How to create gift cards in Magento 2 default

Selling gift cards is one of the smartest ways for businesses to boost revenue during the holiday rush. Customers are busy, overwhelmed with choices, and often unsure what to buy for friends, family, or colleagues. Gift cards solve all of that: they’re fast, flexible, and always the “safe but meaningful” option.

Magento 2 supports gift cards by default, allowing stores to create and sell them just like regular products. In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to set up gift cards in Magento 2 so you can capture more holiday sales with ease.

Steps to create gift cards in Magento 2

Step 1: Create the Gift Card Product

• After logging into admin panel, choose Catalog > Products
• Click the dropdown icon next to the Add Product button and select Gift Card
• In the Attribute Set field, select the default Gift Card option or other attribute set as you wish

Step 2: Complete product settings

• Enter a Product Name, SKU
• Set Card Type
  • Virtual: Gift cards are sent to the recipient via email
  • Physical: Physical gift cards are sent to the recipient by post
  • Combined: Combined gift cards can be sent by both email & post.
• Set the amount of each gift card: Click Add Amount, then fill in the amount options to allow customers to select.
• Set a flexible range of amount: Enable Open Amount, then define the range From & To
• Enter the Gift Card Quantity
• Enter the Weight (if your Gift Cards can be shipped)
• Select Gift Card in the Categories field

Step 3: Set up the Gift Card Information

Open the Gift Card Information section:

• Treat Balance as Store Credit: Allow gift card owner to redeem the balance & turn it into store credit
• Lifetime (days): Set the expiring duration, or leave it blank if there is no end date.
• Allow Message: Allow buyers to leave a message for the recipient.
• Email Template: Select the template for the email notification sent to the gift card recipient.

Step 4: Complete other product information

This step is to complete the rest of the product - if you need to.

• Content: Add or edit the main product description, short summary, and additional details that shoppers see on the product page. This can be done via Page Builder or HTML code.
• Images and Videos: Upload multiple images or videos for the product, rearrange them, set alt text, and choose roles (thumbnail, base, swatch) to control how the product appears in the catalog.
• Related Products, Up-Sells, and Cross-Sells: Define which products to show as related (additional items), up-sells (premium alternatives), or cross-sells (impulse buys during checkout) to increase order value and encourage additional purchases.
• Search Engine Optimization: Set the URL key, meta title, meta description, and keywords to optimize how the product page appears in search engines and improve discoverability.
• Customizable Options: Add options for customers to choose like color, size, engraving so you can handle variations without setting up separate products per option.
• Products in Websites: Control which sites or store views the product will appear on, which is useful if you run multiple storefronts or languages with different visibility settings.
• Design: Override the default product page layout, apply theme changes, or enter custom XML layout updates.
• Gift Options: Enable features like gift messages at checkout for the product, making it more appealing for gifting occasions.

Step 5: Publish the gift card product

Finally, you need to save and publish your gift card product:

• Select Yes in Enable Product
• Click Save to save the progress
• If you want to preview it, select Customer View on the Account settings.
• If you want to publish it, click the dropdown icon next to the Save button, and choose Save & Close

Conclusion

Setting up gift cards in Magento 2 default is a great starting point to offer flexible, hassle-free gifting options during the holiday season. Once you’ve mastered the basics, you may find that your business needs more advanced features, such as customizable templates, bulk gift code generation, flexible import/export, scheduling, or deeper personalization.

If you want to take your gift card program to the next level, the Mageplaza Gift Card extension gives you the tools to create a more automated holiday gift card experience. It’s an upgrade that helps you sell more, manage better, and deliver a polished gifting journey for your customers.