Magento is a free open-source e-commerce software that allows merchants to sell their goods online. The platform has been around since 2004 and is now owned by eBay. Magento powers over 20% of the top 100 websites worldwide.
Magento is a web application built using PHP and MySQL. It was developed by Varien Inc., a company founded in 1999.
The platform supports multiple languages and is a powerful tool for businesses looking to expand their reach and increase sales. If you’re interested in learning more about Magento, check out our guide below.
What Is Magento?
The history of Magento began when founder Andrzej Marczewski created an e-commerce website called Open Source Commerce (OSC). He later sold it to Varien Inc. in 2003.
In 2004, Varien released Magento as a new platform with many improvements. Since then, Magento has become one of the most popular platforms for e-commerce sites.
Why Should I Use Magento?
There are several reasons why you should consider using Magento instead of other e-commerce solutions:
You can customize your site easily
It offers a wide range of features
It is easy to use
It is secure
It is scalable
It is highly customizable
It is supported by a large community
How Does Magento Work?
In order to understand how Magento works, we need to know how websites work. A website consists of two main parts: content and code. Content is what users see on screen.
Code is what makes the website function. For example, if you want to add a product to your store, you would write some HTML code. This code tells the browser where to find the information needed to display the page.
In Magento, there are three types of files: templates, layouts, and blocks. Templates contain all the HTML code displayed on the front end of your site.
They are used to create different pages such as home pages, category pages, or checkout pages. Layouts control how the template looks. Blocks allow developers to insert dynamic data into the templates.
How Do I Get Started With Magento?
If you have never worked with Magento before, it may be difficult to get started. However, once you learn how to install and configure Magento, you will be able to build a custom ecommerce solution. To begin, you must first download the latest version of Magento from its official website.
After downloading the file, you will need to extract the contents of the zip archive. Next, you will need to upload the extracted folder to your server. Once this is done, you will need to log into your hosting account and access the Magento directory.
From here, you will need to navigate through the folders until you locate the “app” folder. Inside this folder, you will find the index.php file. Edit this file so that it matches the following format:
/* Template Name: My First Template */
Next, you will need to open up the admin panel of your hosting service. Here, you will need to select the default homepage. Finally, click Save Configurations.
Once you have completed these steps, you will be ready to start building your own ecommerce site.
How Much Does Magento Cost?
Magento is free for personal use. Commercial licenses cost $99 per year. There are also premium versions available for purchase. These include enterprise support, additional modules, and security measures.
What Is Magento 2?
Magento 2 was launched in 2017. It is based on the same technology as Magento 1 but includes many enhancements. Some of these enhancements include improved performance, better scalability, and more advanced functionality.
The biggest change between Magento 1 and Magento 2 is that the latter has been rewritten from scratch. As a result, Magento 2 is much faster than its predecessor.
The most significant improvement in Magento 2 is that it is now fully compatible with PHP 7.0. In addition, it supports multiple databases including MySQL 5.6, MariaDB 10.1, PostgreSQL 9.4, Oracle 11g, SQL Server 2012, and Microsoft Azure.
When visitors click on those links, they are taken to the merchant’s site where they can buy the product. If the visitor then makes a purchase, the affiliate receives a commission.
Another way to make money using Magento is by selling digital downloads. You can sell music, movies, software, games, and even apps.
Another option is to create an online store. This allows customers to browse items and place orders directly through your website.
Finally, there are third-party plugins that allow you to add specific features to your store. Examples include payment gateways (Also check out What Is A Gateway Timeout?), shipping calculators, and inventory management tools.
Is Magento Secure?
Yes, Magento is very secure. All the files used to run the platform are stored locally on your computer or server. No information about your customers is ever sent over the Internet.
However, if you plan to sell digital goods, you should consider purchasing SSL certificates. These provide extra protection against hackers who might try to intercept credit card numbers and other sensitive data.
Why Is Magento So Popular?
One reason why Magento is so popular is that it is easy to set up. Another reason is that it offers a wide variety of features.
In addition, it is highly customizable. This means that you can easily modify it to suit your needs.
Finally, it is open source. This means that anyone can download the code and examine it. They can learn how it works and improve upon it.
Conclusion
Magento is one of the best e-commerce platforms out there. It is extremely powerful and flexible. However, it does require some technical knowledge to install and maintain.
If you want to start an online business, this is a great choice. But be sure to do your research before making any major decisions.
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