Book excerpt: In the world of e-commerce, there are dozens of tools available to use in custom web design and development. Out of all of these options, Magento is the web's fastest growing e-commerce platform. Its architecture makes it possible to extend the functionalities using plugins, which are shared by the community, extensively. This book is a practical guide packed with examples so developers can understand its fundamental concepts and then start developing and testing Magento code. The book starts by building your knowledge of Magento, providing you with the techniques and tools you require to start your first Magento development. You will then learn to work with data collections and the EAV system, before gradually moving on to extending the frontend and backend. You will learn all about deploying and distributing custom modules. This book will help you navigate your way around your first Magento developments, helping you to avoid all of the most common headaches that new developers face when first getting started.