The time has finally come for us to announce that the Sylius – Alokai integration is ready!
As you know, we are a partner of Sylius and Alokai (previously Vue Storefront), so we wanted to create a dedicated PWA solution for the Sylius platform because we know that adapting a website to mobile devices is crucial nowadays. Our first approaches to integrating Sylius and Alokai began in 2018 – initially, it was a commercial project, which was later made available as an open-source plugin. The first version of the plugin was based on REST. The second version (the one we want to introduce), SyliusVueStorefront2Plugin, went agnostic. Now we are proud to announce that you can download the SyliusVueStorefront2Plugin, which is on our public GitHub and ready to be adapted to your project!
What is Sylius?
Sylius is a next-generation eCommerce platform that can be easily tailored to your business needs. It is an open-source headless eCommerce solution dedicated to mid-market and enterprise brands.
This is a solution for the PHP scripting language that is based on the Symfony framework and offers many reusable components. Sylius can be flexible and extensible while maintaining unlimited scalability at the same time. It constantly adapts to your workflow with a modern approach.
Having a platform based on Sylius, you can connect it with many systems, such as ERP, CRM, PIM, CMS, or any frontend.
The main use of Sylius headless commerce are:
- Custom B2B/B2C eCommerce
- Multi-vendor marketplaces
- Complex and complete “best-of-breed” ecosystems
What is Alokai?
Alokai is a frontend application that displays the eCommerce platform to the user in an efficient, neat way. It is an open-source PWA solution that enhances performance, builds the best customer journey, and unleashes developer creativity.
What are the benefits of Alokai?
- Independent frontend application
- Possibility of separate scaling
- Tailored platform to business needs
- Seamless integrations with backend applications
Sylius & Alokai – Next level of eCommerce experience
The result of our cooperation with Sylius & Alokai is the creation of Sylius PWA (Progressive Web App). The connection takes place through API communication using GraphQL, which significantly increases efficiency and gives more freedom compared to the first version in the REST architecture.
The plugin can be added to any store built on Sylius. The plugin provides the basic activities performed by Sylius, such as:
- Users login
- Browsing the product catalog with basic filtering
- Ordering
- Use of promotional codes
Read more about Sylius-Alokai integration >>
Where to find the SyliusVueStorefront2Plugin?
Like our other plugins, you can also find SyliusVueStorefront2Plugin on our GitHub. The whole integration consists of 2 plugins (backend + frontend):
- Backend – on the Sylius side – a plugin that enables GraphQL-based API
- Frontend – on the Alokai side, written in javascript
The software is developed under the MIT license.
How to install the plugin?
The package conforms to specific architecture standards for the developer to be able to install and configure. That being said, the procedure requires the developer to carry it out but is limited to executing a composer script, setting up a few things on the Sylius side, and minimal configuration in Alokai so that it can reach Sylius’ backend. You can also disable the native Sylius store site (SyliusShopBundle), as you won’t have to use it anymore.
Read more about the technical aspects of Sylius-Alokai integration >>
Why did we decide to create Sylius PWA?
More and more companies have decided to implement PWA in their business. That is why we decided to create a dedicated solution for a platform we know well. Sylius and Alokai are based on best-in-class technologies, so this combination had to bring satisfactory results.
Sylius PWA combines the best features of a website and a mobile application. Thanks to this, companies that want to adapt to the current needs of users who perform most of their activities on smartphones can do it by minimizing financial outlays, as there is no need to create additional applications. Conclusion? Implementation of PWA is much faster than creating separate solutions for desktop and mobile users.
How can you contribute to the development of open-source?
The great advantage of open-source is the possibility of continuous development and maintenance of projects. However, we can work on such amazing projects, thus ensuring good overall quality, because of our customers. They allow us to share some parts of the projects we are working on for them. The more projects we capture, the more open-source opportunities we have. We will be happy to hear your feedback, continue the discussion in new issues tickets, and accept awesome PRs.
Summary
If you have your online store based on Sylius or plan to migrate to this platform, it is worth considering implementing PWA. Mobile devices have an advantage among e-customers, so it is worth ensuring an appropriate user experience. It will certainly retain your existing customers, but also attract new ones. Moreover, you will save money because you will not have to create a separate application, which is much more expensive. From now on, you can benefit from Sylius – Alokai integration and try it in your new project. However, if you feel that there is something we could work on together, please don’t hesitate to contact us.