The limitations related to the functionality of traditional eCommerce platforms often restrict the development of projects in other directions. However, the Sylius framework is an exception, as it eliminates this problem by providing the opportunity to develop the online store according to the current needs and desired business models.

Sylius, with its open-source and modular nature, offers a compelling solution to the limitations of traditional store platforms, enabling businesses to develop and extend their projects in any direction. In this blog, we will explain how its flexible architecture helps in adapting to customer needs and staying competitive in the market. 

Let’s begin with a few words about popular eCommerce platforms and running several eCommerce stores.

Quick Jump

Business models and eCommerce solutions

It is common for our clients to have several stores, each one based on a different technology. What is the reason for this?

In most cases, each tool is best for a specific purpose or a business model. For instance, the first online store is built on WooCommerce, the second one is built on OroCommerce, and the third one is a marketplace and is built on the Mirakl platform.

Each of these platforms serves a different purpose and caters to different business needs and customer segments. WooCommerce is a simple and beginner-friendly platform that is focused on the B2C business model. OroCommerce is an eCommerce platform best for businesses that sell products or services to other businesses (B2B). Mirakl, in turn, is a marketplace solution used to manage third-party marketplaces and dropship businesses.

By utilizing different technologies, businesses can effectively address their diverse requirements and optimize their operations across various channels. However, this approach generates additional costs and complexities. For example, with multiple inventories, customer databases, and ordering systems, managing data can become challenging and time-consuming, resulting in more people being required to control these processes. The same goes for integrations and scalability, as each eCommerce solution differs, whether in architecture, code quality, or the number of extensions.

Now, let’s focus on the reason why most eCommerce businesses prefer to choose different solutions to achieve different goals instead of relying on one solution and modifying it according to their needs.

Challenges of expanding or changing the standard eCommerce platform    

As previously mentioned, the majority of eCommerce platforms are focused on one business model or a specific purpose that works well for standard online stores that do not need much customization. In such cases, businesses can use a SaaS solution with many out-of-the-box functionalities and have everything they need.  

Nonetheless, when a company grows and wants to introduce other business models or custom functionalities, changing an online store based on regular platforms becomes challenging.

It is difficult to change SaaS solutions into something else. What’s more, this task would require a lot of resources, as changes on the website would require implementing new functionalities and modifying the code, which involves the developer’s work. Apart from that, eCommerce platform providers may not agree to changes in their platform.  

The eCommerce platform should be suited to the business needs. If we want to change the current platform to meet our expectations, we may be burdened with limitations and technical debt. Due to that, companies often quit using SaaS solutions for more flexibility and customization options.

Summing up this part, making a platform do something it is not designed to do often involves many complications and costs.

Why is Sylius the great foundation for any business model?

Sylius is an open-source eCommerce platform based on the PHP Symfony framework. Its code can be freely modified according to the needs at any stage of the project. Sylius is a monolith by default; nonetheless, it can be adapted to work in various architectures like headless or microservices, which makes it a flexible and scalable solution. By doing so, each microservice works independently and connects with other microservices via API. Then, they can be managed without disrupting the whole store’s operations.

Next, by being built on the Symfony framework, Sylius users can leverage Symfony components that provide battle-tested features suitable for eCommerce stores, eliminating the need to develop them from scratch. Moreover, Sylius consists of clean, high-quality code that follows Symfony’s best practices. This makes it a robust and future-proof solution less prone to technical debt.  

Moving on, this eCommerce platform can be easily extended by connecting systems like Product Information Management (PIM) or Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), empowering businesses to tailor their online stores to their specific needs and scale effectively. This adaptability and expandability position Sylius as a versatile and robust choice for businesses of various sizes. 

Sylius can be a foundation for any type of eCommerce business that can be developed according to the needs. It is the compromise from which we can create any type of store, starting from B2B and ending with a multi-vendor marketplace. It can be compared to the solid foundations we can use to build a house, but they do not impose how the other elements should look (in this example, windows, roofs, etc.). Unfortunately, other eCommerce solutions may limit our further development options. 

Also, Sylius is a great eCommerce solution for multichannel operations. Online businesses can leverage Sylius capabilities to create separate domains, for example, one B2B channel, one B2C channel, and one multi-vendor marketplace channel. Then, thanks to the headless approach, each channel can have a different front end but can be managed from the same admin panel. 

By using Sylius, we have full control over the eCommerce project. At the same time, it does not limit the development of the project in any way. Additionally, modules available in the Sylius Plus version offer great functionalities developed to meet the advanced and complex needs of online businesses.

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Summary

Wrapping up, Sylius is a great eCommerce solution that can be suited to the exact needs of your eCommerce business. It is a unique solution that allows us to shape the online store from the start without needing to modify or remove redundant features that are often a part of standard eCommerce platforms and only slow down our store.  

Nonetheless, each eCommerce project has its limitations. If we want to transform an advanced B2B store with a lot of custom features into a multi-vendor marketplace, it might be challenging. In such a case, it is not the platform itself that defines the limitations but the stage of the project and the number of customizations applied to it.  Due to that, it’s best to set a new direction for the project as soon as possible or keep in mind the possible changes during project planning to be technically prepared for it.

If you are looking for a Sylius eCommerce development company, contact us! We will be happy to talk about your business.