Your business is not able to survive if you want it to succeed.

Don’t be discouraged. eMarketer predicts that US e-commerce will grow by 18% by 2020 while brick and mortar businesses will decrease by 14%.

You still have a chance. This is starting an online business.

Magento is the ideal platform to create an online store. This guide will help you to create a Magento eCommerce website.

Magento: What you need to know

Magento is a top-rated eCommerce platform and a great solution for online retailers. This platform is used by more than 180,000 online shops to sell and display their products.

Magento is part of the Adobe Experience Cloud. Its sustainability is evident by its support from one of the most respected software developers in the globe. Magento is ranked number three on the list of 1 million websites that use an eCommerce solution.

Magento’s wide range of offerings is why it is so popular. Magento is not the same platform as WordPress. It offers a variety of packages that can be used by small businesses as well as enterprise-level websites.

There are also many versions of the platform available at various price points and levels of management.

The first Magento setup takes only five minutes. It is difficult to estimate how long it will take to set up all the product pages and configure your theme. This will depend on the size of your catalog and the complexity of your settings.

When your eCommerce website launches and is up and running, there are several things you should be aware of. You can also access integrated marketing solutions that integrate multiple channels. This is in keeping with Magento’s ability to seamlessly integrate digital and physical buying experiences.

11 Steps to Create a Magento Website from Scratch

Magento installation can seem complicated. But we’ll walk you through it. We will show you how to create a website.

Step 1: Verify the Magento server requirements

Magento requires that a server meet certain requirements in order to host the platform. These requirements must be noted before you choose a hosting provider to ensure your website runs smoothly.

You will need the following items to apply Magento:

• Web Server: You can choose between Apache and nginx to be your web server. For detailed configurations, Magento’s Apache documentation is recommended.

• Operating System: Linux x86 64 and other Linux distributions such as Ubuntu or RedHat.

• Memory: Your Magento setup will require 2GB Random Access Memory (RAM), or more.

• Database: Magento can be used with MySQL versions 5.6 and 5.8.

• PHP: Magento recommends PHP 7.3. In addition, the PHP installation instructions include detailed guides that will help you add all necessary extensions. These instructions will also show you how to enable OPcache.

• Security: Secure Sockets Layer SSL certificates are recommended for data transfer and integration with PayPal.

These requirements are important to avoid time and money being wasted. It is not worth investing in a hosting plan with inadequate memory.

Step 2: Select a web host and domain name

Next, you need to find a web host. Many web hosts offer the tools and equipment you need to run Magento. It is important to choose a service provider that supports the platform you are using.

Apart from the price of each plan, it is important to consider other factors such as security, performance, or if you have any additional features that can be added to your account.

To ensure that your Magento store is secured, you must make sure the plan you have selected has a SSL certificate. This is an essential part of your security strategy if you plan to integrate your ecommerce website with popular payment gateways.

You will then choose a domain name. This domain name is your website’s address. It is also an integral part your brand. So choose wisely.

Many providers offer domain registration as part of their hosting packages. You can look for another plan if the one you selected does not include domain registration.

Step 3: Download Magento Open Source and install it

After you have purchased a plan from your hosting provider and configured your account, visit the product page and click the Get Started button. This will allow you to install Magento Open Source.

is a feature comparison chart between Magento Commerce and the open-source platform. Click Download Open Source at the bottom of this chart.

Download Open Source

This will take you to the Magento Tech Resources Page. You’ll now have a variety of options for downloading Magento Open Source. Although Composer is recommended by the developers, you can choose a different format.

You can also choose whether you want to download the platform without sample data. This guide will show you how to download the latest full release with sample data.

You will need to meet certain prerequisites if you want to install the platform manually from your web hosting account.

You can also download the latest Magento 2 version from other hosting providers.

Step 4: Set up your administration settings

It is important to set up your admin username/password before installing Magento. This will be required before you can implement the installation process.

Next, you will need to decide where Magento installation will reside on your server. Also, determine the URL path to your admin login webpage. After you’ve completed configuring the settings, click on Install. Once the process is complete, you will receive a confirmation message.

Next, click the Administrative URL. Log in using the username and password that you created during the installation process. This will take you to the Magento dashboard, where you can begin establishing your ecommerce website.

Step 5: Choose and install a theme to your store

Now it’s time to pick a theme for the store. This will determine the design of your website. You can often edit the website you choose to match your branding.

You will need to retrieve your access keys in order to download and install themes from Magento Marketplace. These can be viewed in your account at Marketplace > My Products > Access Keys.

You will be reminded on the Access Keys page to create new keys, and each one will have a name. Once you have completed this step, you will be able to copy your public and private keys. Navigate to Settings > Web Setup Wizard > Extension manager from your Magento store dashboard.

You’ll be prompted to enter the access keys that you have generated by clicking on Extension Manager. Once you have connected your Magento Marketplace keys to your site admin panel, extensions and themes that you purchase or install will be displayed in your Extension Manager List.

You can find a free theme in the marketplace. It will be added to your site’s Extension Manager once you click on Install.

Return to your admin panel. Click Settings > Web Setup Wizard > Extension manager > Review and install. You will see a list of themes or extensions that are available for installation.

Scroll down to find the theme that you want to use. To begin the process, click on the box to your left and then choose Install to your right. Next, you will be guided through a Readiness Check. This will ensure that your site is compatible. You will need to fix the problem before you proceed.

Step 6: Customize the theme

Once your theme has been installed, you can access it by going to Content > Configuration. You can then adjust its settings by selecting the website configuration you wish to customize. You can then see the interface to edit or post a logo or other elements for your online store.

You can also go to Content > Elements and make changes to your site’s pages, widgets, or blocks. If you select Pages, you will find a list with all of your content that is available for editing.

The Magento content editing interface has some amazing features. It has a Search Engine Optimization panel (SEO) for each page that can be used to increase the website’s visibility. 

About the Magento Content Hierarchy

It is worth taking a moment to learn more about Magento’s content management. There is a hierarchy of elements that you will need to work with.

• Websites: When you install Magento, your first site will be the main site. You can also create more sites with the same installation.

• Multiple stores: One website can host many of them. Each store can have its own main menu. Each store can have its own main menu.

• Store views: This is another way to offer your customers a more flexible experience. Magento shops can have multiple views. This feature can be used to change languages. To edit the store view, customers can choose a language from the frontpage.

Step 7: Find extensions to add functionality

Kobe Digital allows you to search for extensions that add functionality to your store. This includes everything from Instagram Widgets and checkout options:

You can add an extension to your store using the same steps that we used for creating a new template. You can filter the extensions available in the marketplace by selecting a number of parameters including price. After you have selected one, you can download it and install it .

The purpose of your e-commerce website will determine which extensions you choose. You might be interested in the following categories:

• Marketing Depending on the campaign, you might need a blog extension to content marketing or Frequently Bought together for cross-selling.

• Security – There are many security-related Magento extensions. These include those that add a Google ReCAPTCHA to the checkout page to stop bots.

• Payment gateways – To allow shoppers to buy on your store’s website, a payment gateway must be in place. You can make your website look more trustworthy and customers will be able to shop with ease using popular payment gateways like Stripe and PayPal.

• Shipping – If you are selling physical products, you need to add features to your shop so customers can track shipping progress. You can also use extensions to help you manage your orders.

• Analytics tracking : Tracking customer behavior will help you make informed decisions about how to improve your website. It is possible to extend your data collection and create reports.

Step 8: Change your store settings

This is where you can customize the settings for your e-commerce site. Click on Stores > Settings > Configuration.

These are some things you might want to think about:

• Transaction notifications via email
• Setting up customer accounts
• What price range should the price be? [Website] or [global]
• Shipping and payment options
• Location, time zone and currency settings

All extensions that you add with settings that you can edit will be included in the list. To make any changes, click the Save Config button.

Step 9: Create your product pages with images and prices

Go to Catalog > Products. There you will find a listing of all your merchandise as well as the Add Product button.

Click on the link to select the product type you wish to add from the dropdown list.

• Simple products – A standard physical item

• Virtual products – Online courses, services or other “items”, that do not require delivery or downloading

• Downloadable Products: Digital products that can be downloaded such as e-books

• Grouped Products: A collection of simple items that can either be purchased individually or in combination

• Simple products that can be configured : These simple items come in many variants

• Bundle products – A collection of products that can’t be purchased separately

The template that you use to create the page will depend on the product type. A name, price, and Stock Keeping Unit (SKU)number are also required. You can also add additional details such as dimensions, weight, stock quantities, and a description.

You can then upload a photo or video of the merchandise. This is important as many people want to see the product before they buy. You should still add an image to represent digital products and services, even if they are digital.

Once you are done, click the Save button at the top right. Make sure the Product Online switch has been turned on if you want your products to be available for sale. It is better to wait until your products are ready before you display them.

Step 10: Select your shipping and payment options

Shipping and payment choices can often make a difference in whether an Internet shopper makes a purchase. Magento offers many options for both shipping and payment.

These settings can be viewed by going to Stores > Settings > Configurations, as we mentioned in Step 8. Next, click on Sales > Settings > Configurations.

You can here set the payment methods that Magento supports. This step is necessary if you want to add extensions to your shoppers’ options.

You will find a Configure button at every payment gateway. Click on it to view the complete list. Next, enter your information. This includes information about which card types you support, and whether you want to save credit card information for future purchases.

Magento’s integrated shipping platform has been shut down since September 2019. You can however add an extension to your Magento platform for shipping your goods. You should check the documentation of your tool for additional information.

Step 11: Preview your website and publish it

It can be difficult to edit a live website while you are working on other projects. You should either create a staging environment, or you can grow locally before you upload your changes to your server.

If your website is being developed locally, you will need to upload all your Magento files to your webserver. This can be done via your local development program or with a File Transfer Protocol client. This will make your site available online for users.

Preview and release your website

Final thoughts

Magento is one of many e-commerce platforms which are rapidly developing. Many web hosting providers offer one-click installation options for setting up your store online. You can set up your store yourself. It is not difficult to set up a Magento website, especially with our guide.

Do you have the skills and desire to create a Magento website? We are open to any questions. Drop a comment below to ask any questions!

To reap the benefits of its improvements, update Magento regularly.