If you’re not familiar, Magento is a fresh and promising ecommerce solution. A leading feature of the software is the core is 100% open source. Of course there are many plugins, themes and other customization features which range in price from the altruistic ‘free’ to the enterprising ‘thousands of dollars’. But in the end, if you’re looking for a robust ecommerce solution and aren’t afraid to get your hands dirty, look no further than Magento Commerce.

This is a hefty book, weighing in at 300 pages. I’ve read the official Magento User Guide, and although it is informative, I feel that it is somewhat dry. I’m eager to flip through the ebook they sent me to see if there are any ‘between the lines’ tips and tricks to liven up a Magento project I’m working on.

At first glance, the table of contents definitely seems to focus on the GTD side of things. For instance, the first chapter is all about installing Magento.

This chapter is written especially for you, if you are:

• Installing Magento on your own
• Using a low-cost, commonly available hosting service
• Familiar with putting files up on a web server, but that is the limit of your technical knowledge
• Willing to ask your hosting service’s technical support some simple and specific “Yes/No” questions about their setup
• Eager to get your store up and running as fast as possible

Even if you own a server, or are very technical, this chapter is still worth reading. It can
save you time by helping you to avoid problems while installing Magento.

Sidenote: I highly suggest getting familiar with how Magento works. This isn’t WordPress.

So I’ll be reading the book and applying the knowledge within. Eventually I’ll gather my notes into coherent form and publish them as an official review right here. Until then, your homework is to read about how Magento can work for your business. If you’re wanting to sell online, I really do recommend it.