Magento is in our opinion, the best E-Commerce system out there. Here we will give a few basic tips for those looking to setup a UK based Magento site.
The first thing you will want to do is download the UK locale files and upload via FTP. You will then want to check that you have configured the options in the configuration section of the admin console to reflect the options you need. From the backend, head over to System / Configuration, you will then want to check the General (General, Currency Options), Sales (VAT, delivery and sales), Admin (System) these pages contain most of the UK based options you will want to set.
There are two options that I activate during site development, the first is Translate inline, this enables you to edit text directly on the frontend of your website. This is activated via: System / Configuration / Developer / then select enable next to Translate for Frontend under the Translate inline option. You can even edit text for the bakend too, simply enable the Translate for Backend option.
The second thing I enable, this is not specific to locale editing by the way, it will however speed up development, especially if you are relatively new to Magento, and that is Template Path Hints, this option can be found by first selecting a site to edit under System / Configuration, then heading over to Developer, under Debug you will see Template Path Hints, set this to Yes. You will notice now be able to see the files that generate each element of your magento site.
Lastly, during development, ensure that you disable Magento’s cache, otherwise you won’t see some of the changes you make, you can enable it again (and should), prior to launch. To disable cache: System / Cache Management, then Select All, then from the Actions drop down menu, select Disable. You will now have no problems seeing changes made.
These are tips that I usually implement when building a UK Magento site, you may also find the following extensions useful:
Feel free to share your own tips and extensions.
If you are a site owner and are considering setting up, or switching to Magento, we can help, we have a team of Magento theme designers and developers who can help get your project off the ground, feel free to get in touch for more details.
