Magento Tutorial Guide

Last update: 2020/06/15 09:43 magento_2:magento-tutorial https://amasty.com/docs/doku.php?id=magento_2:magento-tutorial

Magento Tutorial

E-commerce is an enormous business sphere that includes not only a solid understanding of the main
selling principles but also requires a powerful platform to sell with. The success of the business
directly depends on the webstore and how customers can use it. Thus, merchants have to face
multiple challenges starting with choosing the software and ending with specific store settings. Let’s
find out how to set up a successful business by learning a top-rated Magento 2 platform from scratch.

Magento Overview

Before starting our step-by-step tutorial for Magento 2 beginners, let’s learn what it is and why
vendors prefer this platform to others:

Magento vs. Shopify

Magento vs WordPress
Magento vs WooCommerce

What Is Magento?

In a few words, Magento is one of the most widespread open-source platforms that merchants can use
to sell their products and services online. From the technical point of view, it is based on the Zend
Framework of PHP language. From the business side, it has all the needed options for B2C and B2B
commerce: Community/Enterprise versions and Cloud.

Why Magento?

The main reason for being a top-rated source (apart from being open-source software, of course) is
that Magento architecture, interface and performance are extremely flexible and can be easily
adjusted according to particular needs. The most significant advantages are:

Easy and flexible configuration

Intuitive interface for content management
Stability even with 100.000+ products
Magento compatibility with the most demanded third-party systems
Built-in SEO features
Mobile-friendly structure
A wide choice of Magento extensions

Let’s get started and proceed to the Magento tutorial block which helps to install the software.
2020/06/15 09:43 3/11 Magento Tutorial

Installation

First of all, you need to check the requirements needed for a successful running of an application.

There are several steps to get the platform installed:

Configure your server environment

Get the Magento software
Install the software using either the Web Setup Wizard or command line
Check the result!

What you may need further:

How to apply additional extensions

Install extensions via Composer
Remove unnecessary extensions
How to upgrade Magento version
M2 migration plan

Store Setup

When the installation is ready, you may proceed to the store configuration. As a merchant, you need
to pass through all steps of the Magento 2 tutorial for a store setup attentively in order to build a
maximally profitable webstore. See a complete M2 Admin Panel tutorial to study your backend
navigation and start using it properly.

Step 1. Create your websites/store views

Of course, the main goal of any merchant is to make their brand popular in as many countries as
possible. With Magento features, it is possible to create multiple websites and store views for
customers from all over the world. Go Multiple Stores Setup guide for detailed instructions on store
views settings.

Also, if you need to provide your potential customers with the store views in particular languages, see
our language switcher guide.

What else? Check here:

Redirect shoppers to the appropriate store view

Configure the general store information, e.g. your logo
Apply a custom theme
Use UI components
Last update: 2020/06/15 09:43 magento_2:magento-tutorial https://amasty.com/docs/doku.php?id=magento_2:magento-tutorial

Step 2. Supply your store with inventory

When all stores and views are ready, it’s time to connect an online selling platform with the real
inventory. Manage stocks and learn more about the configuration.

Meanwhile, Magento allows connecting backend settings with several warehouses and stocks in no
time. To get a full set of inventory management options, view the Advanced MSI extension.

Advanced options to think over beforehand:

Notify users and store admins about out-of-stock products

Step 3. Set permissions for your team

Obviously, you have your own team for appropriate website management. In most cases, employees
are responsible for different tasks. Thus, to improve security and avoid mistakes at the very
beginning, you need to limit their permissions for particular parts of the backend. Go to System →
Permissions → All Users to add new backend users and proceed to User Roles to adjust their
permissions.

If you intend to have an extended multi-level team, we recommend applying an Advanced

Permissions extension.

Also, do the following:

Set permissions for development modes

Log all admin activities

Step 4. Improve security level

To keep a store stable, you need protection from spam and bots. Easily do it by applying a Google
Invisible reCaptcha extension.

Also, if you are going to sell in the European Union, make sure your future store is in compliance with
the must-have GDPR requirements.

See how your Magento store can reach GDPR compliance

2020/06/15 09:43 5/11 Magento Tutorial

To check if your store is maximally protected, run a security scan to test the security level.

Content management

Now you can proceed to filling the site by creating appealing and useful content for your customers.
And, of course, you need to add products that you are going to sell. Let’s see how the Magento 2
tutorial for beginners can help.

Step 1. Adjust categories

First of all, navigate to Catalog → Categories. Here you can see all existing categories and add new
ones (root categories and subcategories).

Want more flexibility? Check the following:

How to change the category sort order

Step 2. Upload products

Now you can begin to fulfill your store with products. Proceed to Catalog → Products. Magento
allows you to create items of various types, but all of them have their own peculiarities.

All you need to know:

How to add a configurable product

How to automate simple product creation
What are product statuses and why do you need them
Add featured products to your storefront
Make products updating faster with mass actions
Configure product grid if you intend to create a large catalog

Want to sell more? Find the solution here:

Link your admin panel to the popular selling platforms

Last update: 2020/06/15 09:43 magento_2:magento-tutorial https://amasty.com/docs/doku.php?id=magento_2:magento-tutorial

Display up-sells and cross-sells

Highlight special offers with labels

Also, check our video tutorials for Magento 2 modules to sell via popular platforms and configure
related products display.

Watch the guide - get your prod feeds verified by Google on the first try:

Check the video guide to learn how to create a new related product rule step-by-step

Step 3. Add CMS pages

Obviously, your store cannot consist only of products - you need to create some pages where
shoppers will find all the needed info. It has a positive effect on customer decision-making and on SEO
rating as well. So, let’s see where to find CMS pages in the Magento tutorial.

Click Content → Elements → Pages to add useful CMS pages to your webstore.

What else you may need:

Customize CSS to create your store design

Add contact forms to keep in touch with clients
Create extra blog spaces with valuable info
Integrate FAQ section
2020/06/15 09:43 7/11 Magento Tutorial

Step 4. Configure search options

When customers come to a store, first of all, they start to search for the needed product. If a website
is not optimized, they will just leave. Thus, now let’s check how to make it extremely convenient for
users.

Install the Elasticsearch engine

Configure the advanced searching options
Extend filtering functionality
Make your menu maximally appealing

See this video tutorial of Magento menu creation without developers.

Use the video guide to set up a basic mega menu

Sales configuration

When your site is ready to sell, it’s time to make sure your products will bring revenue and will be
successfully shipped to your customers. In this part of Magento 2 basic tutorial, you will find out how
not to miss any good deal because of technical issues.

Step 1. Configure payments

Payments in online stores may cause lots of trouble if they are not adjusted properly. To see what
Magento offers out of the box, navigate to Stores → Configuration → Sales → Payment Methods.
Check Payment Settings Guide to configure them properly.

Also think about:

Applying flexible payment restrictions

Providing customers with offline payment options
Last update: 2020/06/15 09:43 magento_2:magento-tutorial https://amasty.com/docs/doku.php?id=magento_2:magento-tutorial

Step 2. Create a shipping strategy

If a payment has been processed successfully, the next step is to ship the order products to
customers. Find available shipping methods in Stores → Configuration → Sales → Shipping
Methods. Make sure you’ve configured everything correctly in this checklist.

Probably, the methods and rates that are provided out of the box will not be enough, if you want to
sell in several locations and still make a profit. What can be done to reduce delivery costs:

Set custom shipping table rates

Adjust shipping rules
Set delivery restrictions

Keep in mind that delivery settings can be tricky. These guides will help:

Ultimate shipping guide

Urgent answers about table rates

Step 3. Adjust taxes

Unfortunately, each country and region has its own legislative regulations concerning taxes. You may
adjust them in the Stores → Taxes section. See how to set up the appropriate tax rules.

Marketing

Now everything is ready for store functioning, and you may proceed to product promotion. To boost
sales, store admins can use multiple options and strategies. See what exactly you can use in this
marketing tutorial for Magento 2 open source.

Step 1. Think over your pricing policy

Of course, price is a decisive factor for customers. If it is rather high, you may need some additional
way to motivate customers to buy more and increase the average order value. The default
functionality allows you to create basic special offers with the help of cart price rules.

5 proven ways to build a maximally beneficial selling strategy that merchants use:

Grow sales with multiple special promotions

Increase the average order value by granting free gifts
Boost seasonal revenue with gift cards
Highlight special offers with promo banners
Increase customer retention by thanking users with reward points

Configure advanced promo rules with this video tutorial for Magento 2 promo extension:
2020/06/15 09:43 9/11 Magento Tutorial

Easily set a promotion with our Step-by-Step Video Tutorial

Step 2. Create your email strategy

Another way to convert new traffic into regular customers is email marketing. The default newsletter
functionality you may find in the Marketing → Communications section.

What you need to know:

How to improve the email marketing strategy

How to set emails based on customer segmentation

And some useful tools to make it more effective:

Return shoppers with the auto dispatch of triggered abandoned-cart emails

Trigger follow-up emails based on various event

Step 3. Make your store trustworthy

The customers’ decision-making process consists of multiple aspects, and the trust to a brand is one
of them. They are used to take other users’ experience and feedback into account. As a merchant,
you need to engage customers and build trustworthiness. The easiest way is to think over your
reviews presentation. Check what Magento offers out of the box and how to enable product reviews.

You can also turn reviews into a powerful selling tool using the extended reviews functionality.

SEO

In order to keep business growing, merchants have to work on search engine optimization, as the
majority of customers come to a website from organic search. And again Magento provides you with
some options to boost the position of a store on a search results page.
Last update: 2020/06/15 09:43 magento_2:magento-tutorial https://amasty.com/docs/doku.php?id=magento_2:magento-tutorial

Step 1. Set up SEO

First, find out what SEO features are available and how to configure them properly. From this ultimate
guide, you will learn how to adjust Magento 2 SEO without development.

Extra info you may need to know:

How to apply Google Tag Manager

What can you do to create SEO-friendly URLs
What is XML Sitemap and why do you need it
How to configure robots.txt

Step 2. Monitor your SEO progress

To improve your position, first, you need to get a full picture of your traffic: where it comes from, who
comes to your web store and why. And the most precise way to measure each aspect is to implement
Google Analytics to your admin panel.

Still don’t know how to increase the Google crawl rate? Apply a per-page analysis tool and advanced
SEO options for rapid growth.

Revenue

And the main step on the way to a successful business is revenue management and tracking. Let’s
point out the most valuable info you need to keep an eye on.

Step 1. Analyze the effectiveness

As a merchant, you can check the effectiveness of your business in the Admin Panel → Dashboard
section. Here the basic reports are collected. View and analyze the general info to make data-driven
decisions.

Got some trouble with reporting? Check how to fix errors.

Want to collect more detailed data? Implement the Advanced Reports tool to build a maximally
profitable sales strategy.

Step 2. Manage Documents

Another thing for the correct store functioning is documentation. In the Sales tab of the admin panel
you can manage Invoices, Shipments, Credit Memos, Billing Agreements and Transactions.

What you may need to know:

2020/06/15 09:43 11/11 Magento Tutorial

How to customize invoices

The settings of the order confirmation email
How to manage orders faster
The ways to collect and use multiple order attributes

Step 3. Minimize revenue losses and returns

For e-commerce, business losses are unavoidable. But still, you can adjust your selling strategy to
minimize it.

These are some effective ways to reduces losses:

Recover abandoned carts

Apply an efficient tool to manage returns

Conclusion

To sum up, Magento has rich functionality which is rather simple to configure and manage. On our
way for a step-by-step Magento 2 learning, we overviewed the key aspects.

Haven't found needed functionality? Talk to our expert in Magento development and we'll see what
we can do for you.

From:
https://amasty.com/docs/ - Amasty Extensions FAQ

Last update: 2020/06/15 09:43