Blog

In this article, we’ll see Magento Introduction.

It was designed for those who need a flexible and full-rich eCommerce platform. This 100% open-source eCommerce solution is open for free download and allows users to design, set up, and run their own eCommerce stores as they want.

What is Magento

It is an open-source PHP that was built with the help of programmers who can create e-commerce sites. It was released on 31/3/2008 by Varien and it is developed on the basis of the Zend Framework.

Magento is 100% free to download, you can get it here

http://www.magentocommerce.com/download

History

• It officially started development in early 2007.
• On August 31, 2007, a public beta version was released first.
• On May 30, 2010, the Magento version for mobile phones has been released, this version is interpreted as a separate software that can be installed directly on the mobile device. Buyers can use this software to buy online instead of on the website using the browser.
• In February 2011, eBay claims a 49% ownership stake in the company.
• June 6, 2011, eBay owns 100% of the capital investment for Magento. eBay announced that Magento will join eBay’s X.Commerce new initiatives.

Features

It provides all the features and tools to build and install an e-commerce website quickly.

• Analytics and Reporting – It contains a script that 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, and additional product attributes.
• Customer Accounts – order status and history, e-mail and RSS feed 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 the 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 websites, multiple languages, tax rate with support for US and International markets, customizable outlook through templates.

The Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages

• It is open-source, so it’s easy to be popular and everyone can use it.
• Since Magento is a 100% open-source platform, lots of Magento extensions including free and paid ones are available to enhance of the power of Magento Ecommerce on your store. Extensions can be found from many well-known providers such as Magestore, Aheadworks, Amasty…
• Magento is built to scale from 1 to a million, avoiding common pitfalls for developers. Also, Code re-use, maintainability, debugging, support, etc. are all huge, expensive problems that eCommerce solutions providers must tackle. Magento makes them all a breeze. Magento is powerful and effective.
• Magento handles concepts properly and in an organized manner. Stock Magento comes with Simple, Configurable, Grouped, Bundled, Virtual, and Digital Products. You can use it to sell amusement park tickets and digital music at the same time, without any extensions.
• Magento can have many extensions which support the development of the online store.

The Disadvantages

• Magento runs PHP. It is architected like an enterprise java application, but its codebase is written in PHP. Also, users have complained that It is relatively slow than other eCommerce solutions,
• It is a complex system and not one that is easy to work with. If it does not use object-oriented programming or other best practices because it has a heavy layered and complicated code that takes a lot of time to learn and make changes accordingly. Therefore, to get a job done properly and efficiently, you need to have a proper budget in order to work with It.
• You need to have a good hosting environment and store management in order for Magento to run (see this hosting review to pick a good hosting). If a proper hosting environment is not set up, you can experience problems with speed.  Unlike simpler systems that can work anywhere, such as WordPress, It performs poorly if the website services are not as required, which means you need to have a good server along with a good team to set and maintain the server. A VPS or dedicated server is always recommended for hosting a Magento site
• It is an intensive resource and requires much space and memory.
• Installation is not as intuitive as it should be in the admin area. Also, You should use the option of safe mode during installation.

Hope this article helps!