How to get a base url in Magento 2

- Magento 2

Magento 2 Development

To get a URL from your Magento root directory, use getUrl. Since it inherits from the AbstractBlock class (Magento\Framework\View\Element\AbstractBlock), you are able to use it with any of your blocks. Check the below example:

The first parameter is the path you need, while the second one sets the _secure option if the user is browsing over https. You can add to the path by concatenating a specific filename onto the getUrl call or you could add it to the first parameter as well. Please note that the path is relative to the root directory of your Magento install.

More tips from Magento 2 Developer’s Cookbook

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Magento 2 Redis Configuration

- Magento 2

using redis with magento 2

Below, I shed light on a proper Redis configuration for Magento 2. If you are not familiar with the solution, it is an advanced key-value cache with top notch performance. In addition, Redis is often considered to be a data structure server, which provides the following opportunities:

  • value incrementation in a hash;
  • appending to a string;
  • pushing an element to a list;
  • set intersection, union and difference computing;
  • getting a sorted set of members with the highest ranking. Continue Reading

Docker – The Revolution in Software Containerization

- Fire development

All about Docker containers

By using Docker, you can easily package an app with all its dependencies into a virtual container and run it on any Linux server. Thereby, you achieve flexibility and portability impossible without containerization. As a result, the app can run nearly everywhere: on premises, bare metal, public or private clouds. While similar functionality has been available for years, a revolution in the world of software containers was caused only after the appearance of Docker in 2013. In the following post, I describe the nature of this software solution; shed light on its benefits; compare Docker with other container software; and provide a list of hosting solutions, optimized for containerization. Continue Reading

All You Need to Know about Software Containers

- Fire development

Container Software: features and management tools

Below, I’d like to introduce you to software containers – isolated user-space instances utilized in  an operating-system-level approach to virtualization. Containers separate apps from the OS and their physical infrastructure used for connecting to the network. Thus, it is possible to run multiple virtual containers on the same carnel.

Probably, you might have heard of Docker, which appeared several years ago and caused a lot of excitement among IT specialists. It is the most striking example of container software, but there are some other noteworthy solutions. I’ve described the most prominent platforms further in this blog post, but let’s start with their nature and usage.

Containers solve a bunch of problems which occur when software is moved from one computing environment to another. A staging environment, a physical machine, a developer’s computer, a data center, or a public cloud probably offer different conditions. Therefore, by using code containers, you prevent your projects from problems related to dissimilar environments. Please note that even a distinct network topology or security policies might be a reason of conflicts and limitations. But how does container software help to solve multiple problems? Continue Reading

The Best RMA Magento Extensions

- E-Commerce

Magento RMA Modules

Managing returns is not a pleasant task regardless of what kind of business you have. It even gets harder when you deal with E-commerce where sellers and customers are separated by distance and a computer screen, which makes it completely impossible to identify who is right and who is not until the product is actually returned. However, if your products are secured by a warranty, you have more chances to benefit from regular RMA routine.

Generally, RMA, or a return merchandise authorization, is a standard procedure of returning a product to a seller with the aim of further replacement, repair, or refunding. The first two options are considered to be the most favourable for a merchant, as they require minimal costs when compared to a full or even partial refund of a purchase. Customers, in their turn, often tend to stick to their original product choice preferring to receive the same but flawless product rather than just money and no product at all. Nevertheless, the best scenario for both a seller and a customer would be to completely prevent a return situation unless it’s highly demanded.

The Best RMA Magento 2 Extensions

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Google Merchant Center Magento Integration

- E-Commerce, Magento tips & tricks

Magento Integration with Google Merchant Center

In this post, we are going to look at Google Merchant Center (Google Base) and its integration with Magento. Google Merchant Center is a service designed to help you with your store and product information integration into Google Shopping and other platforms. In order to work with Google Merchant Center you must use your Google account or create a new one. Every Google account can be associated only with one Google Merchant Center account, but you can add extra users to your Google Base.

Google Merchant Center Magento 2 Integration

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The Best Magento Cloud Services for Small Business (How to Turn Magento into Shopify on Steroids)

- E-Commerce

Magento SaaS solutions

There is a new way to launch and manage your Magento store with affordability in mind due to Magento Small Business Program. You just have to choose an experienced ecommerce partner and get all products, tools, and features necessary for running a successful online business. Below, you can find the best Magento cloud (SaaS) solutions, as well as Magento development services related to the recently launched platform. Continue Reading

How to Become a Rockstar Node.JS Developer (tutorials, blogs, and books)

- E-Commerce, Fire development, Node.js

 Node.JS Development: tutorials, books, resources, classes, etc

Being a key development trend of 2015, Node.js will probably get much more attention next year. Therefore, I propose you to get a deeper insight into its competitive advantages over other similar solutions with the following Node.js guide. If you don’t trust the tool just because it is a trendy platform that everyone else uses, it’s time to change your opinion.

The Ultimate Node.js Tutorial

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Web design trends 2016

- E-Commerce

Key Website design trends 2016

The main feature of any trend is that it cannot exist forever. Once having been adopted, it can either transform into a new trend or gradually become commonplace losing its ability to attract people’s attention. This tendency also concerns web design trends which are too hard to predict but pretty much easy to grasp. The current trend goes back to the beginning of 2014 when the sphere of web design experienced significant improvement in terms of website development, style, and content management. For instance, the extensive use of mobile devices encouraged developers to concentrate more on the ability of webpages to suit the screens of smartphones and tablets. This caused the following burst of responsive design which now became the most valued characteristic of a website. Other improvements touched upon the general style of a webpage. Sites started to look fresher thanks to the introduction of wide backgrounds, parallax scrolling technique and innovative hero sliders.   Continue Reading