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Accomplish the most convincing Magento Design with Towering Media

Magento is one of the most used and about all the hype platforms in the eCommerce industry. Major names like Ford, Olympus, and Coca-Cola have a Magento web store. The exceptional features of this platform, offer edge to any eCommerce business, and even small start-ups. Open source license, custom and responsive Magento design, amazingly big community, no hosting restrictions, and third party integrations are some of the main benefits of this miraculous platform known as Magento.

 

Are you seeking reliable help for your upcoming business or existing one? Make a switch or get a brand new development done with the assistance of professionals present at Towering Media.

 

How does Magento Design put an impact?

Visualization has a great role to play in all the industries and domains. Information matters, but how is it represented, is even more crucial. The eCommerce world definitely needs great design and impactful design to be eye-catching for the users. The more convincing the design will be, the chances of getting better conversions hikes. Do you know the first impression of any online platform plays 94 percent contribution in overall aesthetics?

 

How helpful is Towering Media?

Whether you are seeking Magento design or development, this company comes forward. The experts present at Towering Media are highly efficient and have gained expertise over significant years in the development domain. Their job is to give out the most enriching products and experience to the clients. They will assist your business venture to stand out of the crowd with unique development and attractive designs for the Magento website.

 

Do not waste more time and connect with the expertise of this top-notch service providers.

 

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Magento 2 CLI composer not working

Logged into your magento 2 install via Putty, trying to type in command but nothing happens it just goes to the next line. Of course you ran file perms reset script and it is still not working.

Open up the file bin/magento in your file editor and add the following line and upload it.

1
ini_set('display_errors', 1);  // allow PHP errors reporting

You will now see the errors that are causing the problems!

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Magento 2 cron job pending jobs never cleared SOLVED!

For several weeks I have been battling an issue with the Magento 2 platform completely freezing on the front end and the backend once in a while. I would go in and restart the MYSQL service and the site would start working again for about a day sometimes just an hour. After digging into this I found that the cron jobs were being created 20 times but only the first time was completing leaving the rest in pending status. See screen shot.

 

After making the following changes you can see that they are now completing! Set use separate process to “no”.

 

Then Set the cron jobs to run as the following. At least this worked for me.

 

 

 

Please comment down below then send us a comment on our contact form so I can approve it.

 

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magento developers

Magento Authorize.net End MD5 Hash Direct Post

As per the article published on Authorize.Net, this is what we found.

In short. Yes they are ending direct post or DPM method and you need to take action now. You can no longer create md5 hash keys, your payment gateway will be cut off around may.

Magento 1 there are two options which is suggested by Magento Developers. the Direct Post and just simply authorize.net  If your using the direct post method this will no longer work change that to use the authorize.net method.

Magento 2 I am assuming the next release of magento 2 will include this authorize.net extension but until it is included you can install this from the marketplace.

https://marketplace.magento.com/authorizenet-magento-module-authorizenet.html

Or you can find another extension available like the CIM method that allows you to store CC on authorize.net servers for future use so that your customers dont have to type their CC info in over again for every order.

Our magento developers can install this updated extension for you or recommend a good replacement like the CIM extensions that are available.

Full article 

Authorize.Net ending the use of MD5 based hash for transaction response verification to encourage the use of SHA-512 based hash utilizing a Signature Key.

MD5 Hash end of life will be done in the following two phases:

Phase 1: This phase started in later January to early February 2019. They removed the ability to update or configure the MD5 Hash setting in the Merchant Interface. But the existing API response will see no changes.

Phase 2: You don’t have to send the value for the MD5 Hash data element in the API response because the field will still be there but without any value. For this change, the date is expected to be announced in the next 2-3 months.

The transaction response that you will receive from Authorize.Net includes the SHA2 hash element and the name and position depend on the API integration method you have used. For the transaction, Authorize.Net has generated SHA2 that has field contains HMAC-SHA512 hash. You can use it to validate the response from Authorize.Net. However, it is not required to.

In the API response, transHashSHA2 is the SHA2 element for Authorize.Net API (XML, JSON, SOAP).

You can find the SHA2 element at the end of the API response for Advance Integration Method (AIM). However, the updates are in progress for the same.

Only 3 fields are involved in the SHA2 Hash for Authorize.Net API and AIM. They are:

  • API Login ID
  • Transaction ID
  • Amount

x_SHA2_Hash is the SHA2 element for Server Integration Method (SIM) and if you want to utilize Replay Response. For this too, updates are in progress.

There are 30 fields involved in the SHA2 Hash for SIM + Relay Response and Silent Post. They are:

  • x_trans_id
  • x_test_request
  • x_response_code
  • x_auth_code
  • x_cvv2_resp_code
  • x_cavv_response
  • x_avs_code
  • x_method
  • x_account_number
  • x_amount
  • x_company
  • x_first_name
  • x_last_name
  • x_address
  • x_city
  • x_state
  • x_zip
  • x_country
  • x_phone
  • x_fax
  • x_email
  • x_ship_to_company
  • x_ship_to_first_name
  • x_ship_to_last_name
  • x_ship_to_address
  • x_ship_to_city
  • x_ship_to_state
  • x_ship_to_zip
  • x_ship_to_country
  • x_invoice_num
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Steps to secure your server and platform from hackers

Platform and server security is a large part of any magento developers job. I would say I spend about 50% of my time on it one way or another. Time in prevention, software updates, or remediation. To prevent the later part lets go though this check list one by one and discuss why and how do each one.

Of course start by keeping your software both platform and server up to date. If you have not done this start here then do the below.

This article is focused around the magento 2 platform running on centos with WHM/Cpanel installed. It can also apply to other platforms.

  1. Install Armor Anywhere These guys are a team of ethical hackers 50+ strong that monitor the darkweb forums for exploits people have found and scan your system to see if your vulnerable and let you know if you are what to do to patch it. Its software you install on the server that monitors everything scans all the files read more by following the link above.
  2. Follow this guide put out by cPanel https://documentation.cpanel.net/display/EA/Apache+Module%3A+SuPHP
  3. Install SuPHP as per the article above. If you have a cpanel server log into easyapache and enable it there otherwise put in a ticket with hosting provider.
  4. Enable 2 factor authentication in WHM -requires a 6 digit code that is sent to your device authenticator app. We have a non networked powered down device that is only powered up and networked for authentication then turned back off and back in a locked safe.
  5. Remove FTP to force SFTP connections through the SSH port. log into whm from the home page click on service manager then search for FTP un-check both of the boxes.
  6. Disable password authentication. SSH ports now require a key be installed on the server to connect that you have to get out of WHM after getting though the 2 factor – how someone would get around this is beyond me.. They would need to have your device as it is the only access point with the authenticator to get in. Only can be undone by restarting the server directly connected via laptop at the data center.
  7. I change the SSH port to random
  8. Install ClamAV for cPanel
  9. Enable 2 factor on cpanel
  10. Save the passwords for the server in a password protected file.
  11. Using ‘Host Access Control’ restricted WHM, Cpanel, SSH, cpdavd to your IP, and your hosting companies IPs.
  12. Disable Symlink https://documentation.cpanel.net/display/EA4/Symlink+Race+Condition+Protection
  13. Disable non used php version  php 5.5,5.6,7.0,7.1
  14. Enabled Jail shell
  15. In WHM search for security and open the security adviser make sure you follow the suggestions
  16. Setup Mod_Security
  17. Set production files as read only
  18. DISABLE SSH LOGIN FOR THE ROOT – Very important! USER https://mediatemple.net/community/products/dv/204643810/how-do-i-disable-ssh-login-for-the-root-user

  19. Use SSH Agent Forwarding to SSH from servers to servers instead of copying your SSH private keys on servers. On GNU/Linux use ssh-agent or GnomeKeyring with ForwardAgent yes under
    a trusted Host entry in your .ssh/config file6
    . On Windows PuTTY’s Pageant supports SSH
    Agent Forwarding
  20. Install Two-Factor Authentication for admin. Many times I have seen platforms become compromised by a sql injection that creates an admin user. Once they have an admin account they can using the marketplace download a file editing program that allows them to upload files aka virus’s malware, etc. This is a must have. If your platform of choice is magento 2 then log into ssh and run this.
    composer require msp/twofactorauth:3.0.0
  21. Do not transfer account using cpanel to cpanel account transfer. Copy the files and database separately.
  22. Do not use any of the same passwords on the new account. Change database passwords as well as account passwords
  23. enable a jailed shell environment for all new and modified users, use the Use cPanel® jailshell by default option in WHM’s Tweak Settings interface (WHM >> Home >> Server Configuration >> Tweak Settings).
  24. When you compile Apache, include the suEXEC module to ensure that CGI applications and scripts run as the user that owns and executes them
  25.  In WHM go to security adviser to make sure you pass all the checks
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Magento vs Woocommerce Magneto 2 Vs. WooCommerce

Magneto 2 Vs. WooCommerce – The Pros and Cons!

The world of online stores is exciting but complex. There are many platforms from hosted solutions to open source solutions. There are hosted solutions like shopify, bigcommerce and others. Hosted solutions can work well for a small inventory of products but as an eCommerce store grows larger there are limitations on hosted platforms. Open source platforms offer you the freedom and flexability you need for your growing business. As for open source solutions there are many; here we will focus on Magento and  woocommerce.

Many platforms offer hundreds of customization options that allow you to create unique stores that fit all budgets. You no longer need to be a developer. You just need a good idea, a little research and a lot of enthusiasm for the project.

Characteristics of Magento

Magento is the world leader in electronic commerce. It was created in 2008 in the United States and was bought by eBay in 2010, then sold to Permira, who later sold it to Adobe.  It has two versions – a free one called Community and another paid one called Enterprise. It is the most robust and customizable platform, allowing us to build a custom solution for each application. Magento is a large platform so requires a bit of a learning curve . One of the biggest differences between Magneto 2 and WooCommerce is that Magento’s database is split up into more layers. This gives magento developers the ability to do a lot more on the customization side, the only real con here is that you will need more server resources and optimization to handle all the data.

Some additional features of Magneto 2 are:

 

  • Fully customizable design using templates
  • Fully customizable code using local override files so updates do not get overridden when upgrading.
  • Ability to make custom extensions
  • Easy responsive admin user interface
  • A powerful widget system allows admins to do complex customizations without hiring a developer.
  • Magento 2 allows extensions to be purchased and installed from the market place without needing to hire a developer.
  • Promotions, coupons, marketing deals can be created with a if this then that system.
  • Private sales (restrict the catalog to specific clients)
  • Multiple wish lists
  • An integrated content management system
  • Customer groups
  • Product attributes

 

Characteristics of WooCommerce

Finally, there is WooCommerce that is not a platform, but a plugin that is installed to WordPress. It was created in the United States in 2011 and purchased in 2015 by Automattic, a WordPress developer. Although it has a few configuration options, it is compatible with other plugins, which makes it possible to expand its use.

Some additional features of WooCommerce are:

  • Options to offer free shipping or flat shipping rate
  • Built as a WordPress plugin and available from the wp-admin of your site
  • It incorporates the necessary SEO fields for search engine positioning.

Comparison of The Two Platforms 

According to google trends when you add up both magento and magento 2 searches vs woocommerce you can see they are very closely tied in volume of searches. The only reason why “magento” searches are going down is because they are being replaced with “magento 2” searches. See graph below.

 

On the other hand according to Built With,  Woocommerce has 6 times more users. More users I think mainly because it is quite a bit cheaper to run and just the fact that so many people start with blogs so they are used to the wordpress platform.

  1. Installation of E-commerce Platforms

Both the platforms are Open Source. This means that they can be downloaded and installed for free. It is recommended to buy a suitable template, depending on the type of business you own.

  1. The Functionality of The CMS Of E-Commerce

Magento has a lot more functionality out of the box then woocommerce but woocommerce has a lighter foot print.

Conclusion: Which E-commerce Platform should you choose?

If your just starting out Woocommerce can be a cost effective option if your on a shoe string budget, but once your making sales and can afford some development resources switch to Magento . The significant advantage of woocommerce is that it is more cost effective. You will find that the hourly rate of a woocommerce developer is likely lower as the skills required are lower.

The difference in hosting costs can be very significant. Woocommerce can often be ran on a $15-$69 per month server where as Magento will likely require a $42-$89 for shared. Both platforms would need a dedicated solution once traffic and sales increase enough to warrant it ranging from 120-1200 generally.

When clients ask me what I think about the Magento vs Woocommerce I respond with “Why would you buy a passenger van then try to retrofit it to be a cargo van, why not just by a cargo van.” Another words woocommerce is a  modification to blogging software it is not at its core eCommerce software.

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Magento to launch ‘Magento Payments’ early 2019 but what is the fee structure?

Magento announced they will be launching magento payments next year and this got me thinking. They say there is no subscription fee that is going to be great for the smaller companies but what about the larger ones. We need to find out what the fees are compared to authorize.net and paypal pro before we can recommend it to our clients.

It looks like it is going to be a really great tool integrating  Braintree PaymentsPayPal Checkout, and Signifyd fraud protection.

Benefits of using Magento Payments

Here are some of the important benefits of Magento Payments that have already raised the eyeballs.

  1. Better Conversions
    It uses PayPal and Braintree to make it easy for merchants to accept different types of payment methods. Magento Payments has combined Braintree Payments, PayPal Checkout, and Signifyd fraud protection technologies to provide consumers with the best of everything under one name.
  2. Management of Cash Flow
    Magento Payments comes with Cash Flow Manager that synchronizes order details and payments automatically within the Magento Admin. When this is released I will be investigating more details on this to relay. Currently most of our clients use authorize.net that automatically process the order and records the funds. I am unclear what the benefit is just now of this.
  3. Fraud Guarantee
    They are going to handle the charge back cases and fraudulent charges. Leaving more questions. How will this all be handled.

Overall for clients that are having fraud issues this looks like a good option. It seems like they collect data from all their partners/merchants if one receives a fraud alert then that card will be declined with any of the participating merchants. This collaborative approach could work well for everyone involved. As magento developers I hope it will be a cost-effective option for our clients.

Bookmark and subscribe! I will release a more detailed updated blog post once more information is available.

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Magento Website Development

Magento 2 Import Products With additional attributes

Download open office
save the file editing the filter settings

Make sure to select UTF8

Next put in a BAR “|” as the separator in the attributes section.

Then when importing you need to change the separator to the BAR “|”

That should work! The next issues you will have is if there are attributes on the spread sheet that are not in admin it will error then look up those line numbers and add the missing attributes to admin.

I hope that helps someone!

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Magento 2 change text attribute to dropdown

After a cart2cart transfer into magento 2 we noticed that all the attributes were set to text. I found a quick way of switching the attributes back to dropdown in phpmyadmin worked for us.

open table eav_attribute

Click edit on the attribute you need to change and change the frontend_input from textara to select.

Here is a list of the attributes codes.

textarea – text area
select – dropdown
date = datetime
text feild – text

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Magento 2 update from 2.1.9 to 2.2.1 errors

When running command php bin/magento setup:upgrade

I was getting the following erorr

Error converting field product_options in table sales_order_item where item_id=1,2,3,4

UPDATE `sales_order_payment` SET `additional_information` = NULL WHERE `additional_information` = ''

After running that the next error I got was

in phpmyadmin click on the sales_order_payment table then run this sql statment.

UPDATE `sales_order_payment` SET `additional_information` = NULL WHERE 'additional_information' = ''

‘additional_information’ in table ‘sales_payment_transaction’ where ‘transaction_id’=2, 4, 6, 7

UPDATE `sales_payment_transaction` SET `additional_information` = NULL WHERE `additional_information` = '';