Magento Custom Module Development: Top 5 Tutorials – PSD2HTML Blog

An Overview of the Top Tutorials on Magento Custom Module Development

In this post, we present a collection of 5 tutorials that beginners to custom Magento module development can use to create their first module. The guides range from fairly simple to comprehensive.

The first general-availability release of Magento took place in the spring of 2008. Since then, the platform has dominated the world of e-commerce for many years. This position was strengthened even more when Magento 2 saw the light of day.

With its revamped checkout, focus on consumers with mobiles, shorter page loading time, and enhanced administration capabilities, Magento 2 attracted a large army of online merchants. Magento is a feature-packed system out of the box. This is achieved thanks to a number of core modules.

A module is, in essence, a folder that encapsulates PHP, XML, HTML, CSS, and JS files used to implement a particular business function, such as inventory management. Magento has a long list of built-in modules. For example, the Magento_Csp module implements Content Security Policies. The Magento_Review module enables writing reviews for products. The list goes on. You can read introductory documentation on building Magento modules here.

Despite all this variety, you may find yourself in a situation when there’s no single Magento module to do something unique for your business. For instance, if you want to attract more visitors to your store, you will discover that the core Magento SEO module only provides the basic functionality. The same goes for the checkout module. It is generic and far from being straightforward.

This is when Magento custom module development comes to the rescue. You have the following options:

• Install a ready-made Magento extension (if you find a suitable one).
• Hire a professional to enhance the capabilities of the platform.
• Try your own hand at building a custom Magento module.

If you have chosen the last option, we’ve prepared an overview of the best tutorials on custom Magento module development.

Top 5 Magento Module Development Tutorials

Magento 2 Tutorial: How to Build a Complete Module

This is a very detailed and well-illustrated tutorial. The author takes you all the way from the installation of Magento 2 down to creating your first module. You will also obtain a lot of useful information and learn new concepts. For example, the author explains what Model View ViewModel architecture is and how the all-important Magento/CMS folder is structured.

Every step is accompanied by code snippets and screenshots. At the end of the post, the author gives a list of additional sources to deepen your knowledge of Magento module development. This hands-on guide rightly deserves the top position in our overview and is very helpful for every aspiring Magento module developer.

The Basics of Creating a Magento Module

Smashing Magazine is an invaluable source of knowledge for web designers and developers. Among the numerous guides available on this site, you will find this tutorial on custom Magento module development.

It is not as detailed as the previous one. Still, it likewise contains clear step-by-step instructions along with appropriate code. You will learn how to do the following:

• Structure the module directory
• Configure the module
• Activate the module
• Define an event observer
• Configure the model’s directory
• Create an observer model

In short, you will walk the whole way from start to finish and, as the title says, learn the basics of Magento custom module development.

Dev Guide: Magento 2 Module Development in 5 Steps

Just 5 steps and you can call yourself a Magento module developer. At least, this is what the author of this tutorial claims. The only way to find out if it’s true is to follow the instructions to the letter.

After listing the software and hardware prerequisites, the author dives straight into the nitty-gritty of custom Mangento module development. There is no “fluff” or abstract explanations. The do-this do-that style is probably good for novices who want to get their feet wet before learning the theory.

The tutorial also teaches you to follow the Magento 2 extension development standards. This will help you prepare for selling your custom modules (extensions) on the Magento Marketplace in the future.

Magento 2 Module Development — Step By Step Guide

This is yet another tutorial on custom Magento module development that takes learners straight to the point. After briefly touching upon the definition of a Magento extension, the author provides a set of instructions on how to build a simple module.

The steps are fairly short. Each is illustrated by the corresponding code. This is a very good guide for those who have just set out on their journey to becoming a Magento module developer. We have not found a simpler tutorial so far.

Magento 2 Module Development — A Comprehensive Guide (4 Parts)

Now to some advanced stuff. The word ‘comprehensive’ in the title of this tutorial is there for a reason. It includes 4 parts. When you’re through them all, you should be able to handle any task from Magento admin module development to Magento payment module development and beyond.

• Part 1 sets the scene by dealing with the very basics of  building Magento modules.
• Part 2 teaches you how to create a grid and admin menu.
• In Part 3, the author discusses creating and implementing Observers.
• Part 4 is dedicated to the use of Knockout.js.

This is a lot of information, so it will take a while to digest and practice everything. However, if you are set on becoming a professional Magento module developer and making money by selling your extensions, every line in this tutorial is well worth reading.

To Sum Up

We hope you will find a tutorial for yourself among the ones on our list. If we’ve overlooked a guide worth mentioning, feel free to write about it in the comments.

Meanwhile, the PSD2HTML team is always ready to help you with Magento custom module development. Regardless of the feature you want us to implement, we guarantee an invariably high quality of the end product.

A poorly made extension full of bugs may cause all kinds of problems for your business. Entrusting the job to a professional Magento module developer is the only way to avoid those. Contact us today with your ideas. We are just a click away.