Turn on Template Path Hints
Turn on error/system logging
Turn on SQL logging
Display PHP errors

Turn on Template Path Hints

Would you like to see the path of the file that is producing the HTML for each block on the page?

1. Log into the admin

2. Goto -> System ->Configuration, and on the bottom of the list select “Developer”

3. click on Debug – you will only see “Profiler”. Here is the trick – you have to switch the “Current Configuration Scope:” [in the upper left] to a website instead of default. Select “Main Website”.

4. Now you will see the selection for Template Path Hints – check yes. This will display the path of the template for each block of the page so you can find stuff! You can also choose to “Add Block Names to Hints” to see the corresponding model class for the block.

Turn on error/system logging

1. In the admin Goto -> System ->Configuration, and on the bottom of the list select “Developer”

2. Select the Log Settings tab and put Enabled = Yes

3. *to avoid any permissions issues, create folder/file

/var/log/system.log

Turn on SQL logging

To enable SQL Debugging find the file

/lib/Varien/Db/Adapter/Pdo/Mysql.php

change line 45
protected $_debug = false;

to
protected $_debug = true;

It will then generate the file var/debug/sql.txt.

*If you have any issues create this file manually first…

Display PHP errors

Frustrated you can’t see your PHP errors? This is how you turn them on – for development use only, don’t do this on a production site!

In Index.php change

Mage::setIsDeveloperMode(true);

ini_set(‘display_errors’, 1);

Better Store Search – Sweettooth – $ 249.-
Manually Specify Weightings and use complete word processing to get more accurate (automated and controlled) search results so your users find what they need.

CheckItOut – Ecomdev – $ 349.-
Get your vistors through that checkout process as quickly as possible! Use this extension to create a short one-step-checkout process with a lot of configuration options.

Knowledge Base – Aheadworks – $ 199.-
Don’t have a FAQ section or need to upgrade it? This section takes care of regular user questions getting information to the customer more quickly and having less customer requests by e-mail. Also a great way to build valuable content for your SEO rankings.

Red Mobile Theme – RedLightBlinking $ 299.-
How many customers visit your website with their mobile device? Don’t lose sales on those customers and get them their own special theme adapted for mobile devices. Easily customizable with your own logos and colors.

Task Manager – Nimerce – $ 99.-
Do you have multiple employees work in the Magento backend? Get them one central place to create and manage tasks and streamline your shop management flow.
Start today:
Amped about these 6 apps and the huge 86% discount? The official sale starts today and will be available for limited time only!

http://www.plundor.com/

Looking for someone with a knowledge of Magento and eCommerce.

*Generate Leads and Sales for New Projects

*Establishing Relationships with previous/current clients

*Establishing Affiliate relationships and Partnerships

Generous Commission!!

Exciting opportunity to work in a growing field with a small company. Flexible hours, telecommuting ok!
Prefer someone who is in the NYC area and can attend meetings in our Soho location.

Requirements
*Must have a Portfolio
*Experience designing Websites, Logos
*Knowledge of eCommerce Do’s and Dont’s
*Familiarity with web technologies [HTML5, CSS3, Javascript, etc...]

Ideal for a partnership with and existing freelancer to gain experience with Magento and Mobile and work on fun, cutting edge projects.

Looking for someone who can attend meetings / work onsite at our Manhattan location at WeWork Soho featuring unique interior design and finishes. MUST LIVE IN NYC Area.

Exciting opportunity for growth and to work on cutting edge projects for top clients.

Requirements:
PHP, MySQL, Linux
*Magento Experience – Creating Custom Themes and Modules
*Experience creating Magento Extensions a plus
*HTML/CSS/Javascript/JQuery
*JQuery Mobile a plus
*SOAP, XML

This is a full time freelance position in Manhattan at our Soho location.
Some telecommuting is ok. Flexible hours.

If you are tired of working at a dead end job in a big corporation
and looking for a great opportunity to work on fun projects in a flexible environment this is the job for you!

Send your resume, urls to magento projects and salary requirements to info(@)redlightblinking.com.

X.Commerce Fabric Released

X.commerce is a message bus that sends and receives messages from capabilities registered with the platform. Download it today and starting integrating with the fabric:
www.x.com

Paypal Access

You can login with Facebook, Twitter, why not Paypal? Just released is their identity solution:
https://www.x.com/developers/x.commerce/products/paypal-access

Milo Opens up it’s API

Go local with Milo. I personally can’t believe I haven’t been using this on my mobile phone – my new favorite app!
http://milo.com/api-docs/

RedLaser shares their SDK

Download today to start scanning barcodes from your app
https://www.x.com/developers/ebay/products/redlaser

Facebook Open Graph 2.0

Kaite Mitic and Matthew Mengerink both announced integrations with Facebook Open Graph 2.0. We saw a little bit of if at dev camp, too and it just released as a Magento Core Extension:

http://www.magentocommerce.com/magento-connect/Magento+Core/extension/8041/social_facebook

New Channels for Ebay and Milo in Magento

tbd, there is no information released on this

New Adobe/Omniture analytics dashboard for Magento

tbd, there is no information released on this

Magento 2.0

There is a lot of anticipation for Magento 2, which will be released in Q3 2012. One of the most anticipated new features: unit testing! It will be a refactoring, not a rewrite and you can participate in it here:
https://wiki.magento.com/

MAGE 2 SVN

Magento App Store Released

A new version of www.magentoconnect.com was released – the app store of ecommerce!

Magento Go gets Extensions

Extensions will now be available for Magento Go, Developers can submit their extensions for all platforms. There will also be ‘Trusted Extensions’ that will be qualified by Magento (all Go extensions have be Trusted Extensions)

Magento is offering Free Developer Training

Training just got introduced in the beginning of the year and the 5 day course costs $3,850! Well now you can get it streamed to your computer for free!
http://www.magentocommerce.com/services/on-demand

Mobile commerce sales to reach $10B next year/$31B by 2016
http://www.forrester.com/rb/Research/mobile_commerce_forecast_2011_to_2016/q/id/58616/t/2

Mobile commerce sales more than double this year
http://www.internetretailer.com/2010/12/17/us-mobile-commerce-sales-hit-34-billion-year

50 Billion Connected Devices (beyond just smartphones) by 2020
http://gigaom.com/mobile/four-mega-trends-shaping-the-future-of-commerce/

73% of mobile-powered shoppers prefer looking to their phones for basic assistance than talking to a store clerk.
https://www.x.com/developers/community/blogs/baldgeek/innovation-mobile-commerce-transforming-shopping-experience

Most mobile users preferred to use mobile browsers accessing virtually all mobile contents, especially on e-commerce/online shopping, news, and product reviews categories.
http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx

Google Says Mobile Optimized Sites Will Factor Into Landing Page Quality And Perform Better In AdWords
http://techcrunch.com/2011/09/21/goolge-says-mobile-optimized-sites-will-factor-into-landing-page-quality-and-perform-better-in-adwords/

Luckily, it is easy to get a Magento Mobile optimized store. You can easily install a Mobile Theme with Magento Connect and set up an exception to have mobile users see the Mobile theme instead of your main website theme [see our tutorial on this]. You could also setup multiple sites and put the mobile theme on a subdomain [tutorial coming soon]. The theme will use your current product catalog and the orders in the admin will be seamless. If it is that easy, why don’t you have a mobile theme for your Magento Store?

Get the RED Mobile Theme for Magento today and break into mobile commerce!

But, doesn’t Magento Come with an iPhone theme? Yes it does, but our theme uses new technologies like HTML5 and jQuery Mobile that bring the richness of an iPhone app to a website and it is optimized for all major cell phone platforms including: iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Palm and Windows Mobile.

As of August 2011 the % of users using the following browsers was:

Firefox: 40.6%
Internet Explorer: 26.3% (down from 48.6% in 2008 when I originally wrote this blog)
Chrome: 30.3% (UP from 3% in 2008)
Safari: 3.8%
Opera: 2.3%
from w3schools

What display size should I code my site for?

The standard use to be 1024 x 768 and up, however only 14% of users are using 1024×768 or lower.
Now, as of 2011, the majority of users are using 1280×800 and up.

As of January 2011 the statistics by display are:

640×480: 0%
800×600: 0%
1024×768: 14% (down from 48% in 2008 when I originally wrote this article)
Higher: 85%
from w3schools

For ecommerce sites, you don’t necessarily need a native app, but you should have a mobile optimized website.
Why not have a ‘Mobile Web App’?

What is a Mobile Web App?

A mobile web app is a website optimized for all major phone platforms using HTML5 and Javascript libraries that can bring the richness and touch screen features of native apps to your mobile website. The HTML5 family of technologies allow for refined typography, animation, streaming video, offline storage, and the list goes on. Probably the most high profile web app to date is the Youtube mobile site, which delivers a comparable experience to the native apps they have built. The best part, is there is nothing to intall, you just go to the website’s url from your mobile browser.

Native Apps require website owners to develop multiple apps for each platform – iOS, Android – and soon, iOS 5, and this does not even cover Windows Phone 7, Blackberry and Symbian. Finding developers is even harder, so most companies like Basecamp, are deciding to stick with what they now and build mobile web apps instead of native apps.

Conclusion: if you have a website or online store you need a mobile web app!

Need more information? Read this article from Forbes.