After installing Magento, you need to configure various settings before your webshop is ready for customers. This guide describes the essential configuration steps to get your store up and running.

Admin Panel Access

  1. Go to example.com/admin (or the specified admin URL)
  2. Log in with your admin credentials
  3. You will arrive at the Magento dashboard

Store Configuration

Basic Store Information

  1. Go to Stores > Configuration > General > General
  2. Configure:
    • Country Options: Default country (e.g., Netherlands)
    • State Options: States/provinces if relevant
    • Locale Options: Timezone (for example Europe/Amsterdam), weight unit

Store Name and Contact

  1. Go to Stores > Configuration > General > Store Information
  2. Fill in:
    • Store Name
    • Store Phone Number
    • Store Hours of Operation
    • Country
    • Street Address
    • City, Postcode

Configure Email Addresses

  1. Go to Stores > Configuration > General > Store Email Addresses
  2. Set up for each department:
    • General Contact
    • Sales Representative
    • Customer Support

Currency Settings

Default Currency

  1. Go to Stores > Configuration > General > Currency Setup
  2. Under Currency Options:
    • Default Display Currency: EUR (or your currency)
    • Allowed Currencies: select which ones you accept
  3. Click Save Config

Currency Symbols

  1. Go to Stores > Currency > Currency Symbols
  2. Verify the currency symbol is correct
  3. Adjust if necessary

Configure Shipping

Enable Shipping Methods

  1. Go to Stores > Configuration > Sales > Shipping Methods
  2. Configure desired methods:

Flat Rate:

  • Enable: Yes
  • Title: Standard Shipping
  • Method Name: Shipping
  • Price: 4.95 (or your rate)

Free Shipping:

  • Enable: Yes
  • Minimum Order Amount: 50.00 (free shipping from this amount)

Table Rates (advanced):

  • For shipping costs by weight or destination
  • Requires CSV import

Shipping Country Restrictions

  1. Go to Stores > Configuration > General > General
  2. Under Country Options > Allow Countries
  3. Select countries you ship to

Payment Methods

Default Payment Methods

  1. Go to Stores > Configuration > Sales > Payment Methods
  2. Configure available methods:

Check / Money Order (optional):

  • Enable: Yes/No
  • Title: Bank Transfer
  • Payment from: select countries

Bank Transfer Payment:

  • Enable: Yes
  • Title: Bank Transfer
  • Instructions: your bank details

External Payment Providers

For iDEAL, credit card, and other methods:

  1. Install your payment provider module (Mollie, MultiSafepay, Stripe, etc.)
  2. Configure with your API keys
  3. Test with a test payment

Tax (VAT) Configuration

Create Tax Rates

  1. Go to Stores > Tax Zones and Rates
  2. Click Add New Tax Rate
  3. Configure:
    • Tax Identifier: VAT High 21%
    • Country: Your country
    • Rate Percent: 21
  4. Repeat for other rates (9%, 0%)

Tax Rules

  1. Go to Stores > Tax Rules
  2. Create rules that link products to rates
  3. Configure tax display (inclusive or exclusive)

Email Templates

Transactional Emails

  1. Go to Marketing > Email Templates
  2. Customize templates for:
    • Order confirmation
    • Shipping confirmation
    • Account created
    • Password reset

Configure SMTP

For reliable email delivery:

  1. Install an SMTP module
  2. Configure with your SMTP details
  3. Test email sending

Security Settings

Admin Security

  1. Go to Stores > Configuration > Advanced > Admin
  2. Under Security:
    • Admin Session Lifetime: 900 (15 minutes)
    • Add Secret Key to URLs: Yes
  3. Two-factor authentication (2FA) is enabled by default for the admin panel since Magento 2.4. You manage it under Stores > Configuration > Security > 2FA

Change the Admin URL

A custom admin URL instead of /admin makes your login page harder to find. Change it via SSH in the Magento directory:

bin/magento setup:config:set --backend-frontname="manage_7x9k"

Use only letters, numbers and underscores. The setting is stored in app/etc/env.php:

'backend' => [
    'frontName' => 'manage_7x9k'
],

Then flush the cache with bin/magento cache:flush and log in at example.com/manage_7x9k from now on.

Enable Captcha

  1. Go to Stores > Configuration > Security > Google reCAPTCHA
  2. Configure with your reCAPTCHA keys
  3. Activate for login, registration, and checkout

Index Management

  1. Go to System > Index Management
  2. Select all indexers
  3. Under Actions, choose Update by Schedule and click Submit
  4. To reindex, use SSH: bin/magento indexer:reindex

Cache Management

  1. Go to System > Cache Management
  2. Enable all cache types
  3. Click Flush Magento Cache

Or via SSH: bin/magento cache:flush

Adding Your First Products

  1. Go to Catalog > Products
  2. Click Add Product and choose the product type (Simple Product, Configurable Product, etc.)
  3. Fill in the product details
  4. Click Save

Checklist After Configuration

  • Store information complete
  • Currency correctly set
  • Shipping methods configured
  • Payment methods working
  • Tax correctly set up
  • Email templates customized
  • Security settings checked
  • Cache enabled
  • Test order placed

Need Help?

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