(For more resources related to this topic, see here.)
Payment and shipping method
Magento CE comes with several Payment and Shipping methods out of the box.
Since total payment is calculated based on the order and shipping cost, it makes sense to first define our shipping method.
The available shipping methods can be found in Magento Admin Panel under the Shipping Methods section in System | Configuration | Sales. Flat Rate, Table Rates, and Free Shipping methods fall under the category of static methods while others are dynamic. Dynamic means retrieval of rates from various shipping providers. Static means that shipping rates are based on a predefined set of rules. For the live production store you might be interested in obtaining the merchant account for one of the dynamic methods because they enable potentially more precise shipping cost calculation in regards to product weight.
Clean installation of Magento CE comes with the Flat Rate shipping method turned on, so be sure to turn it off in production if not required by setting the Enabled option in System | Configuration | Sales | Shipping Methods | Flat Rate to No. Setting up the dynamic methods is pretty easy; all you need to do is to obtain the access data from the shipping provider such as FedEx then configure that access data under the proper shipping method configuration area, for example, System | Configuration | Sales | Shipping Methods | FedEx.
Payment method configuration is available under System | Configuration | Sales | Payment Methods.
Similar to shipping methods, these are defined into two main groups, static and dynamic. Dynamic in this case means that an external payment gateway provider such as PayPal will actually charge the customer’s credit card upon successful checkout. Static simply means that checkout will be completed but you as a merchant will have to make sure that the customer actually paid the order prior to shipping the products to him.
Clean installation of Magento CE comes with Saved CC, Check / Money order, and Zero Subtotal Checkout turned on, so be sure to turn these off in production if they are not required.
How to do it…
To configure the shipping method:
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Log in to the Magento Admin Panel and go to System | Configuration | Sales | Shipping Methods.
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Select an appropriate payment method, configure its options, and click on the Save Config button.
To configure payment method:
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Log in to the Magento Admin Panel and go to System | Configuration | Sales | Payment Methods.
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Select an appropriate payment method, configure its options, and click on the Save Config button.
How it works…
Once a certain shipping method is turned on, it will be visible on the frontend to the customer during the checkout’s so-called Shipping Method step, as shown in the screenshot that follows. The shipping method’s price is based on the customer’s shipping address, products in cart, applied promo rules, and possibly other parameters.
Numerous other shipping modules are provided at Magento Connect on the site http://www.magentocommerce.com/magento-connect/integrations/shippingfulfillment.html and new ones are uploaded often so this is by no means a final list of shipping methods.
Once a certain payment method is turned on, it will be visible on the frontend to the customer during the checkout’s so-called Payment Information step, as shown in the following screenshot:
Additionally, there are numerous other payment modules provided at Magento Connect on the site at http://www.magentocommerce.com/magento-connect/integrations/payment-gateways.html.
Summary
In this article, we have explained the payment and shipping method you may require when you build your own shop using Magneto.
Resources for Article :
Further resources on this subject:
- Creating and configuring a basic mobile application [Article]
- Installing WordPress e-Commerce Plugin and Activating Third-party Themes [Article]
- Magento: Exploring Themes [Article]
