The PrestaShop world is on the verge of a significant shift: the trusty Classic theme may soon make way for a new theme called Hummingbird. Why is this new theme necessary, what innovations does it bring, and how will it impact developers and store owners? Let's dive in!
Why Do We Need a New Theme?
The PrestaShop community has long asked for a faster, more modern, and flexible theme structure. Classic has served well, but its outdated architecture now limits the potential to implement new technologies. Challenges with updating Bootstrap, outdated file structures, and unmodifiable components have created a need for a fresh approach.
To address these issues, the PrestaShop team began developing Hummingbird, a theme that aims to eliminate the limitations of Classic and offer a more adaptable foundation for theme development. This project is fueled by community suggestions, which brought many improvements.
What Changes Does Hummingbird Bring?
Here are some key innovations in Hummingbird:
- Switch to Bootstrap 5: A more modern and functional framework.
- No reliance on jQuery in favor of standard JavaScript API. While jQuery will remain for module compatibility, the theme will be lighter and faster.
- Lazy loading for images, speeding up page loading times.
- BEM CSS strategy for improved readability and structure.
- JSON-LD instead of microdata for better SEO optimization.
- Separation of functional and stylistic CSS packs. Developers can immediately use Bootstrap 5 without clearing out unnecessary components.
- Reduced dependencies and optimized JavaScript event usage for interactive modules and plugins.
With these updates, Hummingbird will become a powerful, universal base for theme creation, greatly simplifying developers' work.
Why This Transition is Important
Each update to PrestaShop's default theme impacts the entire ecosystem, including modules and customizations. The PrestaShop team understands that transitioning to Hummingbird should be smooth to avoid disrupting current modules and themes. The new theme's deployment will be gradual, with testing and community feedback at every step.
How to Test Hummingbird?
Joining the Hummingbird testing process is easy: simply clone the repository on GitHub, run npm install && npm run build
, and enable the theme in PrestaShop’s admin panel. This is a unique opportunity to influence theme development and improve it for everyone.
Prospects for Developers and Users
Hummingbird is more than just a new storefront; it’s a flexible platform that opens up vast customization possibilities. For example, with nearly pure Bootstrap integration, developers can create unique projects without unnecessary restructuring. In the future, Hummingbird can serve as an excellent starting point for custom themes, offering an adaptable yet powerful base.
What Will Happen to the Classic Theme?
Classic has been moved to a separate repository, where it remains available for PrestaShop 1.7 and 8.0. However, with Hummingbird’s introduction, its support will gradually end, allowing PrestaShop to focus on a single, modern theme.
What do you think of Hummingbird? Are you ready to switch, or do you prefer Classic? Share your thoughts in the comments!