Magento Account Features: Customization and Performance Optimization

• Key Features of Magento 2 for B2B Businesses

• Difference Between Magento Open Source and Adobe Commerce Account

• How Can I Customize the Checkout Process in Magento 2?

• Different Types of Caching in Magento 2 to Improve Performance

• How Do I Optimize Magento's Database Performance?

• FAQs

• Summary

Key Features of Magento 2 for B2B Businesses

1. Custom Pricing and Catalogs

• Magento 2 offers B2B businesses the ability to create custom catalogs and pricing structures.

• It means you can segment customers based on their business size and purchase frequency. You can then offer personalized product catalogs and discounted pricing accordingly.

• For example, a wholesale buyer may see a completely different set of prices than a smaller retailer.

• The tailored approach helps build stronger client relationships and increases customer retention.

2. Advanced Quote Management

• Magento 2 simplifies the process of price negotiation with its built-in quotation system.

• Customers can add products to their shopping cart and then request a custom quote. Sellers can:

  1. Review these requests

  2. Adjust prices

  3. Send back a quote

• It helps businesses handle bulk or customized orders. These are where fixed pricing isn't always practical.

• The quote system streamlines the communication between businesses and customers. It cuts down on the back-and-forth emails.

3. Company Accounts

• Magento 2 allows you to create multi-user company accounts. It means a business can create a central account dashboard and have multiple employees under it. Each employee will have their roles and permissions.

• For example, one employee might have access to place orders, while another can only view invoices.

• The feature improves efficiency for B2B customers managing large teams. They don’t need to create separate accounts for each user and can oversee the entire purchasing process.

4. Requisition Lists

• Magento 2 allows customers to save products in a requisition list for future orders.

• The feature is perfect for companies that frequently reorder the same items. These include office supplies or manufacturing parts.

• Instead of searching for the products again, they can add them to their cart from their requisition list with just a few clicks.

• It makes the purchasing process faster and more convenient.

5. Flexible Payment Options

• B2B customers often require more flexible payment terms than typical B2C customers.

• Magento 2 supports various payment processes that cater specifically to business buyers, including:

  1. Purchase orders

  2. Credit terms

  3. Net payment terms (e.g., Net 30 or Net 60)

• The flexibility helps businesses maintain cash flow and encourages larger purchases. It is because customers know they can pay later or according to their schedule.

6. Order Management

• B2B businesses should manage inventory across multiple locations. Magento 2 offers an advanced inventory management system.

• Businesses can:

  1. Track stock levels

  2. Monitor the status of products

  3. Allocate inventory across multiple warehouses or distribution centers

• It ensures that the business never runs out of stock and can efficiently fulfill orders from the nearest location. It reduces shipping times and costs.

Difference Between Magento Open Source and Adobe Commerce Account

Feature	Magento Open Source	Magento Adobe Commerce
Cost	It is an open-source platform that you can download and install at no cost. There will be hosting, development, and extension costs.	It is a paid version with an annual licensing fee. The fee is based on your business size and gross sales revenue.
Cloud Hosting	You require separate hosting for scalability, performance, and security.	It includes fully managed Adobe Commerce Cloud. It includes automatic scaling and advanced security features.
B2B Features	It offers basic B2B capabilities like customer accounts and product catalogs. It requires extensions or custom development for a full B2B experience.	It comes with built-in B2B tools like company accounts, custom catalogs and pricing, quick ordering, and quotations.
Security	It offers basic security features. You should implement and manage advanced security measures.	It offers built-in security features. These include PCI compliance, advanced security patches, and DDoS protection.
Page Builder	By default, it does not include a page builder. You can add third-party extensions or build custom solutions.	It includes a drag-and-drop page builder. It helps create and manage dynamic pages without needing to code.
Support	There is no official support from Adobe. You can rely on the Magento community or hire developers.	It includes 24/7 customer support from Adobe.

How Can I Customize the Checkout Process in Magento 2?

1. Modify the Layout and Fields

• You can customize the layout and fields using Magento’s XML layout files.

• You can remove, add, or reorder certain fields like company name or telephone.

Steps:

• Use the layout XML files located in app/design/frontend/[Vendor]/[Theme]/Magento_Checkout/layout.

• You can add, modify, or remove UI components by editing these files.

2. Add Custom Fields

You can add custom fields by capturing additional information from the customer. These include delivery notes or special instructions.

Steps:

• Create a custom module that defines the new field using Knockout.js. It updates the backend to store the data in the database.

• Modify the layout.xml and checkout.js files to display the custom fields on the front end.

• Save the custom field data by extending the quote and order models in your custom module.

3. Modify Shipping and Payment Methods

• You can customize the shipping and payment options to match your ecommerce store’s needs.

• It includes enabling/disabling specific methods or setting different conditions for them.

Steps:

• You can disable or enable payment or shipping methods directly from the Magento admin panel.

• Navigate to Stores > Configuration > Sales > Payment or Shipping Methods.

• Implement conditional payment or shipping methods (e.g., free shipping on orders over a certain amount) by writing custom code.

• It helps evaluate order totals and update the available options accordingly.

4. Custom Checkout Validation

• Magento 2 allows you to enforce custom validations for specific fields.

• For example, if you want to validate that the shopper has entered a valid phone number.

Steps:

• Use Knockout.js to implement frontend validation. Knockout provides a way to track changes in input fields and apply rules.

• Add your custom validation rules by extending Magento’s validation.js file. Then, those rules are applied to the necessary fields.

5. Customize the Success Page

• The order success page can be customized to display:

  1. Additional information

  2. Personalized messages

  3. Promotions

• It helps increase engagement after the purchase.

Steps:

• Override the success.phtml file located at app/design/frontend/[Vendor]/[Theme]/Magento_Checkout/templates/success.phtml.

• You can display order summaries, tracking links, or upsell promotions directly on the success page.

6. Add Custom Logic to Payment or Shipping

• You might want to show specific payment or shipping methods based on the:

  1. Customer group

  2. Location

  3. Cart contents

Steps:

• Use Magento’s observers or plugins to hook into the purchase and add your custom logic.

• For example, you can create an observer for the sales_order_place_before event. It helps apply custom payment or shipping logic based on business rules.

7. Use GraphQL or REST API for Headless Checkout

• If you’re building a headless purchase experience, Magento 2 offers GraphQL and REST APIs.

• It helps integrate with custom frontend frameworks like React or Vue.js.

Steps:

• Use Magento’s GraphQL API to fetch and update checkout information such as:

  1. Cart contents

  2. Shipping methods

  3. Payment process

• Build a custom checkout experience using your chosen frontend framework while utilizing Magento’s backend.

Different Types of Caching in Magento 2 to Improve Performance

1. Full Page Cache (FPC)

• Full Page Cache stores the entire HTML pages of the website. It helps reduce the need for Magento to render a page from scratch each time a visitor requests it.

• Magento caches the whole page output so that subsequent visitors receive pre-rendered HTML content. It eliminates the need to process every request. It drastically reduces page load times.

• FPC can work with both Varnish (external caching system) and Magento’s built-in cache.

  1. Varnish Cache: A reverse proxy that significantly improves performance. It is done by caching pages at the server level and serving them without hitting the Magento application.

  2. Built-in Cache: Magento’s internal caching mechanism works similarly. It may not be as fast as Varnish.

2. Block Cache

• Block caching stores individual blocks, smaller components of a page. It helps avoid regenerating the same block for every request.

• Online stores rendered blocks of content such as:

  1. Product listings

  2. Categories

  3. Banners

• They don’t need to be reloaded from the database or recalculated with each page load.

• It helps reduce rendering time for parts of a page that doesn’t change frequently. These include navigation bars or category listings.

3. Database Query Cache

• It caches database query results to reduce the load on the database server. It is done by avoiding redundant queries.

• Magento saves frequently used query results when a similar request is made. It can return the cached data instead of querying the database again.

• It improves the overall database performance and reduces latency. It is by minimizing the number of database calls.

4. Layout Cache

• It caches the layout structure of each page to improve page rendering performance.

• Magento generates the layout XML for a page that defines its structure. It includes which blocks to show in which order.

• Once generated, this layout is cached, so Magento doesn’t need to build it again for future requests.

• It reduces the time spent on recalculating the layout, especially for complex pages.

5. View (Compiled) Cache

• It caches the view files, including:

  1. CSS

  2. JavaScript

  3. Images

• It also caches precompiled templates for faster rendering.

• Magento generates and caches compiled templates (PHTML files) and static files (CSS and JavaScript). These are used to display the front end.

• Once compiled, these files are stored in the cache, allowing faster access.

• It reduces the time required to render the page. It is done by reusing precompiled templates and assets.

How Do I Optimize Magento's Database Performance?

1. Enable and Optimize Query Caching

Magento 2 uses MySQL as its default database, and MySQL’s query cache helps reduce the load. This is done by caching the results of frequent database queries.

Steps:

• Check if query caching is enabled by running SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'query_cache_size';.

• If it’s disabled, set query_cache_size to an appropriate value based on your server’s resources.

• Set query_cache_limit to define the maximum size of a cached query result.

2. Use Proper Indexing

• Database indexes speed up query performance by allowing MySQL to find data faster.

• Magento 2 uses indexes extensively for its:

  1. Product

  2. Customer

  3. Order databases

• You can add more indexes or optimize existing ones.

Steps:

• Ensure MySQL’s indexing is properly configured. Use the following command to check existing indexes: SHOW INDEXES FROM tablename;.

• If you identify queries that take a long time to execute, you can add custom indexes on columns frequently used in WHERE clauses.

3. Regular Database Maintenance (Table Optimization)

• Over time, database tables can become fragmented, slowing down queries.

• Regularly optimizing tables helps reduce fragmentation and improve performance.

Steps:

• Use the OPTIMIZE TABLE command on large tables that see frequent updates. These include the sales and customer tables.

• Schedule a cron job to run mysqlcheck --optimize --all-databases during low-traffic hours. It helps maintain table health.

4. Limit Log Data Retention

• Magento stores a significant amount of log data, such as visitor logs, in the database.

• The data can bloat your database and slow down performance if not properly managed.

Steps:

• Reduce the log data retention period by setting it to 30 days or less. It can be configured in Stores > Configuration > Advanced > System > Log.

• Regularly clean up log data using the bin/magento cron command or manually by truncating log tables.

FAQs

1. What are the key Magento account features for customers?

Magento offers powerful account features. These include the ability for customers to view their order history and securely store payment methods. These features improve the overall storefront experience and help boost SEO and centimeter.

2. How does Magento account management enhance the storefront experience?

Magento account management allows users to create detailed profiles and track orders in real time. The smooth experience encourages repeat purchases and builds customer loyalty. It ultimately benefits your storefront's success.

3. Can Magento account features support B2B businesses?

Magento’s account features enable B2B businesses to create multi-user company accounts with customized roles and permissions. It helps streamline the purchasing process. It improves SEO by ensuring efficient operations on your storefront.

4. How do Magento account features improve security?

Magento account features offer real-time order tracking and secure data storage for customer information. It ensures a high level of security. It not only boosts customer trust but also positively impacts SEO.

Summary

Magento 2 account features are tailored specifically for B2B businesses, helping streamline operations and enhance customer relationships. The article uncovers the several features of B2B, including:

• Segment customers and offer personalized product catalogs and pricing.

• Simplify bulk order negotiations with a built-in quote system.

• Manage multi-user accounts with customizable roles and permissions.

• Support various payment terms like credit and purchase orders.

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