Create the Main Store in Miva 5.5

Before you can create products and categories you must first create your store.

1. In the Admin Menu, click the + next to Global Settings
2. Click the Add Store link
3. The administrative login created during the installation of Miva Merchant 5 is automatically entered. By default, this is the main administrator for the store
4. Enter a store code - a short code for the store (do not use special characters or spaces)
   • Shoppers will see this store code in URLs created by Miva Merchant by default. For example, if the name of your store is "Bob's Jumper Cables" you may enter "BJC" here
5. Enter a name for the store - this is the actual store name and can contain spaces and any characters you'd like. This is the name visitors to your store will see in the browser title bar
6. Click the Owner link at the top. The licensee information entered during setup will already be filled in. If necessary, make any changes
7. Click the Settings link at the top
   
8. Enter the following:
   • Click the Add button to create the store.

Units of Measurement—denote whether you will use pounds or ounces. The weight is used for shipping calculations and will also, by default, be displayed on the product screen.

Basket Timeout—this regulates how many minutes a shopper can be idle before the basket "times out" and the customer will need to start over. We recommend leaving this at the default of 60 minutes.

Price Group Overlap Resolution—we'll discuss this later, but basically, if you use Miva Merchant's feature to offer discounts to specific customers, you'll want to set this to use the lowest price.

First Order #—Miva Merchant will automatically increment each order number by "1." The initial order number cannot later be changed without modifications to the database files.

Sales Tax Calculation—how will sales tax be configured? If no tax will be applied for this store, choose state-based.

Currency Formatting—which currency will your store use? If you are doing business in the United States, you'll choose US Currency Formatting from the dropdown list.

Require Shipping—this failsafe setting helps to make sure that a shipping option is selected (or an alert will appear to the shopper). Some third-party modules may require this setting be unchecked.

Require Tax Calculation—this failsafe setting helps to make sure that sales tax is always calculated for an order (or an alert will appear to the shopper). Some third-party modules may require this setting be unchecked.

Require Shipping for Free Orders—this failsafe setting makes sure shipping is required even if the order total is $0.00. If you sell services or downloadable products, or offer free shipping on free items, you'll want to leave this unchecked.

Since the store's databases need to be created the add process may take a few minutes. Be patient and do not re-click any links or buttons. Once the store is created the page will refresh and you will see additional links for the store.

Store Settings

After creating the store you will be able to access features that help you build store content and alter the layout. The Admin Menu is your navigational tool to reach all the "sections" of the Miva Merchant 5.5 Admin.

Store Settings (Store Name)—Clicking your store's name will take you to a configuration screen for the store itself.

Wizards—these provide foolproof, but often limited, ways of performing tasks.

Groups—Administrative Groups allow you to assign specific privileges to employees or others who need access to performing tasks in the Admin.

Countries—Denotes what countries you will accept orders from (and ship to).

States—you can select which states are available as ship-to locations and tax calculations.

Pages—every screen in the store can be modified by way of editing the Pages (and their templates).

Categories—we can "group" products into like sections using Categories; these greatly assist shoppers when browsing for specific types of products.

Products—we can access a listing of all products in the store, and also create new and edit existing products.

Attribute Templates—allows you to create templates for product options.

Upsale—allows you to offer last-minute specials upon checkout. Upsell items are similar to the teaser aisle in a grocery store.

Inventory—allows you to set options for managing product inventories.

Affiliate Settings—allows you to run an affiliate program for your store.

Shipping Settings —used to set shipping methods and rates.

Payment Settings—used to configure payment methods, including credit cards (manual or real-time gateways), checks and PayPal.

Order Fulfillment Settings—Includes configurations for merchant and customer order email confirmations.

Logging Settings—allows you to log activity in your store for later analysis.

System Extension Settings—used for optional user interface modules from third-party developers.

Customers—Displays contact information for all shoppers and customers who have created an account.

Availability Groups—allows you to make specific products available to select customers.

Price Groups—allows you to set specific discounted pricing for select customers.

Order Processing—used to view, update and process orders.

Utilities—allows you to import and export orders, products and other information, and perform maintenance on the store.

Miva Merchant Submit—if you have a membership with the Miva Merchant Submit service, you can feed submissions to search engines from within the Miva Merchant 5.5 Admin.