Aquamatrix.bg has been a long-term partner of ours — we've worked together since 2019. Over the years, the store grew from a standard online storefront into a complex platform: with its own ERP integration for synchronizing products, prices and stock, expanded B2B logic, and international sales that require correct VAT handling depending on the customer's country.
By 2024, the store was running on an older version of PrestaShop. As the business kept growing, the time had come to move to PrestaShop 8 — a step that's far more than a simple "update." It's a real migration: a new theme architecture, new requirements for modules, and full testing of every integration the client's business depends on.
The Challenge
A store with a six-year history carries accumulated complexity — dozens of custom modules, integrations with shipping carriers, payment methods, marketing analytics tools, and an automated connection to the client's ERP system. Each of these had to:
- keep working without interrupting sales,
- be tested and adapted to the new platform version,
- preserve — and where possible improve — the speed and behavior Aquamatrix's customers were used to.
On top of that, we were developing new B2B functionality in parallel with the migration, so the team had to carefully plan the sequence of tasks to make sure the two efforts didn't collide.
Our Approach
We broke the migration down into clear, manageable stages:
1. Preparation and theme separation. Before touching any other code, we extracted the site's theme into a standalone component and cleaned up outdated dependencies, so the new platform version could be built on a clean foundation.
2. Data migration. We planned and executed a controlled transfer of data from the current site to the new one — products, orders, customers — with checks at every stage to make sure nothing was lost or duplicated.
3. Restoring and testing integrations one by one. Every shipping carrier, every payment method, and every tracking and marketing tool was reviewed, adapted to the new version, and tested in real conditions — a step that took up a significant share of the total time, but is exactly what guarantees the client doesn't notice any "behind the scenes" technical change.
4. Rebuilding the checkout in stages. Instead of one big overhaul, we reworked the order process step by step — each stage tested on its own before moving forward. This let us catch and fix issues early, while they were still small.
5. Preserving the ERP connection. Since Aquamatrix's product catalog is automatically fed by their ERP — synchronizing products, prices, images, attributes and categories — that connection had to remain stable throughout the entire migration. We restored and validated each part of the sync individually.
6. New navigation and content tools. As part of the upgrade, we introduced an updated menu structure and tools for easier CMS content management — laying the groundwork for the catalog's future growth.
The Result
The migration spanned close to 30 separate tasks and took just over 180 hours of focused work — a realistic figure that reflects the true complexity of a long-running project with multiple integrations (the original estimate was roughly double that, proof that solid preparation cuts down the actual amount of work needed).
What the client got:
- an up-to-date, supported platform version — a foundation for future growth, instead of being stuck on outdated technology;
- every critical integration preserved without interruption — shipping, payments, ERP sync, marketing tracking;
- a checkout rebuilt in stages, ready for further conversion improvements;
- a new foundation for B2B functionality, which is already being developed further.
Why This Story Matters
A platform version migration often sounds like a "technical detail," but for a store with real revenue and dozens of active integrations, it's a serious project in its own right — one that requires planning, discipline, and a deep understanding of the specific business, not just the technology. That's exactly the kind of work we do for our long-term partners: not one-off projects, but the continuous evolution of a platform that grows alongside their business.
Thank you to the Aquamatrix.bg team for their long-standing trust and the great collaboration on this project.