On November 6, 2024, the PrestaShop developer community gathered in Paris for a day of learning and networking at the second PrestaShop Developer Conference. The agenda was filled with insightful sessions and demonstrations. The event provided a platform to grow and learn more about PrestaShop’s ecosystem, get project information as well as explore advancements usable in daily professional activities.

Insightful sessions during the day

Throughout the day, the main stage hosted presentations by experts in the PrestaShop community, who shared insights on optimizing performance, leveraging advanced new Admin APIs, implementing continuous integration and workflows. These sessions highlighted strategies for developers to expand their skill sets and drive more impactful projects with PrestaShop.

The conference started on Wednesday morning with a welcome speech by Dimitri Mouillard, Head of Solution Engineering at PrestaShop. Dimitri was the day’s host on the main stage, announcing speakers and giving insights to the audience.

Following Dimitri’s speech, Olivier Fontenelle, PrestaShop’s Chief Technology Officer, came to the main stage. During Olivier’s session, participants were welcomed, given an overview of the event’s themes, and introduced to secured personalization, a PrestaShop company idea with concrete initiatives and new guidelines to ensure reliability, security, as well as allow smoother upgrades for those who will follow them.

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Vincent Guesnard, DevSecOps at TouchWeb, then came to speak to the audience about cybersecurity, lack of financing and structural weaknesses of third-party developers. It was a very informative talk that opened the door for a broader discussion on security within the PrestaShop ecosystem. Following this session, the Tech Room opened, giving a second stage where participants went for more interesting presentations.

Diverse topics in the tech room

The tech room was hosted by myself, where I was able to welcome presenters and gave information about each talk. The tech room differed from the main stage, offering an interactive series of quick presentations. This allowed attendees to dive into a range of specialized topics, from acceptation tests to PrestaShop’s back office rebranding.

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With shorter, focused sessions, participants explored diverse aspects of development to bring back a fresh set of tools and techniques. This dual-track setup provided a better experience, ensuring each attendee organized their day to match their interests and learning goals.

End of day sessions and newsletter prize winners announcement

The day featured more than 20 presentations by 33 speakers, many of whom traveled from far away to the Paris region to discuss PrestaShop. I won’t be going into too much detail about each presentation, as you’ll be able to read about them on this Build blog in the coming weeks. We will be collaborating with some of the speakers to create articles and even inviting them to join us for Live Updates, so stay tuned!

After the tech room closed, the main stage hosted a presentation with Alexis Guyomar, Thomas Nabord, and Géric Fossé from PrestaShop, where they talked about the critical topic of upgrades - a longstanding focus in our ecosystem. Géric’s team is dedicated to delivering the best possible experience, making upgrades even more secure and steady for users. You’ll soon have the chance to learn more about the Upgrade Assistant in an upcoming Live Update!

Then came the Q&A session with the PrestaShop Team, where Eric Sénéchal, PrestaShop’s Managing Director, Olivier Fontenelle, PrestaShop’s Chief Technology Officer and Clément Paillasse, PrestaShop’s Chief Product Officer, came to answer questions the audience had for them. Many topics were discussed, including PrestaShop’s upcoming releases, the transition to versions 8 and 9 where a deprecation policy is being prepared to facilitate upgrades, the PrestaShop Marketplace - Dimitri Mouillard joined to help answer those questions. Mathieu Ferment also emphasized security is a collective effort within the PrestaShop module ecosystem, which should be strengthened from the design phase to reduce associated risks and costs. There were many questions that received detailed answers, making this session undeniably one of the most impactful moments of the conference.

At the end of the day, the PrestaShop Project newsletter prize winners were announced. For this special occasion, Dimitri Mouillard came on stage, with Cécile Biedermann, PrestaShop’s Global Head of Communication and Events, Mathieu Ferment, Engineering Manager at PrestaShop and Thomas Rayrat, Profileo’s Managing Director. Thomas had the task of picking out winners from a PrestaShop tote bag that included the names of all contest entries to select winners for six different prizes. A big round of applause for our gift recipients: Markus from Germany, Yves from France, Fabrice from France, Laurent from France, Alvaro from Spain, and Dev Nukium from France.

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Stronger community and lasting connections

The conference concluded with a cocktail and networking reception, where participants reflected on the day’s insights and connected with developers, project contributors, and PrestaShop community members. The 2024 PrestaShop Developer Conference was a success, reinforcing the commitment to supporting and growing the PrestaShop project.

Why the PrestaShop Developer Conference was the event of the year!

This year’s PrestaShop Developer Conference was an unmissable event for the developers and agencies shaping the PrestaShop ecosystem. With top-notch presentations and engaging Q&A sessions, it was a great chance to dive into the latest developments and best practices. Attendees not only learned from insightful talks but also joined in lively discussions that continued through networking sessions. Plus, the PrestaShop stand gave everyone a direct line to the PrestaCrew for one-on-one questions and support.

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If you couldn’t attend, look out for our upcoming blog posts for more conference highlights, because this year’s insights are sure to spark exciting new projects and collaborations!

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Thank you to our sponsors

We would like to extend a special thank you to our sponsors for their support of the 2024 PrestaShop Developer Conference.