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Frequently Asked Questions

• What is Magento?
• Where can I see a demo?
• What does Magento cost?
• What license does Magento use?
• Why Open Source?
• What is Varien's relationship to Magento?
• Where can I get themes, extensions and other add-ons?
• What features does Magento Support?
• How can I get support?
• Where can I host Magento?
• Where can I see examples of live Magento stores?
• What Payment Gateways are compatible with Magento?

Q. What is Magento?

A. Magento is a feature-rich eCommerce platform built on open-source technology that provides online merchants with unprecedented flexibility and control over the look, content and functionality of their eCommerce store. Magento’s intuitive administration interface features powerful marketing, search engine optimization and catalog-management tools to give merchants the power to create sites that are tailored to their unique business needs. Designed to be completely scalable and backed by Varien's support network, Magento offers companies the ultimate eCommerce solution.

Q. Where can I see a demo?

A. A demo is available at http://www.magentocommerce.com/demo

Q. What does Magento cost?

A. Magento is available as a free download under the open source OSL 3.0 license. Subscription support plans are available through Varien, the Magento company for a fee. To learn more about the support plans, please visit http://www.magentocommerce.com/support/overview

Q. What license does Magento use?

A. Magento is licensed under the Open Software License (OSL) v3.0, an open source certified license. More information about Magento's license can be found at http://www.magentocommerce.com/license/

Q. Why Open Source?

A. A recent report by O'Reilly Research on usage of Open Source in the enterprise, provides a number of reasons for the rise and meteoric growth of Open Source products, including: Agility and scale, reduced vendor lock-in, quality and security, cost, and innovation.

Q. What is Varien's relationship to Magento?

A. Varien is the company behind Magento, responsible for the development and on-going maintenance of the platform. The company provides a full suite of services for Magento including world-class support, professional services, and more. Please visit the services page for additional information.

Q. Where can I get themes, extensions and other add-ons?

A. Extensions (themes, payment integrations, shipping, etc.) to the Magento platform can be found on the Magento Connect marketplace at http://www.magentocommerce.com/magento-connect

Q. What features does Magento Support?

A. Magento's feature list can be seen at http://www.magentocommerce.com/features

Q. How can I get support?

Community support is available through the forums, wiki, and chat. Depending on your experience, community support may be good enough in the application development phase of the project. For production support, especially for mission-critical deployments (as eCommerce platforms are), commercial/professional support is highly recommended.

Q. Where can I host Magento?

Most hosting providers should be compatible with Magento (see system requirements). If you are looking for a host with Magento expertise, please visit our hosting partner directory page.

Q. Where can I see examples of live Magento stores?

You can see a list of live Magento stores in the blog under Magento Spottings or under Interviews. There is also a community maintained list of live Magento Stores on the wiki.

Q. What Payment Gateways are compatible with Magento?

You can find a list of all compatible payment gateways in the Feature list under Payment or in Magento Connect under Payment Gateways.