If you’ve indulged in Magento 2 development, you must be aware of the four hierarchical levels of the Magento structure – Global, Website, Store, and Store View. As a Magento 2 developer or user, you can specify this hierarchy in multiple systems, which means, you can create multiple websites under a single Magento instance. The website can have Magento multiple stores and the stores can be further segmented into multiple store views with multiple languages. Today, we will dig deeper to gain absolute knowledge about Magento multi-store development. We will explore more about the four levels of the hierarchy – Magento multiple websites, Magento multi-stores, and multiple store views to have a comprehensive understanding of each level.
Four Basic Levels of Magento 2 Development Hierarchy
Global
Global is the topmost level of the hierarchy and refers to the whole installation of Magento. The installation includes default settings, inventory, and other information used for Stores and Store Views.
Magento 2 Multiple Websites
With Magento 2 Multiple Website, you can run multiple websites with similar Magento installation. For example, if you want to sell electric gadgets and home décor products simultaneously, you will need to create two websites electricgadgets.com and homedecorproducts.com. Thus, these two websites are known as multiple websites under one Magento installation.
What are the Benefits of Magento 2 Multiple Websites?
When you create multiple websites, you get more flexibility and better control because you can handle everything from a single admin dashboard.
- Easy data sharing between multiple websites
- Provides the ability to change every aspect of the customer experience and manage different audience groups for each website.
- Manage reports, orders, and checkout configurations.
- Individual inventory management
- Manage different shopping carts between different websites
Magento 2 multi websites allow you to expand your business by selling a wide range of products and manage everything from one admin panel.
Magento 2 Multi Stores
Magento 2 website can have a lot of children called as Magento multiple stores. When you operate Magento multiple stores, you can include different products and categories in different stores. For instance, if you’re selling clothes and accessories for women and men, you will have to create two different stores, providing clothes for a specific gender.
However, there are certain things that do not work with Magento multi-store development
- Cannot have a different payment or shipping methods for different stores
- Cannot change the tax structure for each store
- Cannot manage a separate inventory with Magento multi-stores
- Cannot manage any configuration settings between different stores
Magento multi-store development allows you to sell a variety of products conveniently and increase your business volume under an easy-to-follow structure.
What are the Benefits of Magento Multi Store Development?
Although Magento multi-store development comes with certain drawbacks, it still offers tons of strong points that are crucial for your business development.
- You can sell a variety of products on the same web domain and manage all product statuses on a single admin dashboard.
- Multi stores can include separate product categories.
- Multi stores include multiple attributes such as selective pricing, add to cart, check-in, and check-out options.
- Magento multi-stores are easy to setup. You don’t need to log-in to vast admin panels to manage orders, purchases, and customer behavior.
Magento 2 Multiple Store Views
Magento 2 Multiple Store View represents the multiple presentations of your front-end data which would give your eCommerce multiple storefronts. This feature is useful when you need to have stores in multiple languages to sell products more conveniently for local communities.
Each Magneto 2 store has one store view by default that may be used to store content and other necessary information regarding certain products or services.
What are the Benefits of Multiple Store View?
- You can use Magento extension to set up different prices for the same products in-store views of one store.
- Store View can manage everything that can be resolved by only applying the design or template directory on the server or language pack.
- Boost sales opportunities because of enhanced hopping experience and multilingual support.
- Finally, you don’t need to add separate shipping methods as you can add a method just by adding the specific structured category to it.
4-Step Guide to Set Up Magento Multi-Store
Follow the step-by-step instructions to set up Magento multi-store:
Step 1: Select the Store Domain
- To run new stores on a subdomain -> Configure subdomains of the main store domain;
- To run multiple domains -> Configure multiple main domains.
Step 2: Add the New Store:
- Go to your Admin Panel -> Stores -> Settings -> All Stores;
- Go to ‘Create Store’ and choose the website that is the parent of the new store;
- Enter the name for the recent store;
- Select the name of the Root category for this new store
- Press the ‘Save Button’ to activate all the settings.
Step 3: Add a Default Store View:
- Select the ‘Create Store View’ option;
- Choose ‘Store’ for the newly created store;
- Name the new store view, enter the code (the identifier of your store view) and select the enable/disable status
- Specify the order or position of the new store on the list;
- Click the “Save Store New” button to enable all the settings.
Step 4: Set Up the Store’s URL:
- Go Back to Store -> Settings -> Configuration
- Browse the left panel and select ‘Web’ from the drop-down ‘General’ menu
- Choose the ‘Store View’ in the upper-left corner to check the new store view you’ve added;
- Choose the ‘OK’ to confirm.
- Go to the ‘Base URLs’ section
- Uncheck the ‘Use Website’ checkbox placed next to the ‘Base URL’ bar and enter the new store address there;
- If you need to set a secure URL, simply go to the ‘Base URL Secure’ section and save the settings.
Magento Multi-Store Setup Essentials
While setting up a multi-store feature, make sure you consider a few things
- Purchase a multi-domain SSL certificate and ensure that the new domain has an SSL certificate.
- Make sure you have multi-site hosting so you no longer have to worry about server issues.
- Always remember to do a back-up.
- Configure your Magento multi-store from the admin panel.
- Don’t forget to point your new domain name to your server name.
- Once you’ve completed the previous steps, you can add some products and test them to see if they fit your requirements.
Conclusion
To sum up, Magento Multiple Website and Magento Multi Store Development are crucial for eCommerce business owners to get started with their business. Let’s carefully look out for demands, products, target audience, and so on to make the right decision.
Magento Developer Group is one of the leading Magento 2 development companies that offer a complete suite of Magento 2 website development services to businesses of all sizes and types. With our dedicated team of experienced and certified Magento 2 developers, we commit to bring high-quality and services to take your business to greater heights.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the features of Magento multi-store?
Ans. Here is a list of a few features that Magento multi-store offers
- Site Management
- Payment
- Shipping
- Checkout
- SEO
- Marketing Tools
- Catalog Management
- Catalog Browsing
- Analytics and Reporting
- Order Management
- Product Browsing
- Customer Accounts
- Customer Service
What is multi-store eCommerce?
Ans. Multi-store development allows you to create and manage multiple brands and multiple sites that serve unique audiences and channels. Multi-store development nowadays is crucial for businesses as it can help them sell direct and develop stores and tools to serve specific customers and channels.
Will, I get support and update for my Magento 2 multi-store?
Ans. Being a reliable Magento 2 development company, we provide extended support and maintenance service to ensure that your online store runs optimally for years. Our Magento 2 developers are always available at your service so you can contact us anytime.
