Many people seem to be struggling with Magento’s website, store and store view when trying to understand multi-store principles. So here’s a quick alternative guide to them:

• “Website”, “store view” and “store” are just three levels of abstraction you can use to make a structure with multiple shops;
• The website level does not necessarily mean a URL in your browser’s address bar. You can route url’s to websites, stores or store views;
• You can vary payment methods and shipping methods between “websites” in Magento. A store view is a single language.