PrestaShop Email Templates: Customizing Order Confirmations

How PrestaShop Email Templates Work

PrestaShop sends transactional emails at every key point in the customer journey: account creation, order confirmation, shipping notification, password reset, and more. These emails are generated from template files stored on your server, and they are fully customizable. Understanding how the template system works is the first step toward creating professional, branded order confirmation emails that reinforce your store's identity.

Every PrestaShop email consists of two template files: an HTML version for email clients that support rich formatting, and a plain text (TXT) version for email clients that do not. Both files must exist for an email to send correctly. The HTML version is what the vast majority of your customers will see. The TXT version serves as a fallback and is also used by accessibility tools and some corporate email filters.

Email templates live in the mails/ directory structure. The exact location depends on whether you are using core emails, theme-overridden emails, or module-specific emails. Understanding this hierarchy is essential because PrestaShop checks multiple locations for each template and uses the first one it finds.

The Email Template Directory Structure

PrestaShop organizes email templates in a specific directory hierarchy. When it needs to send an email, it searches these locations in order of priority:

Theme-Level Overrides (Highest Priority)

Templates in /themes/your-theme/mails/en/ (where en is the language ISO code) take priority over all other locations. If you want to customize an email template without modifying core files, this is where your custom templates should go. This approach survives PrestaShop updates because theme files are not overwritten during core updates.

Core Templates (Default)

The default templates live in /mails/en/ in your PrestaShop root directory. These are the templates that ship with PrestaShop and are used when no theme override exists. Editing these files directly works but is not recommended because your changes will be lost when you update PrestaShop.

Module-Specific Templates

Modules that send their own emails store templates in /modules/module-name/mails/en/. For example, the order notification emails sent by the core payment modules are stored in their respective module directories. You can override these by placing modified copies in your theme's mails/ directory with the same filename.

Language Subdirectories

Each mails/ directory contains subdirectories for each installed language, using the language ISO code: en for English, fr for French, de for German, and so on. When PrestaShop sends an email, it uses the template from the directory matching the customer's language preference. If a template does not exist in the customer's language, PrestaShop falls back to the default language.

Anatomy of an Order Confirmation Template

The order confirmation email is the most important transactional email your store sends. It is the file named order_conf.html (and its companion order_conf.txt) in your mails directory. Let us examine its structure.

HTML Template Structure

PrestaShop email templates are standalone HTML documents. They do not use external CSS files because most email clients strip external stylesheets. All styling must be inline CSS. A typical order confirmation template includes these sections:

The document starts with a standard HTML doctype and head section. The body contains a table-based layout (because email clients have poor support for modern CSS layout methods like flexbox and grid). Within this layout, you find a header section with your store logo, the main content area with order details, a product table listing each item ordered, pricing summary with subtotals and totals, shipping information, payment method details, and a footer with store contact information and legal notices.

The Variable System

PrestaShop uses a simple variable replacement system in email templates. Variables are enclosed in curly braces: {variable_name}. When the email is generated, PrestaShop replaces each variable with its actual value. The order confirmation template uses these key variables:

{firstname} and {lastname} contain the customer's name. {order_name} is the order reference number (like ABCDEF123). {shop_name} is your store's name as configured in the back office. {shop_url} is your store's URL. {shop_logo} is the path to your store's logo image. {date} is the order date. {payment} is the payment method used. {total_paid} is the total amount paid. {delivery_company} and {delivery_address} contain shipping carrier and address information.

For the product list, PrestaShop uses a special block syntax. The product items section is wrapped in a loop that repeats for each product in the order: {items} contains the pre-formatted HTML for the entire product list table, including product names, quantities, prices, and any customization details.

Available Variables Reference

To see all available variables for a specific email template, look at the PHP code that sends the email. For order confirmation, check the PaymentModule class (in /classes/PaymentModule.php). The validateOrder() method builds the array of template variables. Each key in the array corresponds to a variable name you can use in the template.

Common variables available in order confirmation emails include: {id_order}, {order_name}, {delivery_block_txt}, {invoice_block_txt}, {delivery_block_html}, {invoice_block_html}, {delivery_company}, {delivery_firstname}, {delivery_lastname}, {delivery_address1}, {delivery_address2}, {delivery_city}, {delivery_postal_code}, {delivery_country}, {delivery_phone}, {invoice_company}, {invoice_firstname}, {invoice_lastname}, {invoice_address1}, {invoice_address2}, {invoice_city}, {invoice_postal_code}, {invoice_country}, {invoice_phone}, {message}, and {total_products}.

Customizing the Order Confirmation Template

Step 1: Create a Theme Override

Never edit the core template files directly. Instead, copy the template to your theme's mails directory:

Copy /mails/en/order_conf.html to /themes/your-theme/mails/en/order_conf.html. Do the same for order_conf.txt. If the mails/en/ directory does not exist in your theme, create it.

If your store supports multiple languages, copy the templates for each language directory. Your French order confirmation goes in /themes/your-theme/mails/fr/order_conf.html and so on.

Step 2: Modify the HTML Layout

Open the HTML template in a text editor (not a visual editor that might add unwanted code). Email HTML is different from web HTML in several important ways:

Use tables for layout, not divs. Email clients, especially Outlook, have very limited CSS support. A three-column layout must use a <table> with three <td> elements, not CSS columns or flexbox.

Use inline styles on every element. Instead of <p class="heading"> with a separate stylesheet, use <p style="font-size:18px; font-weight:bold; color:#333333;">. Every styled element needs its own inline style attribute.

Set explicit widths on tables and cells. Email clients do not always respect percentage-based widths. Use a fixed width for your main content table (600 pixels is the standard) with percentage-based internal columns.

Use web-safe fonts. Not all email clients support custom fonts. Stick to Arial, Helvetica, Georgia, Times New Roman, Verdana, or Trebuchet MS. You can try loading a custom font as a fallback, but always specify a web-safe font as the final fallback.

Step 3: Add Your Branding

Replace the default PrestaShop header with your store's branding. This typically involves updating the logo (the {shop_logo} variable automatically uses your store's logo, but you might want a specific email version), changing the header background color to match your brand, adding your brand's color scheme to headings and links, and including your store's tagline or a brief marketing message.

Keep the overall structure simple. Overly complex email designs break in different email clients. A clean, single-column layout with your brand colors and logo is more effective and more reliable than an elaborate multi-column design.

Step 4: Customize the Product Table

The default product table in PrestaShop's order confirmation is functional but basic. You can enhance it by adding product images (use absolute URLs to images hosted on your server, not relative paths), adding links to product pages so customers can easily reorder or leave reviews, adding custom fields like estimated delivery dates or personalized messages, and adjusting the table styling to match your brand.

When adding product images, keep them small (50 to 80 pixels wide) and always include an alt attribute. Some email clients block images by default, and the alt text ensures customers can still identify their products.

Adding Custom Fields to Order Emails

PrestaShop's default variables cover the standard order information, but you might want to include additional data like loyalty points earned, estimated delivery date, a personalized thank-you message, or cross-sell product recommendations.

Adding Variables via a Module

The cleanest way to add custom variables is through a module that hooks into the email sending process. Create a module that registers the actionEmailSendBefore hook (available in PrestaShop 1.7.6 and later) or the actionGetExtraMailTemplateVars hook. In your hook handler, add your custom variables to the template variables array:

Your hook function receives the template variables array by reference. You can add new variables to this array, and they become available in the template using the standard {variable_name} syntax. For example, after adding loyalty_points to the array in your hook, you can use {loyalty_points} in your order confirmation HTML template.

Using Existing Database Data

You can pull any data from your PrestaShop database into email variables. Common examples include the customer's total order count (to show "Thank you for your 5th order!"), the customer's loyalty point balance, custom product fields stored in product features or attributes, and warehouse or supplier information for the ordered products.

Multilingual Email Setup

If your store serves customers in multiple languages, every email template needs a version for each language. PrestaShop handles language selection automatically based on the customer's language preference, but you need to provide the templates.

Creating Language-Specific Templates

For each language your store supports, create a directory under your theme's mails folder: /themes/your-theme/mails/en/, /themes/your-theme/mails/fr/, /themes/your-theme/mails/de/, and so on. Copy and translate each template file into the appropriate directory.

Do not use automated translation for transactional emails. These emails represent your store's communication with customers, and poor translations damage trust. Have each language version written or reviewed by a native speaker.

Right-to-Left Language Support

If you support languages like Arabic or Hebrew, your email templates need RTL (right-to-left) layout support. Add dir="rtl" to the main table element and adjust text alignment and padding in your inline styles. Create separate templates for RTL languages rather than trying to make a single template work for both directions.

Date and Currency Formatting

PrestaShop automatically formats dates and currency values according to the customer's language and currency settings. The {date}, {total_paid}, and other formatted values already reflect the correct locale. However, if you add custom variables with dates or currency values, make sure to format them correctly for the target language.

SMTP Configuration for Reliable Delivery

The best email template in the world is useless if your emails do not reach the inbox. PrestaShop's default email configuration uses PHP's built-in mail() function, which is unreliable for transactional emails. Most of these emails end up in spam folders or are rejected entirely by modern email providers.

Why SMTP Matters

SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) with proper authentication is essential for email deliverability. When you send email through PHP's mail() function, the email comes from your web server's IP address with no authentication. Email providers like Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo see this as a red flag and often classify these emails as spam.

With SMTP, your emails are sent through an authenticated email server with proper SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records. This proves to receiving email servers that the email is legitimate and authorized by your domain.

Configuring SMTP in PrestaShop

Go to Advanced Parameters > E-mail in your PrestaShop back office. Change the method from "Use PHP's mail() function" to "Set my own SMTP parameters." Enter your SMTP server details: the server address, port (typically 587 for TLS or 465 for SSL), encryption type, username, and password.

Common SMTP providers for PrestaShop include Gmail SMTP (smtp.gmail.com, port 587, TLS, requires an App Password if 2FA is enabled), Amazon SES (affordable for high volume), SendGrid (generous free tier), Mailgun (developer-friendly with good logging), and your hosting provider's SMTP server (check with your host for settings).

Testing SMTP Configuration

After configuring SMTP, use the "Send a test email" button at the bottom of the email configuration page. Enter your own email address and check that the test email arrives in your inbox (not spam). If the test email fails, check your SMTP credentials, verify that your server can reach the SMTP server on the configured port (some hosting providers block outgoing port 25 and 587), and check if your SMTP provider requires specific security settings.

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC Records

For maximum deliverability, configure these DNS records for your domain. SPF (Sender Policy Framework) specifies which servers are authorized to send email on behalf of your domain. DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) adds a digital signature to your emails that proves they were sent by your domain. DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) tells receiving servers what to do with emails that fail SPF or DKIM checks.

Your SMTP provider will give you the specific DNS records to add. For example, if you use SendGrid, they provide SPF and DKIM records during the domain authentication setup process. Add these as TXT records in your domain's DNS settings.

Testing Email Templates

Sending Test Emails

PrestaShop does not have a built-in way to preview specific email templates. To test your order confirmation template, you need to place a real test order. Create a test customer account, add products to the cart, and complete the checkout with a test payment method. If you have a sandbox payment module configured, use that. Otherwise, the bank wire or check payment methods let you complete an order without actual payment processing.

Testing Across Email Clients

Email rendering varies dramatically between email clients. What looks perfect in Gmail might be broken in Outlook. At minimum, test your templates in Gmail (web), Outlook (desktop and web), Apple Mail, Yahoo Mail, and at least one mobile email app. Services like Litmus or Email on Acid automate this testing by rendering your email in dozens of email clients simultaneously, but they are paid services.

Common Rendering Issues

If your email looks broken in Outlook, it is almost certainly a CSS issue. Outlook uses Microsoft Word's rendering engine for HTML emails, which has extremely limited CSS support. It does not support background images on table cells (use background colors instead), padding on block elements (use table cell padding), max-width (use fixed widths), margin for centering (use align="center" on tables), or CSS floats.

For mobile responsiveness, wrap your content table in a container with max-width:600px and add a media query in the head style block (which some email clients support) that sets table widths to 100% on small screens. This is not perfect responsive design, but it prevents horizontal scrolling on most mobile devices.

Common Issues and Troubleshooting

Missing Images in Emails

This is the most common email template problem. Images in emails must use absolute URLs (starting with https://), not relative paths. If your template references /img/logo.png, change it to https://www.yourdomain.com/img/logo.png. The {shop_logo} variable automatically generates an absolute URL, but any images you add manually must use full URLs.

Also verify that your images are accessible from outside your network. If your store is behind a firewall or HTTP authentication, email clients cannot load the images. Test by opening the image URL in a private/incognito browser window.

Broken Layout After Editing

Email HTML is fragile. A single unclosed tag or missing table cell can break the entire layout. Always validate your HTML after editing. Count your opening and closing table, tr, and td tags. Every <table> needs a </table>, every <tr> needs a </tr>, and every <td> needs a </td>. Check that every row in a table has the same number of cells (or uses colspan to make up the difference).

Variables Not Being Replaced

If you see literal {variable_name} text in your sent emails instead of actual values, check the variable name for typos. Variable names are case-sensitive. Also verify that the variable exists for the specific email type you are customizing. Not all variables are available in all email templates. The order-specific variables like {order_name} are only available in order-related emails.

Emails Not Sending at All

If emails are not being sent, check the PrestaShop back office under Advanced Parameters > E-mail. There you can see a log of sent emails. If the log shows failures, check your SMTP configuration. If no emails appear in the log, the email might not be triggered at all. Verify that your order status transitions are configured to send emails (Orders > Statuses > edit status > check "Send an email to the customer").

Also check your server's PHP error log for email-related errors. Common issues include PHP's mail() function being disabled by the hosting provider, SMTP authentication failures due to changed passwords, and network connectivity issues between your server and the SMTP server.

Emails Going to Spam

Even with proper SMTP configuration, emails can still land in spam. The most common reasons are missing or incorrect SPF/DKIM/DMARC records, email content that triggers spam filters (excessive use of capital letters, spam trigger words like "free" or "act now", too many images with little text), sending from an IP address with a poor reputation (common with shared hosting), and the "from" email address domain not matching the SMTP server domain.

Fix the DNS records first, then review your email content. Use a tool like mail-tester.com to analyze your emails for spam triggers. Send a test email to the address they provide, and they return a detailed report showing what might cause spam classification.

Theme-Specific Email Overrides

Some PrestaShop themes include their own email templates that match the theme's design. If your theme has templates in /themes/your-theme/mails/, these override the core templates automatically.

Checking for Theme Email Templates

Look in your active theme's directory for a mails folder. If it exists, the theme provides custom email templates. These templates usually match the theme's color scheme and header/footer design, giving your emails visual consistency with your storefront.

Customizing Theme Email Templates

If your theme provides email templates, edit those instead of copying from the core mails/ directory. The theme templates may use a different HTML structure or include additional CSS that is specific to the theme's design system. Starting from the theme's version ensures visual consistency.

Keeping Templates in Sync with Theme Updates

When you update your theme, check whether the update includes changes to email templates. If it does, your customizations might be overwritten. Before updating, back up your customized templates. After updating, compare the new templates with your backups and reapply your customizations to the updated versions. This is tedious but necessary to maintain both your customizations and any improvements or fixes the theme developer has made.

Best Practices for Order Confirmation Emails

A well-crafted order confirmation email does more than confirm the transaction. It builds trust, reduces support inquiries, and creates opportunities for engagement.

Include a clear order reference number prominently at the top. Customers need this number when contacting support or tracking their order. List every product with its name, quantity, price, and any options or customizations. Include the complete breakdown of subtotal, shipping cost, taxes, discounts, and total. Show the delivery address so customers can verify it and contact you immediately if it is wrong. Include the payment method used and any relevant transaction details. Provide a link to the order tracking page or the customer's order history in their account. Add your customer service contact information so customers know how to reach you if something is wrong.

Keep the design clean and mobile-friendly. More than half of all emails are read on mobile devices. Use a single-column layout, large readable text (minimum 14px for body text), and buttons with adequate touch targets (minimum 44px height). Your order confirmation email is a reflection of your store's professionalism. Invest the time to get it right.

For more details, read our guides: Email Configuration in PrestaShop: SMTP, Gmail and Transactional Email and Order Status Workflow in PrestaShop: Customization and Automation.