SiteGround Tutorials

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Magento Tutorial

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Magento features

The large array of the Magento features is one of the main benefits of Magento. Through them you can easyly develop and manage a successful online store. Magento features like different payment engines and shipping options along with the international support and high security using a private SSL certificate will make your shop an attractive place for e-commerce.

Magento main features include:

• Analytics and Reporting - the script is integrated with Google Analytics and offers many different reports.
• Product Browsing - multiple images for products, options for extensive reviews, wishlists and much more.
• Catalog Browsing - easy navigation, advanced product filtering system, product comparison.
• Catalog Management - inventory management, batch import and export of products, different tax rates per location, additional product attributes.
• Customer Accounts - order status and history, e-mail and RSS feeds for products in the wishlist, newsletter subscription, default billing and shipping address.
• Customer Service - enhanced features for customers' accounts, Contact Us form, comprehensive order tracking and history, customizable order e-mails.
• Order Management - create orders through admin area, create multiple invoices shipments and credit memos, call center order creation option.
• Payment - different payment methods: credit cards, PayPal, Authorize.net, Google Checkout, checks, money orders, support of external payment modules like Cybersource, ePay, eWAY and many more.
• Shipping - shipping to multiple addresses, flat rating shipping, supports UPS, UPS XML (account rates), FedEx (account rates), USPS and DHL.
• Checkout - one page checkout, SSL support, checkout without having an account.
• Search Engine Optimization - 100% Search Engine Friendly, Google SiteMap support.
• International Support - multiple languages and currencies, list of allowed countries for registration, purchasing and shipping, localization.
• Marketing Promotions and Tools - coupons, discounts and different promotion options.
• Site Management - control of multiple web sites, multiple languages, tax rate with support for US and International markets, customizable outlook through templates.

 All the SiteGround servers are optimized in order to support the best Magento features hosting.

Magento Installation

Please mind that Magento requires PHP 5.2.x or above to run properly. SiteGround Magento hosting package is fully compatible with Magento's requirements. You can flawlessly run Magento with SiteGround.

Don't have a Magento site yet?
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The steps which you must follow in order to complete the Magento installation are:

Step 1: Download the latest stable Magento package from:

http://www.magentocommerce.com/download.

There is also a package, called magento-downloader-x.x.x, but you do not need it, since you will install the latest stable script version.

Step 2: Upload the package on your hosting account through your cPanel -> File Manager or using an FTP client.

You can learn more about cPanel from our cPanel Tutorial.

There are 2 options where you can place the Magento download file:

• Either under the public_html folder, which is the main one for your web site content. Then your web site will be accessible directly through your domain.
• Or under a subfolder, for example if your domain name is called yourdomainname.com and you decide to install the script in the public_html/magento folder, then you will open the web site at: http://yourdomainname.com/magento.

Once you upload the package, you can extract it through your cPanel -> File Manager. Using the same tool, please change the file permissions for the Magento files to 755.

Step 3: Create a MySQL database and assign a user to it through cPanel -> MySQL Databases. Remember the database details, since you will need them during the script installation. 

The MySQL database is created with your username as prefix - username_databasename, and this is the name you have to use for your application.

Step 4: In our example we will install  Magento in the public_html/magento folder. Once the package is uploaded and extracted and you have a MySQL database, navigate to http://yourdomainname.com/magento:

Click on the check box next to "I agree to the above terms and conditions" and click on the [Continue] button.

Step 5: Choose the preferred Time Zone, Locale and Currency:

Click on the [Continue] button.

Step 6: Enter the database details: Database Name, User Name and User Password. You can leave the other options intact.
Click on the check box next to "Skip Base URL validation before next step".

Click on the [Continue] button.

Step 7: At this point you should enter the personal information and the admin login details which you want to use. You can leave the Encryption Key field empty and the script will generate one for you.

Click on the [Continue] button.

Step 8: Write down your encryption key; it will be used by Magento to encrypt passwords, credit cards and other confidential information.

Well done! Your Magento installation was successfully completed. Now you can navigate to its Frontend or Backend.

Magento Encryption Key

The Magento Encryption Key is generated during the Magento Installation. It is used for the encryption and the security storage of the sensitive data in the script's database.

The Magento Encryption Key is kept in the app/etc/local.xml file. You can open it through cPanel->File Manager. You can find more details on how to view the file content in our cPanel tutorial.

The code which you should look for is:

<crypt>
            <key><![CDATA[ENCRYPTION_KEY]]></key>
        </crypt>

The ENCRYPTION_KEY string is replaced by the actual encryption key.

You need it if want to move your store data to a new Magento site. The Encryption key is used to recover the encrypted data.

When you migrate your database content to a new Magento installation, make sure that the encryption key from the existing installation is written in the new web site's local.xml file. Otherwise the encrypted data, stored in the new database will not work.

Creating a Magento web site

Don't have a Magento site yet or you have problems with your current host?
Check out the best Magento hosting pack (including a free Magento installation)! 

Once you have completed the Magento installation, you can proceed with the configuration of your web site.

By default the main page looks as follows:

In order to start populating your web site with content, you need to navigate to the Magento's admin area:

Log in with the details entered during the script installation and navigate to System -> Configuration. Here you can configure the script options per your personal needs. Most options are self-explanatory:

Once you are ready with the configuration, open the Catalog -> Manage Categories section. Now let's create a new category. The only required field is the name.

You can leave the other settings intact. Once you have a new category, you can add some products under it. This can be done through the Catalog -> Manage Products section. Click on the [Add Products] button:

Click on the [Continue] button:

Now you can enter details for your product:

Clicking on the [Create New Attribute] button will allow you to add attributes to your products:

Once you are ready with the attribute, click on the [Save Attribute] button. Then you can click on the [Save] button in order to store your product information.

At this point you will be prompted for the price of the product. You can enter the default price, a special price and its validity, the cost and whether it is taxable:

Click on the [Save] button to continue. You need to assign the new product to a chosen category:

Then you should define the available quantity of the product and whether it is in the stock:

You can also check product reviews, product tags and the other options. Once you are ready, click on the [Save] button. The new product will be added to your online shop.

From the Catalog category you can also manage the attributes, rewrite URLs for the products, perform searches, edit tags, generate a GoogleMap and manage reviews and ratings:

From the Promotions section you can set promotions, define the rules for them and the customers' groups for which the promotions are valid:

Multiple comprehensive statistics and reports can be obtained at the Magento admin area -> Reports.

Changing the Magento theme

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In order to change your Magento theme, you would need to find a new theme and download it. You can download new themes from:

• The official Magento web site. There are many free and commercial themes;
• Check for a suitable Magento theme for your website here;
• An useful Magento Themes Blog;

How to upload a Magento theme?

Once you pick a theme and open its details page click on the Get Extension Key button, agree to the extension license agreement and click again on the same button.

The extension key will be visualised. For the current example the extension key is:

magento-core/Interface_Frontend_Default_Modern

Select and copy it.

Open the Magento Admin Area->System->Magento Connect->Magento Connect Manager. Enter again the admin login details and paste the extension key in the Paste extension key to install field. Click on the Install button.

Once the installation is completed return to the Magento Admin Area and open System->Configuration->Design->Themes.

Enter the theme name in the Default field and click on the Save Config button.

The front page might not load correctly. The reason could be the number of the columns in the new theme's home page layout.

You can fix this through the Magento Admin Area->CMS->Manage Pages. You will find two home pages. One is with 2 columns layout and the other is with one. Disable the first one and enable the second by clicking on their status links.

Now the front page will appear correctly with the new theme.

How to design the Magento main page

Don't have a Magento site yet or you have problems with your current host?
Check out the best Magento hosting pack (including a free Magento installation)!

 

In order to manage your web site pages you need to navigate to the CMS section under the Magento admin area.

Click on the Manage Pages link in order to proceed with the pages' modification:

You can select the page you want to edit

and modify it to your preference.

Static blocks is another useful option. For example, you can edit the footer block which contains the links located at the bottom of your main page:

The Poll Manager allows you to create and edit your polls:

Magento SSL Setup

The private SSL certificate is an important upgrade to your website. The basic function of an SSL is to encrypt all communication between the browser and the server, ensuring that all data goes through a secure (HTTPS) connection. An SSL certificate is a necessity when you want to operate an online shop and process the sensitive customers data through your software. It helps you gain your clients' trust and increase your web site's search engines rank. You can purchase a private SSL from the SiteGround SSL Certificate page.

The certificate could be easily enabled through the Magento Admin area -> System -> Configuration -> Web. There you can define the insecure (non-SSL) and secure (SSL) URLs:

In the Base URL fields you should enter the unsecure (regular) web site URL and the web site URL for the SSH connections. You can leave the other values unchanged, as they will be set automatically by the script after you enter the Base URL. Basically the other fields define the URLs of the main Magento store page and the URLs of the skin, media and JavaScript folders. The drop-down menus allow you to enable and disable the SSL support for the web site's frontend and backend.

Bear in mind that the SSL connection over HTTPS is slower than the HTTP, thus secured connection should be applied only to the pages that contain and process sensitive information. Also, it is recommended to run the admin interface through an SSL. In this way you will increase the security of the script's backend.

SEO for Magento

Magento is one of the most search engine friendly e-commerce applications.

The Search Engine Optimization for Magento can be enabled through the script admin area -> System -> Configuration -> Web -> Search Engines Optimization:

In the URL Options it is recommended to turn off the Add Store Code to Urls function.

Additionally, the Magento installation set the default page title to Magento Commerce. Pick a more descriptive one and change it from the script admin area ->System -> Configuration -> Design -> HTML Head. Enter the new one in the Default Title field. It will be used for non-content pages without custom title. If you want your store name  to appear in all pages' titles put it in the Title Suffix field.

 

Magento Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a free Google service which allows the webmasters and web site administrators to monitor their web sites' traffic and conversion ratio.

Magento supports two types of tracking:

• Page View Tracking: Lists the origin from which your web store visitors linked to your store.

• E-commerce Tracking: Lists the customers that make purchases and what they buy.

First you need to sign up at http://www.google.com/analytics/sign_up.html. You will receive a Google Analytics account number. Write it down since you will need it for the Magento configuration.

Then configure the Google Analytics tracking in Magento. Open the Magento Admin area and navigate to System->Configuration->Sales->Google API.

Expand the Google Analytics section.

Pick the Yes option from the Enable drop-down menu. Enter the Google Analytics account number in the Account number field. Click on the Save Config button.

Magento Customer Management

New customers can sign up for your online store through the main page->My account section. They should click on the [Create an Account] button and fill in the details:

You can add new customers or manage the existing ones through the Customers section in the Magento admin area:

In order to change the customer details, click on the [[Edit]] button.

There you can alter all customer details, including the username and the password, the address, monitor the orders, the shopping cart, the wishlist items, the reviews and the tags and manage the newsletter:

You can add and manage the customers' groups through the Customers section -> Customer Groups:

You can monitor the online users from the Customers section -> Online Customers.

The newsletters which you will send to your customers can be composed and managed through the Newsletter section in the Magento admin area:

You can create templates, manage the newsletters' outgoing e-mail queue, include subscribers for the newsletter and check the problem reports.

 

Magento Shipping Methods

How to configure Magento Shipping methods ?

You can configure the Magento shipping methods through the Magento admin area -> System -> Configuration -> Sales ->Shipping Methods:

Before enabling the shipping method you should configure the shipping settings from the Magento admin area -> System -> Configuration -> Sales -> Shipping Settings:

Expand the Origin section. Enter the address from which the shipping will be initiated. Usually this is the address of the warehouse where the products are stored.

Then expand the Options section. If enabled, the option Allow Shipping to multiple addresses allows goods from a single order to be shipped to different addresses. It is useful when a customer orders many products of a single kind, like post cards or pens for example and wants they to be delivered to more than a single address. You can define the maximum number of allowed shipping addresses in the Maximum qty allowed for Shipping to multiple addresses field.

In this tutorial we will illustrate how to enable the USPS shipping method.

Open the Magento admin area -> System -> Configuration -> Sales ->Shipping Methods and navigate to the USPS section:

Enable the shipping method, enter the Gateway URL and the UserID. The next options allow you to describe the packages which you need to be delivered (size, weight and more).

Then you can define the handling fee. It can be fixed or calculated on the percent basis. After this you can pick the allowed delivery methods. Also, you can configure a free shipping method and define whether there is a minimum purchase sum for it.

At the end you can define the countries for which the shipping is supported and the default error message in case the service is refused. In the Sort order field you should enter the  position of this shipping method compared to the other shipping methods offered to the customers.

 

Magento Payment Methods

How to configure Magento Payment methods ?

Magento provides different payment methods in order to allow you to accept payments using different payment processors like Paypal, Authorize.net and many more. The clients can also pay through regular credit cards like Visa, Master Card, American Express, Discover, Switch/Solo, check/money orders and other payment solutions.

You can configure the Magento payment methods through the Magento Admin Area -> System -> Configuration -> Sales -> Payment Methods:

In this tutorial we will illustrate how to enable the credit card payment method.

The credit card payment method can be configured through the Saved CC section:

Enable the method, enter its title, set the new order status, pick the supported credit cards, decide whether the credit card verification is required, define from which countries to accept payments and the range of the accepted payments.

In the Sort order field you should enter the  position of this payment method compared to the other payment methods offered to the customers.

Magento Newsletter

It is important to inform your customers about new promotions and discounts. The Magento Newsletter functionality allows the store administrators to send newsletters to clients who are registered for them.

First you should enable the option for the customers to confirm that they agree to receive the newsletter. This feature can be turned on from the Magento Admin Area-> System-> Configuration-> Customers-> Newsletter. Expand the Subscription Options area and change the Need to Confirm field value to Yes.

The clients can unsubscribe for the newsletter. The administrator can define the Unsubscription Email Sender and the Unsubscription Email Template through the corresponding drop-down menus. The same is valid for the newsletter's success and the confirmation e-mail senders and templates. You can use one and the same or you can customize them per your needs.

Click on Save Config to confirm the modification.

Then you should set the newsletter template through the Magento Admin Area-> Newsletter-> Newsletter Templates-> Add New Template.

Enter the template name, the subject of the newsletter which will be sent, the sender's name and e-mail and the newsletter template's HTML code.

Once you are ready, preview the template using the Preview Template button and save it by clicking on the Save Template button.

The template will be added to the corresponding list and you will be able to edit it.

If you plan to send the message to a large list of recipients, you should divide the list in small parts. You can configure such a functionality through the Magento Admin Area-> Newsletter-> Newsletter Templates-> Action-> Queue Newsletter.

 

In the Queue Date Start field define when the newsletter will be sent. The messages will leave the e-mail server in small batches. Check the other options and click on the Save Newsletter button when you are ready.

You can find different newsletter reports. From the Magento Admin Area-> Newsletter-> Newsletter Queue you can monitor the newsletter queues' progress.

You can see the list of the customers, subscribed for the newsletter in the Magento Admin Area-> Newsletter-> Newsletter Subscribers. You can manually unsubscribe them.

The Magento Admin Area-> Newsletter-> Newsletter Problem Reports section shows errors which have occurred during the newsletter sending and you can take the necessarily steps to resolve them.

Magento widgets

What is a Magento widget?

Magento Widgets are Magento extensions with a predefined set of configuration options. Through them the store administrators can enrich the front-end blocks functionality. They provide great control and flexibility in creating informational and marketing content through the Magento administrator panel. Once installed, the widgets options can be tuned by the Magento store administrators.

The Magento widgets can be used after script version 1.4.

They can be installed in the same way as the other Magento extensions.

Some of the possible implementations of the Magento widgets are:

1. Dynamic product data;
2. Dynamic lists with the recently viewed items;
3. Promotional images placed on different Magento front-end locations;
4. Interactive navigation elements and action blocks;
5. Dynamic flash elements that can be easily configured and embedded in content pages;
6. And many more

In this tutorial we will show you how to install a sample widget #1. First you need to get the extension key from the corresponding Magento page. Click on the Get Extension Key button, agree to the extension license agreement and click again on the same button.

The extension key will be visualised. For the current example the extension key is:

magento-core/Sample_WidgetOne

Select and copy it.

Open the Magento Admin Area->System->Magento Connect->Magento Connect Manager. Enter again the admin login details and paste the extension key in the Paste extension key to install field. Click on the Install button.

Once the installation is completed enable the widget for your Home Page. Return to the Magento Admin Area and navigate to CMS->Pages.

Click on the Home Page link.

Open the Content section and click on the Insert Widget icon.

A new window will be opened. You can pick the Widget Type from the drop-down menu. Then click the Insert Widget button.

The widget will be inserted. Click on the Save Page button in the Magento administrator area. After this you can check your Home Page.

The chosen widget is successfully inserted.