Skip to main content

Getting Started with J2Commerce

This guide walks you through setting up your first J2Commerce store. Whether you're migrating from another platform or starting fresh, you'll have a functioning store ready to sell in under 15 minutes.

Prerequisites​

Before you begin, make sure you have:

  • Joomla 6.x installed and running
  • PHP 8.3 or higher
  • J2Commerce installed (see Installation)

The Setup Wizard​

When you first open J2Commerce, the Setup Wizard appears automatically. This guided onboarding walks you through configuring your store in six simple steps:

  1. Store Info: Name, address, and contact details
  2. Currency: Your default currency and measurement units
  3. Tax: Tax inclusion preferences and rates
  4. Product Type: What you're selling (physical, digital, or service)
  5. Payment: Payment method setup
  6. Ready: Final review and sample data option

For detailed information about each step, see the Onboarding documentation.

tip

You can re-run the Setup Wizard anytime from the Dashboard by clicking the Setup Guide button in the toolbar.

Quick Start Checklist​

Configure Basic Store Information​

Go to Settings -> Global Configuration

Go to J2Commerce -> Store tab and start filling in your store information

Enter your store name, email, and address

Set your default currency and measurement units

tip

Helpful Tip: When you click on the Toggle Inline Help button, it will show a description below each section. See image below

Create Your First Product​

There are multiple ways to navigate to the location for creating a new product.

Option A: Go to Content -> Articles -> New.

Option B: Or go to J2Commerce -> Catalog -> Product -> New

Creating a New Product​

  • Enter a product title and description.

  • Assign the article to a category (the category determines which J2Commerce category listing it appears in).

  • Make sure the Status is 'Published'. Published means it's viewable on the frontend

Configuring the Product​

Click on the J2Commerce tab to start configuring the product details

Use As Product: Set this to 'Yes' to set the product type

Product Type: Set to Simple for a single-item product with one price and no variants.

Click Save and Continue

tip

Fill in the product details: For more help setting up a standard Simple product, go to https://docs.j2commerce.com/v6/catalog/product-types/simple_product and follow the steps.

Set Up Payments​

J2Commerce includes several payment plugins ready to enable:

Go to the J2Commerce tab in the top right corner -> Setup -> Payment Method

Click on a payment method to configure it:

  • Stripe: Enter your API keys

  • PayPal: Enter your business email

  • Kustom: Configure your account settings

Set one as the Default Payment Method by going to J2Commerce -> Setup -> Configuration -> Checkout tab -> Default Payment Method

Configure Shipping (if selling physical products)​

Go to the J2Commerce tab in the top right corner -> Setup -> Shipping Method

Enable one or more shipping methods:

  • Free Shipping: Set a minimum order amount

  • Flat Rate: Fixed price per order

  • UPS/FedEx/USPS: Enter your carrier credentials

Set up shipping zones to control where you ship

Create Categories​

Categories help organize your products:

Go to the J2Commerce tab in the top right corner -> Content -> Categories

Click New

Enter a category name and description

Assign a parent category, if needed, in the Category tab

Upload a category image under the Options tab

Click Save & Close

Set Up Taxes​

info

Before you can set up a Tax Profile, you need to set up the Geozone first, then the Tax Rate and then the Tax Profile. You can find all three of them by going to the J2Commerce tab in the top right corner -> Localization ->

Go to the J2Commerce tab in the top right corner -> Localization -> Tax Profiles

Create a new tax profile or edit the default

Add tax rules for your regions

Associate products with tax profiles

Understanding the Admin Interface​

The navigation bar at the top of every J2Commerce page provides quick access to:

Products: Manage your product catalog

Orders: View and process customer orders

Customers: View customer accounts and history

Catalog: Categories, filters, options, manufacturers, vendors

Shipping: Configure shipping methods and zones

Payments: Manage payment gateways

Apps: Install and configure app plugins

Reports: Sales, product, and customer analytics

Settings: Global configuration and store settings

Dashboard​

The J2Commerce Dashboard is your home base. It shows:

  • Today's revenue and order count
  • Sales trends over time
  • Recent orders needing attention
  • Low stock alerts for inventory

For detailed dashboard information, see the Dashboard documentation.

What's Next?​