired without renewal, or incomplete HTTPS config on the PrestaShop side.

Fix: renew the certificate via certbot renew, enable HTTPS in Traffic > SEO & URLs > General parameters, and verify that PS_SSL_ENABLED=1 in ps_configuration.

20. Too many redirects (redirect loop) — ecosystem classic

This bug is a PrestaShop ecosystem classic that isn't always tagged as such in ticket titles but shows up regularly.

Main cause: double HTTP-to-HTTPS redirect (one server-side, one PrestaShop-side), Cloudflare CDN misconfiguration, or .htaccess rules that chase their own tail.

Fix: clean the .htaccess (remove double redirects), disable the server-side redirect if PrestaShop already handles it, and clear the CDN cache. Also verify that PS_SSL_ENABLED and domain URLs are consistent in ps_configuration.

Resolution time: what the median reveals

The average resolution time across all clusters is 351 hours, pulled up by the long tail of migrations and multi-session hacks. The median is far more telling: 71 hours, i.e. 3 calendar days.

In clear: the typical PrestaShop ticket is resolved in 3 days. Cases that exceed a week are complex setups (carriers, major migrations, deep hacks) where the latency comes as much from back-and-forth with the client and external providers as from the pure technical time.

When to call a pro

Based on our 1,052 interventions, here is a simple rule of thumb:

FAQ

How long to fix a PrestaShop bug on average?

Across our 1,048 closed tickets, the median is 71 hours (3 days). The average is pulled to 351 hours by complex cases (migrations, hacks). A simple bug (SSL, white screen, inaccessible back-office) is usually solved in under 24 hours.

What is the most frequent PrestaShop bug in 2026?

On our data, it's the PrestaShop update or migration (10.7% of tickets). 500 errors come in second (6.1%), followed by shipping bugs (5.7%).

Are PrestaShop 9 bugs different from PrestaShop 8?

Most of the bugs listed here exist on both versions. PrestaShop 9 fixes some historical bugs but introduces others, notably on compatibility with modules built for version 8.

Can I fix a PrestaShop bug myself?

For simple bugs (image regeneration, search index rebuild, expired SSL), yes. For anything code, database, payment or intrusion-related, bringing in a specialist avoids making things worse and saves considerable time.

My store is down, what do I do first?

Touch nothing, take a full backup (files and database), enable maintenance mode if the front is impacted, and contact a provider. The more you poke at a bug without method, the more expensive the diagnosis becomes.

Conclusion

This ranking is based on 1,052 real interventions on PrestaShop stores between 2022 and 2026. Practical takeaways:

• Updates are the #1 cause of breakage, far ahead of classic errors like 500s or white screens. If you plan an update, plan the intervention that comes with it.
• Shipping and payment bugs are the longest to stabilise (over 500h on average), mostly due to external dependencies.
• A typical PrestaShop ticket resolves in 3 days (median), most complex cases being linked to chained bug → migration → incompatibility sequences.

If your store shows one of the symptoms described, open a ticket in 2 minutes via our chat and a PrestaShop expert will diagnose your issue. Per-intervention billing, no mandatory monthly package.