Magento is a commerce content management system or commerce management system (CMS), you might be wondering about the difference between Magento and WordPress/Joomla/Drupal; the difference is that Magento is built from the ground up to do one thing which is build an online store, so its management system is optimized to do so and its themes are designed to serve that purpose. Many companies relies on Magento as a backbone for their eCommerce; Vizio, Samsung Online Mobile Shop, Lindt, Lenovo Outlet, Ford Accessories, get Olympus are just a few.

There are three versions of Magento; Magento Community which is the free open source version. The second is Magento Go which is a subscription service similar to Shopify, the subscription starts from 15$/month. The third is Magento Enterprise which is an annual subscription service that starts from 15,500 $ annually. Though Magento has a market share of more than 26% it still has many alternatives and Zen Cart is one of them.

Now, to the important question, why would you learn Magento? The answer is simple, Magento as a tool can empower you in many ways; if you’re a web developer and you’re relying on WordPress/Drupal/Joomla as a CMS for your websites and one of your clients wants you to build them an online shopping website then learning Magento would be a savior for you as it has everything you need just out of the box (no need to install special plugins and themes that would affect the performance of the website). If you’re a small business owner and you want to boost your business by creating an online presence then learning Magento would help you accomplish so without paying for a web developer. Finally learning Magento would help you find a part/full time well paid job as there are few Magento developers right now but the online shopping industry is booming worldwide.

There are many topics to cover in Magento (e.g. designing themes for Magento, administering Magento, building an online store using Magento etc.). This post will concentrate on building an online store using Magento and it’s aimed for beginners who’re trying to start their way in Magento and by the end of any of the tutorials presented here you’ll be able to build a small online shop. It should be noted that the sources stated here are for well-structured that a beginner can start and follow along, so you won’t find a link to just an article or a forum.

Hint: You can install Magento on your local computer using WampServer, which can help you as a beginner to play around and discover the power of Magento without the need to pay for hosting.

If you just want the bottom line (the road map to learn Magento) and you don’t wish to read the entire article then go to the “Bottom Line” section at the end of the article.

How to Start Learning Magento from Scratch

Level up Tuts

Level up Tuts is the first outlet where you can learn Magento for free through video tutorials. You don’t need to register to have access to the course, just log into the site and you’re ready to go. The course is excellent for beginners as the instructor makes it easy for you to follow along, it should be noted that this tutorial covers Magento Community.

Structure: The course is divided into 17 video tutorials; each tutorial covers certain topics in Magento.

Interface: the interface is very simple as seen below, the video tutorials are listed under each other, you click on the tutorial you want and you’re ready to go.

Now to the pros and cons of this outlet:

Pros

1. Free.
2. The course is well-structured for beginners and the instructor makes it very easy for you to follow along.
3. The instructor says many tips that are very helpful for beginners.

Cons

1. The tutorial only covers Magento Community, though that won’t be a problem for a beginner.

Verdict: This is an excellent source for beginners to start learning Magento.

PrimeView

PrimeView is the second outlet where you can learn Magento online for free. It should be noted that the first 17 video tutorials on this outlet are the same as the ones on Level up Tuts as this training is prepared by the same instructor of level up Tuts. The difference between the two outlets is that the tutorial on PrimeView is an extended one and covers many more topics (intermediate to advanced topics in Magento) than the ones on Level up tuts.

Both Level up Tuts and PrimeView were added to the post for (not just one of them) a simple reason;  if you just want to take a quick idea about Magento then Level up Tuts is your way to go and if you want to learn Magento and use it then PrimeView will be your choice.

Structure: The course is divided into 65 video tutorials; each tutorial covers certain topics in Magento. The course is well-structured for beginners and the instructor makes it very easy to follow along.

Interface: the interface is very simple as seen below, the video tutorials are listed under each other, you click on the tutorial you want and you’re ready to go.

Now to the pros and cons of this outlet:

Pros

1. Free.
2. The course is well structured for beginners and the instructor makes it very easy for a beginner to follow along.
3. The instructor says many tips that are very helpful for beginners.

Cons

1. The tutorial only covers Magento Community, though that won’t be a problem for a beginner.

Verdict: This is an excellent source to learn Magento for beginners and intermediate users alike.

Magento.com

Magento.com is the third outlet where you can learn Magento through video tutorials for free ; you don’t need to register to have access to their video tutorial library. You should note that these tutorials cover only Magento Go.

Structure: The tutorial is divided into 4 sections; each section has a group of video tutorials that covers certain topics in Magento Go. It’s worth noting that though each tutorial is well-structured but these tutorials are poorly organized.

Interface: The interface is quite simple just click on the section you’re interested in and you’ll be directed to a new window with the available tutorials, just click on the tutorial you’re interested in and you’re ready to go.

Now to the pros and cons:

Pros

1. Free.
2. Each video tutorial is well-structured.

Cons

1. The tutorial only covers Magento Go.
2. The tutorials are poorly organized.

Verdict: If you’re just interested in Magento Go, then Magento.com is your way to go.

SiteGround

SiteGround is actually a web hosting company, but they’ve a tutorial for Magento. The tutorial is available as text only (photo guide). To have access to the tutorial you don’t have to register, just go to their website click on the tutorial and you’re ready to go.

Structure: The tutorial is divided into 27 sections; each section covers certain topics in Magento. The tutorial is well-structured for any beginner.

Interface: The tutorials available are in a list at the left hand side of the screen as seen below. just click on the topic you’re interested in and you’re ready to go.

Now to the pros and cons of this outlet:

Pros

1. Free.
2. The text tutorial is well-structured for beginners.

Cons

1. It’s not a video tutorial, that might be a problem for some.

Verdict: The tutorial on SiteGround is quite good and well-structured but it’s not a video tutorial, so if you prefer video tutorials then SiteGround isn’t your way to go.

Bottom Line

1. You should start with Level up Tuts, if you want to get an idea about what Magento is all about.
2. If you want to learn Magento and build a real online store then PrimeView is your way to go.
3. If you prefer to study from a book then, the free book “The Magento Free User Guide”  is your way to go.
4. if you’re just interested in Magento Go then Magento.com is the outlet for you.
5. There are other sources that provide tutorial for beginners but these tutorials aren’t arranged to help a beginner start learning and they’re very poorly structured.

Remember that the first step is always the toughest step, and the aim of this post is to provide you with resources that will help you take your first step in Magento.