Troubleshooting (PrestaShop)

This page collects the most common failure modes during the PrestaShop install, preview, and live phases. Use the section that matches the symptom you see. If none of the sections apply, collect the evidence at the bottom of this page and contact Kea Labs support.

For day-to-day operation of an already-live module, see the Operating Guide (PrestaShop).

Search is not visible on the storefront

A shopper, or you in a non-preview tab, cannot see or use Kea-powered search on the storefront. The embedded dashboard loads, but the storefront behaves as if live search is off.

1. Confirm live search is on. Open Modules -> Module Manager -> Kea Labs Search Pro -> Configure, then open UI Settings -> Integration. The live search switch must be on. If you change it, click Save.
2. Confirm you are not testing stale preview state. Open the storefront in a fresh private/incognito window.
3. Confirm the selected search experience is correct. On UI Settings -> Integration, check whether the store is using Search Widget, Classic Results Page, or Widget + Results Page.
4. Clear the PrestaShop Smarty cache. Open Advanced Parameters -> Performance -> Clear cache, then reload the storefront.
5. Purge any caching layer in front of the storefront. CDN, WAF, and reverse-proxy layers can cache storefront HTML independently.
6. Confirm the module is still installed and enabled. In Modules -> Module Manager, the Kea Labs Search Pro row should be enabled.

If the storefront still does not show Kea-powered search, collect the evidence at the bottom of this page and contact Kea Labs support.

Preview URL has no effect

You added ?kea-preview=true to the storefront URL, but the storefront behaves as if preview is off, or preview remains on when you asked for ?kea-preview=false.

1. Check the exact query string. The parameter is kea-preview and the value must be exactly true or false, in lowercase.
2. Check for server-side redirects. PrestaShop canonical URL redirects, the language switcher, and the multi-store shop picker can drop the parameter. Add it back after the redirect if needed.
3. Open in a clean tab or session. Close the storefront tab and open the preview URL from scratch.
4. Reopen preview from Home. Open the embedded dashboard and use the preview action on Search Operations Home when it is available.
5. Test in a private/incognito window. If preview works there but not in your normal tab, the issue is in browser session state.

Layout is broken but data loads

Search returns the right products, but the storefront header, dropdown, or results page looks wrong: text overflows, the input is misaligned, the dropdown sits behind another element, or the results grid has gaps.

1. Disable the most recent custom CSS or theme override and reload the storefront. If the layout is now correct, the issue is in the override.
2. Retest on the template where the issue appears. PrestaShop themes can render the header differently on home, category, product, and search results pages.
3. Re-apply customization incrementally. Bring back the override in small pieces, retesting after each piece.
4. Check the browser console for CSS errors. A failed theme.css or custom.css request is a common cause of a sudden layout break.
5. Compare against a known-good template. Temporarily switch to a default PrestaShop theme only if you need to prove the issue is theme-related.

For deeper customization work, see Advanced Customization (PrestaShop).

Results look stale

A query that should return a recent product returns nothing, or returns an old product name, price, or stock state.

1. Check indexing status. Open Search Operations Home and review the Catalog/preview status. If indexing is running, wait for it to finish.
2. Trigger a fresh sync if needed. Use the workflow documented in Catalog Indexing (PrestaShop).
3. Re-test with a recent product. Pick a product you changed in the last hour.
4. Check for a stuck index. If indexing stays in progress for more than 30 minutes without progress, collect the dashboard status and PrestaShop logs.
5. Confirm PrestaShop scheduled tasks are running. If the cron or scheduler is disabled, background indexing work may not complete.

Critical issue after go-live

A regression visible to shoppers appeared after go-live: search returns nothing, the storefront throws an error, or the page no longer loads. Roll back live search first.

1. Turn live search off. Open Modules -> Module Manager -> Kea Labs Search Pro -> Configure, then open UI Settings -> Integration. Turn the live search switch off and click Save.
2. Confirm the storefront is back. Open a fresh private/incognito tab and confirm the page no longer shows the broken live search state.
3. Collect the failure evidence listed below.
4. Return to preview and re-run the failed checks from Verify in Preview (PrestaShop).
5. Escalate if rollback does not restore the storefront or if the same regression appears on a second go-live attempt.

Evidence to collect when escalating

Before opening a support ticket, collect the following:

• Time of the failure, in your shop’s timezone.
• Module version, shown on the module row in Modules -> Module Manager.
• PrestaShop version and active theme, shown in Advanced Parameters -> Configuration -> Information and Design -> Theme & Logo.
• Live search state at the time of the failure: on, off, pending, or unknown.
• Selected search experience: Search Widget, Classic Results Page, or Widget + Results Page.
• Whether the issue reproduces in preview mode with ?kea-preview=true.
• Browser console errors from a private/incognito window where you reproduced the issue.
• PrestaShop logs covering the time of the failure.
• A short description of what you expected and what happened instead.

Related page: Troubleshooting