Here is simple method to do it :

1. Find contacts.xml in the base layout folder
2. Copy the contacts.xml in your theme layout folder
app/design/frontend/default/your theme folder/layout/

and then find below code around line 41

and you can change layout as you need.

To remove breadcrumb from homepage in Magento

Try adding this to the layout update of your home cms page:
<remove name=”breadcrumbs” />

then clear cache and that’s done!

Check your products count and limit to how many products to display on home page.You will have to check to list.phtml file make below changes. Suppose you want to show 4 coloumns and 12 products on the home page.

<?php $_collectionSize = $_productCollection->count() ?>
<?php $_columnCount = $this->getColumnCount(); $_columnCount=4; ?>
<?php $count = 0;?>
<?php $i=0; foreach ($_productCollection as $_product): $count++; ?>
<?php if($count <= 12): ?>

and add <?php endif ?>

before foreach end at the around line 91

We can achive this using below code

<?php $cats = Mage::getModel(‘catalog/category’)->load(2)->getChildrenCategories();
?>
<ul>
<?php foreach($cats as $category): ?>
<?php if (!in_array($category->getId(), array(6,7,8,9))) : ?>
<li>
<a href=”getUrl() ?>”><span>getName() ?></span></a>
</li>
<?php endif; ?>
<?php endforeach; ?>

</ul>

Note : 6,7,8,9 are the categories which you want to execlude, you should replace with yours

We have two methods for doing this. The first one is below

Go to CMS –> Pages –> Home page in admin section and click Design section and then upadte Layout XML code with below

<block type=”catalog/product_new” name=”home.catalog.product.new” alias=”product_new” template=”catalog/product/new.phtml” after=”cms_page”>
<action method=”addPriceBlockType”>
<type>bundle</type>
<block>bundle/catalog_product_price</block>
<template>bundle/catalog/product/price.phtml</template>
</action>
<action method=”setProductsCount”><count>12</count></action>
</block>

This shows a maximum of 10 items.

The second one is change code in the magento files.

This example to show 10 items in 2 rows 5 products each.

You need to change the line in appcodecoreMageCatalogBlockProductNew.php
$products->setOrder(’news_from_date’)->setPageSize(5)->setCurPage(1);
change to
$products->setOrder(’news_from_date’)->setPageSize(10)->setCurPage(1);

And need to change new.phtml

<!–?php if ($i–>5): continue; endif; ?>
change to
<!–?php if ($i==5): echo “ “; endif; ?>
<!–?php if ($i–>9): continue; endif; ?>