"Žaislų manija": E-Commerce Modernisation & Maintenance

To ensure the security, stable operation, and long-term performance of its e-commerce platform, the company initiated a technology upgrade process. The decision was made following an infrastructure audit which revealed that the existing system was built on PrestaShop 1.7. With the release of PrestaShop 8, the older platform architecture had reached the end of its technology lifecycle — at which point active feature development ceases, with only critical security patches continuing to be released.

This technological state poses a significant risk to business continuity. An outdated system architecture increases security vulnerabilities and limits the ability to defend against modern cyberthreats, while also putting customer data confidentiality at risk. In a rapidly evolving technological landscape, cybersecurity vulnerabilities are being identified and disclosed ever more quickly, and unpatched systems become easy targets for automated attacks. Without regular software updates, even previously reliable platforms can no longer guarantee an adequate level of security.

Beyond security risks, an outdated platform also has a direct impact on day-to-day operational efficiency. Software incompatibility with newer modules and infrastructure solutions increases the likelihood of technical disruptions, and resolving them requires additional administrator intervention. Recurring functional issues complicate order processing, drive up operational costs, and negatively affect the buyer experience, directly reducing conversion rates and eroding brand trust.

After assessing the identified risks, partial fixes were set aside in favour of a strategic path — a full platform modernisation and data migration. This process is focused not only on addressing existing shortcomings but also on meeting future business needs, encompassing the following key stages:

To ensure a smooth transition to the updated environment, a structured database migration was carried out. This approach preserves the authentic data structure and unique identifiers, which in the PrestaShop architecture are directly linked to the relationships between products, categories, and orders. In practice, this ensures that the platform upgrade is implemented without critical disruptions and that core e-commerce processes — from product administration to active order processing — remain stable throughout the migration period.

During the migration, particular attention was paid to aspects with a direct bearing on business results. By keeping product and category identifiers unchanged, the existing URL structure and search-engine-indexed links are protected, avoiding any loss of organic traffic. Equally important is the stability of integrations with external marketplaces — data exchanges with these channels (prices, stock levels) often rely on the same identifiers, so preserving them eliminates the risk of synchronisation disruptions.

In e-commerce, every additional step in the checkout process increases the risk that a buyer will abandon their order, making purchase convenience one of the key factors driving conversion rates. To reduce this risk and optimise the user journey to payment, a one-page checkout solution was implemented, allowing all order steps — from entering contact details to confirming payment — to be completed in a single, seamless environment.

Technical integration compatibility is a critical element of this solution. Seamless operation of payment collection, courier service, and parcel locker selection modules was ensured throughout the checkout process. This architecture enables correct presentation of delivery options and pricing based on the user's selections, creating the conditions for a faster and more convenient shopping experience.

A significant proportion of modern cyber incidents arise not from targeted attacks but from automated systems that continuously scan website architectures in search of vulnerabilities. A comprehensive set of solutions was deployed to reliably distinguish legitimate user activity from automated processes.

One of the primary methods is behavioural analysis, which evaluates the nature of interactions with the website (browsing logic, speed of actions). This makes it possible to identify whether requests are being initiated by a human or a software bot. This analysis is complemented by browser capability testing, which determines whether the user's environment matches the technical parameters of genuine visitors.

To protect against data harvesting and spam, honeypot-type elements were deployed — hidden fields invisible to real users but triggered by automated bots. Their activation enables the system to promptly block the source of the threat. An additional layer is provided by geographic filtering, which restricts access from regions with high levels of malicious traffic. Firewall protection across the entire infrastructure filters dangerous requests.

Cybersecurity, however, is not a one-time measure but an ongoing process requiring systematic attention and maintenance. To sustain a stable level of security, software is regularly updated, system activity logs are analysed, and network traffic is monitored. In parallel, a consistent backup strategy is implemented, enabling rapid recovery in the event of an incident. This holistic approach provides a solid foundation for long-term infrastructure reliability and resilience.

In e-commerce, consistent, accurate, and automated data exchange between supplier systems, the internal store infrastructure, and external sales channels is of great importance. To ensure the reliability of these processes, specialised product data import and export modules were implemented, enabling centralised management of information flows and reducing dependence on manual operations.

The product import solution is integrated with multiple supplier data sources and adapted to a differentiated update model based on the nature of the data being imported. Static information, such as product descriptions or technical specifications, is imported on a one-time basis. Dynamic data — stock levels and prices — is synchronised periodically based on up-to-date supplier feeds.

The export module is designed to seamlessly synchronise store data with external trading platforms and other sales channels. Centralised transmission of prices, stock levels, and product information ensures data consistency across the entire commercial ecosystem and enables multi-channel trading.

During the transition to the updated e-commerce platform, one of the primary objectives was to ensure organic traffic stability and uninterrupted user accessibility. The URL structure created in the legacy system was carefully adapted for the new platform version, maintaining a logical hierarchy: category → subcategory → product. This structure allows search engines to accurately interpret the site's content architecture and topical context, while helping users navigate the catalogue with ease. Primary and secondary keywords related to the products on offer were purposefully incorporated into category and subcategory names, reinforcing the semantic value of each URL and improving its competitiveness in search results.

All URLs that were changed or newly created during the migration were carefully redirected using permanent redirects. This ensures that pages already indexed by search engines remain accessible. This redirect model helps preserve SEO continuity and reduces the number of 404 not-found errors.

Technological renewal is not a one-off event — it is a continuous process. Following a successful platform launch, the focus shifted to an ongoing technical maintenance phase. This involves not only the regular deployment of important software updates, but also proactive monitoring of server loads and traffic to neutralise potential threats before they affect system performance. Prompt response to any incidents is also ensured, maintaining an uninterrupted trading process. This long-term partnership ensures that the online store remains secure, stable, and technologically advanced for the future.