What are MicroStores?
Microstores allow you to have multiple product catalogs for groups of customers while operating on the same domain. You can have the same core site design and theme, and more. You can view and edit your microstores by going to Settings > Microstores > Microstore List.
To learn how to create a Microstore and edit the settings, check out the article here.
Microstores are a great feature for businesses that specialize in selling goods and services to specific clients. It is also useful by allowing a specific number of products to choose from.
This is a feature that allows you to keep the same URL with an extension .aspx of your microstore name. (Usually something like: YourStoreName.com/MicroStoreName.aspx) Microstores differ in these ways:
What a Microstore will do:
- One main domain, and the microstore has it's own extension. You can give your customers the option to choose which store they would like to see through a drop-down menu. Or you can redirect the customer on login.
- Uses the same theme and settings as the primary site. It uses the same checkout process and all the theme based settings.
- Can override some theme settings on the microstore level. Options such as link colors, background colors, specific microstore logos.
- The microstores show up in the store drop-down selection throughout the admin console. There are multiple settings available on a per store level that are available on a MicroStore.
- Allows for unique product catalogs and pricing levels between microstores.
What a Microstore won't do:
- Does not show up in the store's menu by default unless you add it to the navigation via an external link. Some store specific overrides for shipping and custom payment methods, etc. are currently lost.
- Are not typically as good for Search Engine optimization of the individual microstores.
- Each microstore is limited to the level of customization you can have for it, as it it an extension of your store as a whole.
- Have its own categories, theme and products. A microstore is an extension of your store. Anything that will go in the microstore will first need to be created in the back panel of your admin console. Any specific category containing that product will have to be selected.
Microstore Tips
- Default theme layouts do not support Microstore specific information. If you want to modify the theme to display Microstore specific information click here to read about Microstore merge codes and conditional merge codes. ( Note: Theme modification / repair is not covered by free technical support, for detail on what is covered under technical support click here)
- When using Microstores, it affects the browsers cookies. When a customer goes to a Microstore, it attaches a cookie into their system that brings the customer back to the Microstore whenever they visit the website again.
- To clear a microstore from your session, add ?microstoreid=0 to your domain. For example, www.yourstore.com?microstoreid=0
- If you have a specific user that you only want to view a specific store, you will need to set it up so that this user will not be able to view all stores. You can make this change by navigating to Settings > Users > Edit the User [Microstore] Account >
Scroll to the bottom and uncheck the "User can access all stores" box and save.
MicroStore Screenshot
Check out these other Articles on Microstores:
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