Your PrestaShop 9 store arrives from SmartXHosting fully installed, pre-themed and cached — the first hour is about making it yours, not wrestling with software setup. This guide walks through the first sign-in to the Back Office, the UK-specific configuration every shop needs (GBP, Europe/London timezone, VAT at 20%), domain connection with free SSL, and the day-two checklist that turns a fresh installation into a working storefront.
What you receive at activation • First sign-in to the Back Office • Employee accounts and permissions • UK store configuration essentials • Connecting your domain and SSL • Day-two checklist • SmartXHosting PrestaShop plans • FAQ
SmartXHosting provisions PrestaShop 9 with a curated software stack for UK merchants:
The welcome email includes the Back Office URL — typically yourdomain.co.uk/admin_xxxxxx where the suffix is random per installation. The randomised admin path protects against generic brute-force attacks targeting /admin or /prestashop.
Open the Back Office URL from the welcome email. PrestaShop 9’s sign-in screen asks for email and password:
If sign-in fails: confirm the email is exactly as in the welcome note (case sensitive in some providers), check Caps Lock, and if still stuck ask SmartXHosting support to reset. The UK-based team handles password reset tickets within business hours.
Under Advanced Parameters › Team › Employees, manage additional staff accounts. Two built-in profiles:
Custom profiles can be created under Advanced Parameters › Team › Profiles and permissions tuned per module. A typical UK setup has a SuperAdmin for the owner, a Logistician profile for warehouse staff (orders and shipping only, no catalogue edit) and a Translator-like profile for content writers.
Six UK-specific settings:
Shop Parameters › General. Set Shop Name (your trading name), Shop Email (the general contact address customers use), and leave Main Shop Activity as Computers or the closest match — this is only used for analytics, not customer-facing.
International › Localisation › Countries. Ensure United Kingdom is enabled. Disable countries you do not ship to — they disappear from address forms at checkout. For UK-only stores, disable everything except United Kingdom to simplify.
International › Localisation › Currencies. GBP should be the default (set via Default Currency in the right panel). Remove currencies you do not sell in — EUR and USD are installed by default but customers get confused with multi-currency pickers if you only sell in GBP.
International › Localisation › Localisation. Set Default Country to United Kingdom, Default Currency to British Pound, Default Language to English (UK), Timezone to Europe/London. Click “Import a localisation pack” for United Kingdom to pull in UK tax rules, formats and common addresses automatically.
International › Taxes › Tax Rules. PrestaShop’s UK localisation pack includes a “UK VAT Tax Rule” pre-configured at 20%. Apply it to all standard-rated products via Catalog › Products › [product] › Pricing › Tax Rule. For zero-rated goods (children’s clothing, books), apply the Zero Tax rule instead.
Shop Parameters › Product Settings › Tax. Tick “Display prices tax included” on the front office. Customers see the shelf price; PrestaShop breaks down the net and VAT on invoices.
Every SmartXHosting PrestaShop plan includes the SSL certificate at no extra cost, with automatic renewal every 60 days.
Full walk-through for each step in the PrestaShop series: Managing Products, Managing Categories, Setting Up Payment Methods, Configuring Shipping.
Same Shop Boutique / Shop Market / Shop Hypermarket tiers as Magento, priced in GBP by a UK company:
All plans include NVMe SSD, Redis, Imunify360, Plesk, free SSL and UK-based support. Details at smartxhosting.uk/prestashop.
PrestaShop 9 hosting built for UK merchants
Pre-configured UK localisation pack, Redis caching, Imunify360 security, free SSL — all plans priced in GBP from a UK-registered company.
View PrestaShop hosting plansQ: What is the difference between PrestaShop 8 and PrestaShop 9?
A: PrestaShop 9 is the 2026 major release with PHP 8.2+ requirement, Symfony-based Back Office, rewritten performance layer and new API. SmartXHosting ships PrestaShop 9 on all Shop plans. Detailed comparison in PrestaShop 9 vs PrestaShop 8 — What’s New.
Q: Can I install PrestaShop 8 instead?
A: On request via support ticket. PrestaShop 8 is still maintained with security patches until 2027. Most new SmartXHosting customers start with version 9 for longevity.
Q: Where do I get the UK localisation pack?
A: Built into PrestaShop. International › Localisation › Localisation › Import a localisation pack › select United Kingdom › choose what to import (taxes, currencies, languages, units). Apply with one click.
Q: How do I reset my admin password?
A: On the Back Office login screen, click “Forgot your password?”, enter the admin email. A reset link arrives. If email is not configured yet, contact SmartXHosting support for a manual reset.
Q: Is PrestaShop free?
A: Yes, PrestaShop itself is open-source and free under OSL-3.0. You pay for hosting, SSL (free on SmartXHosting), themes (optional) and modules (optional). A UK store can run indefinitely with zero licence cost.
Q: Can I migrate an existing PrestaShop store to SmartXHosting?
A: Yes. SmartXHosting’s migration service moves database, files, images and modules from your current host. SSL re-issued, testing validated, then DNS switch. No extra charge for migration from standard hosts.
Q: Does PrestaShop support multiple shops on one installation?
A: Yes — multistore mode lets one PrestaShop installation manage multiple frontends (different brands, different URLs, shared or separate catalogues). Enable under Advanced Parameters › Multistore. Useful for UK merchants running a consumer and trade brand from one backend.