If you’re reading this article, chances are you are looking for an easy way to launch your eCommerce website. More precisely a convenient means to begin Magento website development to strengthen your business. If so, then you have come to the perfect place. Here at the TemplateToaster Magento theme builder blog, this tutorial for beginners will explain the methodologies to initiate the Magento website development in some easy steps.

What is Magento Website Development?

Magento is unquestionably the most prominent eCommerce platform in the world today. All the entrepreneurs and serious businesses rely on Magento for their powerful existence in this ever-evolving digital world. In fact, Magento is an ideal choice for any business from small, medium to large enterprises. It allows you to handle several stores under one administrative panel without a hitch.

So, let’s begin the journey of Magento website development and scrutinize the facts which can help you reach your destination.

Steps to carry out for Magento Website Development

Step 1: Get familiar with Magento (The Learning Curve)

Learning new technology can be overwhelming for some. And when you are dealing with Magento, it’s no joke. Indeed, Magento is a tough nut to crack. However, once you step into the Magento arena, believe me, it’ll be as easy as pie (provided you have some basic knowledge of technology). You will be mesmerized to see that it is highly scalable and loaded with other useful features. Magento is pretty secure, reliable, and easily customizable eCommerce platform. However, there are various other essential eCommerce platforms available to get started with. But why Magento is the leading choice? What is Magento? And how effective is this technology for your business? You can read our article Magento 2.4.1 what’s new.

So many questions and one-word answer. Powerful. Although Magento is a little complex software that has a steep learning curve. And you need to be a coding expert to set up your eCommerce website up and running flawlessly. Nonetheless, once you get familiar with its nitty-gritty, you’ll be amazed to see how versatile this platform is. It comes in two variants:

  • Magento Open Source (Earlier known as Magento Community Edition)
  • Magento Commerce (Earlier it was Magento Enterprise Edition)

Choose whichever version you think is best for your project and get started.

Step 2: Choose a Magento Hosting Platform

Your Magento website’s performance, efficiency, speed, and accessibility is directly related to the hosting platform. Therefore, thoroughly analyze every prospect factor associated with the eCommerce website development and then decide which hosting platform can serve your needs better. That being said, all host providers serve different purposes and be double sure about your choice before finalizing it.

You can choose between the following hosting types i.e.

1. Shared Web Hosting: As the name suggests, you would be sharing a web space with other websites. There will be few more websites on a single server like you. Generally it is not at all suitable for eCommerce websites, specifically the Magento websites.

2. VPS (Virtual Private Server) Web Hosting: It is a type of web hosting where a web server is divided into small pieces and every piece is owned by some different websites and that particular piece of server or space on server act as a complete virtual server dedicated to a single website only. It’s an ideal choice if you are in the starting phase of your eCommerce business or you’re short on budget.

3. Dedicated Web Hosting: It means hiring the complete server solely for your website only. There will be no other site on the server except yours. It’s beneficial for heavy traffic websites. It is the best choice if you know or can estimate your daily traffic.

4. Cloud-Based Web Hosting or Grid Hosting: It is like using many servers together as one. It is also known as Grid hosting that means it can handle heavy traffic very easily. It is the best choice if you are not sure about the daily traffic. In other words, when your daily traffic fluctuates and your website need heavy processing power, then Cloud-based Web Hosting comes to rescue. Check out best Magento hosting providers.

Step 3: Develop your Magento Website

Now, after finalizing the hosting plan and provider, it’s time to open a new chapter in the Magento website development process. Well, I am talking about the process to create your eCommerce store. Right from how to install Magento to how to create a Magento theme and finally adding plugins to improve functionality, everything needs to be done in this phase only.

 

Step 4: Perform Website Testing

Now that you’re ready with your Magento website, let’s test it for bugs. Of course, we don’t want any bug to occur but “To err is human.” Thus, it’s always a good idea to test your project locally before releasing it online. And in our case, testing a Magento website is really important. Having a successful eCommerce website is a big deal. So, make sure you test it well.

Perhaps, you need to test your website for cross-browser compatibility, resolution, page-load, scalability, stress testing, integration testing, performance, security, functionality, cookies, and database testing.

As per studies, the more time you spend on testing, the better the results will be. But do remember, “Excess of anything is bad.” Thus, manage your Magento website development time well. And when you are using an open-source CMS, it is vital to test it entirely.

Bonus: Other shaping factors to be taken into account in Magento website development

We have covered the main sections of the Magento website development. However, there are still a couple of areas where you need to pay attention to. These are the areas that will help you shape up a successful eCommerce website with ease. Let’s dive in.

(i) Easy Site Search

Simply put, site search is easy navigation on a website. Or say, whatever a user is searching for, he/she should be clearly able to find the exact matched results. Hence, a perfect site search will boost user engagement.

(ii) SEO Optimization

SEO stands for search engine optimization. This is indeed an essential factor for your website growth. Having a beautiful website can go sheer wasted if it is not search engine optimized. Thus, learn about SEO strategies like on-page SEO, off-page SEO, etc. Talk to experts for some SEO tips for higher sales and conversions so that you never lose a potential customer visiting your site.

(iii) Security

Security is essential for any website whereas, if you’re running an eCommerce website, it should be your topmost priority. Employ SSL – Secure Sockets Layer to your website. It is a standard security protocol used to establish a secure link between the server and the browser. You can easily set up SSL free using Let’s Encrypt security certificate. Moreover, ensure that the server you are using is Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) compliant. However, knowing how to redirect HTTP to HTTPS will add up to your security.

(iv) Speed Optimization

Speed decides how your website will perform. If your site is taking too long to load, I’m afraid you will have to face site abandonment. According to studies, a visitor leaves a site if it takes more than 5 seconds to load. Don’t panic! It is easy to manipulate speed. Do you know the Magento version, you’re using can impact your site speed. Yes! The latest version is always helpful. So, check the Magento version also, keep the list of website speed test tools handy to keep the speed optimized. These tools will help you take care of the A-Z of website optimization.

(v) Payment Methods

For obvious reasons, payment methods need to be fast and secure. A standard eCommerce website must include convenient payment options like cash on delivery, net banking, payment wallets, credit or debit card payments. This way you can enhance user engagement.

(vi) Sales, Coupons, and Offers

Sale, coupon, offer, these are three magical words that look and sound really alluring. I personally like to shop from a website where I see more offers, sales, or if I have some coupons. I think we all do. So, use this tactic (aesthetically) to get the user’s attention and generate some revenue.

(vii) Promote Your Magento Website

To fuel the fire of Magento website development, perform some effective digital marketing strategies. No matter what approach you follow inbound marketing or outbound marketing, it should generate leads. That’s all. In fact, having some plans in advance will be a great idea. Initially, you have to promote your brand to make your company into a vibrant and flourishing business.

Happy Web Designing!!

Magento Website Development: Wrapping It All Up

This brings us to the end of our Magento website development guide. And by now, you must have got a clear idea about the approach you need to follow. However, setting an eCommerce website up is a little complicated job, that too, when you are working with technology like Magento. But, I have tried my best to simplify the process for you. Along with a powerful offline website builder software that helps you to kick start your top-class Magento website in no time. So, leverage the software to your advantage and let me know how did it work for you in the comments below.

Infographic Magento Website Development