Missing or broken product images drop conversion instantly. This guide covers the five most common causes on a SmartXHosting PrestaShop store and the fix for each.
Placeholder showing everywhere • Images uploaded but not rendering • Regenerate image sizes • File permissions on img/ directory • Legacy vs new image storage • FAQ
Every product shows the generic no-image placeholder. Causes:
config/parameters.php.Admin shows the image; storefront shows broken-image icon. Causes:
PrestaShop generates multiple sizes (home, category, large, medium, small, thumbnail). If images were uploaded before a theme change, old sizes may be missing.
Design › Image Settings › Regenerate thumbnails:
For large catalogues, the regeneration can take 20–60 minutes. Run during off-peak.
PrestaShop writes to img/ during uploads. Wrong permissions block writes silently. Fix via Plesk “Fix permissions” button or manually:
chown -R www-data:www-data img/
find img -type d -exec chmod 755 {} \;
find img -type f -exec chmod 644 {} \;PrestaShop has evolved how it stores images. PrestaShop 9 uses a hashed-path structure. If you migrated from an older version:
PrestaShop hosting with CDN-ready media delivery
NVMe SSD storage plus optional Cloudflare CDN routing for global image delivery on SmartXHosting PrestaShop plans.
See PrestaShop plansQ: Supports WebP images?
A: PrestaShop 9 Classic theme supports WebP natively. Upload WebP directly or use conversion modules.
Q: Max upload size?
A: Configurable under Shop Parameters › Product Settings › Max upload size. SmartXHosting defaults allow 16 MB per upload.
Q: Product has multiple images but only one shows.
A: Gallery display in theme. Check theme has an image gallery hook on product page. Default Classic includes it; minimal themes may not.
Q: Image looks pixelated on retina screens.
A: Upload 2x resolution source (2,400px). PrestaShop generates retina-aware variants via theme config.
Q: Bulk-replace images via CSV?
A: Export products, update image URL column with new URLs, re-import. PrestaShop downloads new images and replaces.
Q: Images work in admin but 404 on storefront.
A: .htaccess or URL rewrite rule missing. Regenerate .htaccess under Shop Parameters › Traffic › SEO & URLs › Save.
Q: Can I use Amazon S3 for images?
A: Via third-party modules. Native PrestaShop stores images locally. Move to S3 for CDN benefits via modules like MediaCloud.