How to Install Magento 2 Extension via Composer

Now, there are only two Composer Repositories aimed at the installation of Magento 2 modules:

• the official one: Magento 2 Composer Repository

• Packagist (the official source of Composer packages) To add them to your your composer.json use the following code:

1   composer config repositories.magento composer http://packages.magento.com/

For packages from Packagist you don’t need to add any repositories because it is the official Composer source included by default.

Once the repositories are added to your system, any Magento 2 extension can be installed with the aid of the following command:

1   composer require vendor/module

And then run:

1   composer update

This will install new dependencies and required Magento 2 extensions. Then run:

1   php bin/magento setup:upgrade

This command upgrades Magento 2 database.

Installing Magento 2 extension by copying code

I describe this type of installation on the example of the M2 sample module. Please note that parts like M2demo/M2Extension refer to VendorName/ModuleName. Since every Magento 2 module requires a particular directory structure (<VendorName>/<ModuleName>) under <your Magento install dir>/app/code, don’t forget to replace M2demo/M2Extension with the particular data related to your Magento 2 extension.

Please note that you should be logged in as a user with the permission to write to your Magento web server docroot. Typically, it can be the root or web server user.

By performing the following actions, you will install your module:

1) Enter the following commands keeping their order:

1   cd <your Magento install dir>/app/code
2   mkdir -p M2demo/M2Extension

2) Go to the page of your module on Github (reference module in our case).

3) Find the Download Zip button and start your download.

4) Copy the downloaded file to your Magento server’s directory: <magento install dir>/app/code/m2demo/module- m2-extension.

5) Run the following commands keeping their order:

1   unzip m2extension-master.zip
2   mv m2extension-master/* .
3   rm -rf m2extension-master

6) Find your <your Magento install dir>/app/etc/config.php file and open it in a text editor.

7) Add the following command under ‘modules’ Þ array (:

1   'M2Demo_M2Extension' => 1

8) Save the changes and close the editor.

I’ll update this Magento 2 tutorial as soon as new methods are available. If you are looking for additional information about module installation in Magento 1.x, check our post here: How to Install Magento Extensions.

Key features

• enhanced search quality

• 665 stop words

• 60,730 synonyms

• search by category names, tags, SKUs, and multiple content types (catalog products, * categories, and attributes; CMS pages; WordPress or other blog; CommerceLab; Simple Press Forum, etc.)

• typos correction

• singular/plural search

• the ability to use hyphens and slashes while searching products

• optimized for specific keywords landing pages

• fallback search

• “Out of stock” products are always in the end.

• Amazon-like search categories

• The extension relies on AJAX to show search results rapidly.

• mobile-friendly

• product data (images and prices) in the dropdown box

Besides, you can easily set a minimum number of characters to search, configure the delay in finding, as well as choose a limit for the number of results shown in the drop-down list or tips from the search box with Sphinx Search Ultimate. The extension shows high indexing speed. Its searching speed surpasses 500 queries per second against one million SKUs.

It is also necessary to mention that Sphinx supports several languages. In addition to English, it also knows Russian and Czech. And there are separate modules for Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, German, Romanian, Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Hungarian, and Finnish, so the extension is suitable for an impressive list of countries. As for spell check, it doesn’t need any additional dictionaries to be installed: the content on your web site is enough. Sphinx Search Ultimate analyzes all text information available on your online store and uses it to take you customer experience to the next level.

And since Sphinx supports three working modes (MySQL- based built-in search engine; Sphinx Engine on the same server; Sphinx Engine on the external server), Mirasvit’s module is suitable for online stores of all sizes.

AheadWorks Advanced Reports for Magento 2¹²

AheadWorks Advanced Reports for Magento 2 is not as robust as its predecessor, but it is already a reliable tool for Magento 2 that adds some missing features. With this module, you will get only six reports (more reports should be available soon), a report drill-down with expanded data, and stunning visual graphs for each report.

The available basic reports provide the ability to evaluate general performance of your Magento 2 web site from different perspectives. First of all, you get a complete sales overview that assembles core sales KPIs in a convenient table. Then, there is a report on product performance that breaks sales down by individual products. Other stats are gathered around categories, payment types, coupon codes, and manufacturers.

As for report drill-downs, they provide the ability to combine several reports on one interface with responsive settings and a breadcrumb trail. As a result, the minimum time is required to adjust and navigate the reports. You can break any given period by such periods as day, week, month, quarter, or year. And there is no need to return to Magento report selection for switching between reports, since there is an appropriate drop-down menu. Furthermore, you can even contact support and access the extension’s documentation right from the Advanced Reports Magento 2 extension.

AheadWorks Email Marketing Pack Magento Extension¹³

If you are interested in improving the default e-mail marketing functionality of Magento, but do not want to spend time on comparing all available extensions, pay attention to Magento Email Marketing Pack by AheadWorks. With this module, you will not only avoid the hell of choosing among multiple available options but also save $160. Specialists from AheadWorks have developed 3 useful tools that will revamp the way you run your e-mail marketing campaigns and you can get them as a single suite.

Email Marketing Pack offers a combination of the following modules:

• Follow Up Email¹⁴ —$199

• Market Segmentation Suite¹⁵ —$199

• Advanced Newsletter¹⁶ —$139

Unlike other Magento companies, AheadWorks has implemented the following mechanism: you have to add all three modules to your cart to purchase them with the $160 discount. You still have to install the modules separately, but it doesn’t influence their excellent e-mail marketing capabilities. They make a great marketing combo, so you can easily reach different customer groups with surgical accuracy.

M2 Extension Pack by AheadWorks ¹⁷

We already have a lot of different digests related to various Magento 2 extensions, but if a wide variety of Magento 2 modules scares you, purchase a starter pack offered by a reliable Magento developer. In the near future, we are going to overview such sets produced by the most popular Magento companies, and today we will introduce you to M2 Extension Pack by AheadWorks.

So what is M2 Extension Pack? It’s a set of Magento 2 extensions by AheadWorks launched before March 31st, 2016. You pay only once and get an unlimited access to all these modules. Sounds intriguing, isn’t it?

Let’s describe the content of the Magento 2 starter pack. The company promises to launch 12 extensions before March 31st, covering the core e-commerce functionality from scratch. AheadWorks also states that it is the best value-for-the-money offer available on the Magento 2 market. Furthermore, if you are a Magento 1 owner, you can get a 30% discount for our Magento 1 extensions. You only need a M2PACK coupon code.

But what exactly is in the pack? AheadWorks offers a unique opportunity for start-up stores to get up to speed with core functionality extensions from such areas as: Sales and Marketing; Administration; Content Management; and User Experience. This is the full list of Magento 2 modules available with M2 Extension Pack:

• Automatic Related Products

• Follow Up Email

• Gift Card

• Advanced Reports

• RMA

• Product Questions

• Blog

• Custom Static Blocks

• Store Locator

• Layered Navigation

• AJAX Cart Pro

• Social Login

Now, we will pay much closer attention to each AheadWorks Magento 2 extension from M2 Extension Pack.

Automatic Related Products¹⁸

Automatic Related Products for Magento 2 provides the ability to manage blocks of related product across your Magento 2 web site. The extension essentially simplifies the way you create and customize them due to the following features:

• First of all, it provides flexible conditions for defining your related products.

• Then, you get various options that help you with the layout customization of the block.

• And of course you can choose any position for your blocks on a product page or in a shopping cart.

That’s how the Automatic Related Products Magento 2 extension works. Follow Up Email¹⁹

Follow Up Email is another robust option available with M2 Extension Pack.This Magento 2 extension automatically sends out follow-up messages based on customer activity. You get 5 predefined events that trigger an e-mail as well as the ability to create custom conditions for specific events. Besides, the Follow Up Email Magento 2 extension offers:

• predefined e-mail templates for each follow-up case;

• user-friendly WYSIWYG editor.

Follow Up Email is one of the most reliable tools designed to reduce your cart abandonment rate. Besides, it will help you communicate with your customers and make them more loyal due to such follow-up events as birthday, new registration, or long period of inactivity.

Gift Card²⁰

If you’ve never used gift cards in your e-commerce business then it’s time to try, because AheadWorks offers a tool that creates a perfect gift card made in compliance with your business standards. You can easily add both physical and virtual gift cards to the catalog. The design of the card is fully customizable. Furthermore, you can implement an individual approach to all your customers, since they get the ability to write personal messages upon every purchase. Other notable features are:

• You can delivere cards from the Magento 2 back end.

• All issued cards and their usage are tracked from the back end.

Advanced Reports²¹

Get the Advanced Reports Magento 2 extensions and dive deep into detailed statistics related to your e-commerce business. The analytical tool by AheadWorks not only provides a clear view of various performance areas but also allows you to run a quick evaluation of your online storefront.

With the extensions, you get six reports describing sales over time. Each report offers extra data with each click and visual graphs illustrate trends for each report. Thus, Advanced Reports offers a great opportunity to explore your Magento 2 web site.

RMA²²

By installing this Magento 2 extension, you take care of all RMA aspects possible in your online business. First of all, you get an intuitive submission form for RMA request creation. Furthermore, your customers do not need to be logged in, because guest requests are possible from an appropriate store page.

Another important aspect is related to robust back-end management available due to step-by-step RMA processing. Besides, you get two-way notifications for status changes with RMA by AheadWorks. As for extension settings aimed at adjusting various workflow elements, they are also available.

Product Questions²³

With this module, you will be closer to your customers, since the Product Questions Magento 2 extension adds a communication area for each product page. As a result, your customers can leave inquiries as well as share information about your products.

All answers can be provided by both customers or administrators. And nobody will lose an answer, since there is a reliable notification system. Besides, there is a rating system that sorts information by relevance.

Blog²⁴

Every Magento web site needs a blog. You can promote your content there, post useful tutorials, or tell your customers something interesting, making them more loyal. Unfortunately, the default platform does not have this tool out-of-the-box, but you can easily solve this problem with the Blog Magento 2 extension by AheadWorks.

With the module, you will get a content editor with all essential writing/design tools; SEO improvements; categories, and sidebar blocks, as well as DISQUS integration for fast comment management. Also check FishPig WordPress integration for Magento 2²⁵.

Custom Static Blocks²⁶

Content management on Magento has never been so easy! Install the Custom Static Blocks, and you will be able to manage customizable blocks of content within your e-commerce web site. Available content types range from from banners to widgets and videos.

Another important feature represented with this extension is the ability to display different blocks to different customer groups. Scheduling options are also available with the extension.

Store Locator²⁷

This Magento 2 extension is a very simple but vital solution if you have a brick-and-mortar store. The module provides customers with the ability to find nearby locations of your offline shop. It is integrated with Google Maps, appropriate store information is listed for each individual location, and your clients can search by address or run radius search.

Besides, there is an opportunity to use any custom image as a store photo. The same is true about map markers.

Layered Navigation²⁸

Make the navigation of your web site user-friendly and you will increase sales. You only need a reliable module, and AheadWorks has such a tool. With the company’s Layered Navigation, you add an enhancement that turns native layered navigation of Magento 2 into a more convenient system.

The extension adds three new filter options, provides the ability to select multiple attributes, and eliminates intermediary page reloads. Unlike in the native Magento 2 solution, your customers can select several attributes of a single filter simultaneously. It is also necessary to mention that the navigation process isn’t interrupted by reloads each time our customer selects a new attribute.

Moreover, the Layered Navigation Magento 2 extension shows how many items match each selection.

AJAX Cart Pro²⁹

Wish to have a modern cart? Then you should implement the AJAX technology in this area of your Magento 2 web site. And one of the easiest ways to do so is offered by AheadWorks. You only need to install the AJAX Cart Pro Magento 2 extension, and the desired features will be available to your customers.

Features available with this module include:

• add-to-cart popup window that provides the ability to select product options without visiting a product page;

• various product information in the pop-up;

• full mobile support;

• support for all product types available in Magento 2.

Social Login³⁰

Social Login is another simple but quite useful extension for Magento 2. It provides a registration form that allows customers to log in via their social network accounts. They can use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Google. More options will be available soon. Besides, the Social Login Magento 2 extension by AheadWorks provides the ability to link an existing store account to a social network profile. As for social login buttons, they are available at both checkout and customer login.

uMarketplace Suite Multi-Vendor Marketplace for Magento 2³¹

You might have heard about uMarketplace Suite Multi-Vendor Marketplace for 1.X. This extension is quite expensive ($1,650), but it does its work seamlessly, transforming your store into a feature-rich e-commerce shopping mall. The same functionality is available for Magento 2, so get ready for multiple independent vendors selling their products via your store with a centralized product catalog and uniquely themed microsites.

With the aid of this Magento 2 multivendor marketplace extension, you provide vendors with the ability to add and edit products and images, assign attribute values and applicable categories, manage shipments, shipping options, and inventory, update account data, as well as communicate with their customers and your store admins. Besides, all your vendors can reject or confirm orders, view order history, enter shipment tracking, as well as create shipping labels and packing slips.

Besides, uMarketplace Suite is absolutely friendly to drop shipping: the extension offers all the tools required for configuring and automating the workflow. That’s because uMarketplace Suite Multi-Vendor Marketplace for Magento 2 is based on the uDropShip extension, a module that powers thousands of Magento stores.

Key features of this multi vendor marketplace solution include:

• product catalog and order management revamped with multi vendor functionality in mind;

• universal checkout system for each order adopted for products from various vendors with different shipping origins;

• a bunch of automated processes. For instance, purchase orders are generated on the basis of customer sales order;

• intuitive vendor interface for convenient product and order management;

• full control over product approval with the ability to approve items related to certain vendors automatically;

• a bunch of commission rates based on various conditions;

• vendor financial statements that can be created manually or automatically;

• Vendor Vacation Mode, when vendors can suspend their activity;

• different checkout methods;

• robust notification system for both vendors and their customers;

• custom API integration for vendors;

• custom shipping costs for each vendor and region-based shipping rates.

More Magento 2 extensions for building a multivendor marketplace, are gathered here: Magento 2 Multi Vendor Marketplace³².

Another extremely important tool is Improved Import by our team. It provides a possibility to import your CSV files with product data and images to Magento 2 from a remote FTP server, Dropbox or a direct URL of a source CSV file. Besides, the module improves the default functionality with dedicated category import from csv files, on-the-fly import of product attribute values, cron job import and more. Firebear Improved Import is a great time-saver that adds advanced functionality to Magento 2.

With Improved Import, you will get the following features:

• regular product stock updates with any frequency: every minute or once a month

• product info and stock sync with external CRM/ERP/PIM or any other system. It is only necessary to set up csv file data and create Cron job import in Magento 2 admin.

• export product, category and customer data to a remote FTP server for further usage by external CRM / ERP / PIM systems

• full circle Magento 2 and Dropbox integration. Streamline the world’s most popular cloud storage and file collaboration tool in your Magento 2 routine! Import and export products, categories, and customers to Dropbox and get a new level of team collaboration. By sharing import and export folders on Dropbox, you will simplify Magento inventory management and make it more affordable than ever before. In a combination with import cron jobs, you can edit your csv file on your Dropbox folder and get all data updated in a Magento 2 database in minutes!

Download the extension here: Improved Import for Magento 2³³. For further information, check this review: Improved Import Magento 2 Extension Manual³⁴.

Additionally, you can check the following companies, because they always release reliable extensions:

• Fooman³⁵

• Ebizmarts³⁶

• Amasty³⁷

• AheadWorks³⁸

• Mirasvit³⁹

• Mageworx⁴⁰

• Ibnab⁴¹

• Wyomind⁴²

And don’t forget about Magento Connect⁴³. Some new Magento 2 extensions are already available there. As for the Magento Marketplace, it is described here⁴⁴.

Being a robust e-commerce web site built upon the Magento platform, Magento Marketplace offers integrated payments via credit cards and PayPal. It hosts both free and paid modules, services, and themes. The launch of Magento Marketplace is planned for 2016. It will be a much more secure and robust e-commerce option than Magento Connect, but unfortunately with a 70/30 revenue share split.

Alternatively, you can search for free modules on GitHub, or check Firebear’s posts: The Best Magento 2 Extensions⁴⁵, Must Have Magento 2 Extensions For Advanced E-commerce Experience⁴⁶, and Magento 2 Extensions Reviewed On Firebear⁴⁷.