Developing websites for brands that require e-commerce functionality (an online store or a donation system, for example), is a big responsibility for Digital Agencies or Software Factories. Many work sessions and options analysis can go into defining the correct platform for each case.
Through this post we want to help you understand why Drupal Commerce is an excellent option. At SeeD, we are experts in Drupal development based in Bogotá and Manizales, Colombia. We are Delivery Partners of Commerce Guys, the creators of the Drupal commerce module https://commerceguys.com/partners/delivery-partners/showcase/seed-em and we know in depth the potential of Drupal as an e-commerce tool.
We have built sites that lead to an online purchasing process, coupon redemption or money donation such as www.fundacionexito.org , https://www.movilexito.com/ or https://www.libreriacarlosfuentes.mx/ is ; These sites are totally different from each other but in essence they aim at the possibility of interacting with a means of payment, by users. Drupal Commerce is the online commerce engine for thousands of sites around the world, some of which have millions of dollars in transactions annually. Sites like https://es.lush.com/ , https://www.cascada.travel/en use Drupal for a wide variety of reasons and one of those is that they are digital investments, which end up paying for themselves.
We can summarize 10 advantages of using Drupal Commerce:
- It is fully scalable: Drupal Commerce is highly scalable and can adapt to meet the changing needs of your website through integrations with third-party systems, enhancement of functionalities and adaptation of the same site to different markets (multi-country and multi-language).
- It is very easy to manage: Drupal allows the management of orders, products and customers, using an intuitive interface that can be customized to the needs of each brand and its workflows. Additionally, it can be integrated with payment platforms in everything related to CRM, inventory systems and all kinds of tools related to the e-commerce ecosystem of companies.
- It's Flexible : Drupal Commerce is specifically structured for selling physical products; it has the native ability to create variations of the same product, for example: a t-shirt type sku ref: x, which is sold in multiple colors and sizes. It also has the ability to sell any other type of intangible product such as digital content, insurance, concert tickets, media subscriptions, etc. You can even sell works of art and any other type of physical or virtual product.
- It is “100% Open Source” 🆓: Unlike some other open source platforms where there is the concept of "premium" modules, for which there is a need to pay, in Drupal this does not exist. That is, there are no hidden charges for the functional scalability of a Drupal Commerce. Another advantage is that the use of Drupal does not entail the payment of commissions on sales, a very important factor when evaluating the long term use of an E-Commerce platform.
- Custom content for every organization: Drupal Commerce is built on the traditional Drupal CMS, allowing you to establish links between descriptive content, digital marketing, and shopping carts. This makes it much easier to drive online sales; you can influence sales through a great user experience (UX), optimized marketing tools, and fully friendly SEO features.
- Flexible Shipping Rules: With Drupal Commerce you can set up your own rules for how, which products, and where shipping costs are applied, including flat rate shipping and weight-based shipping.
- It integrates with different payment methods: Drupal is increasingly agile with the integration process with Pay U Latam, PayPal and other payment methods. This is definitely not a limitation, even if there is a need for custom development to adapt to non-conventional payment methods.
- Different currencies can be handled: Adding currency types other than the Colombian peso or the American dollar is a matter of expanding the functionality of currency types. It is not a complex process since there is already a module for this purpose.
- Compliant with PCI DSS: Drupal Commerce is compatible with the PCI standard, in the process of implementing the platform, we ensure that payment method details are never stored on our clients' servers. This cuts off any possibility of fraud, making use of the customer's databases, to digital hackers.
- Discount and VAT management : Drupal Commerce makes the management of discounts and promotions tailored to your online store and your customer loyalty strategy. The flexibility of managing discounts is just as broad as that of processing taxes such as VAT, and is fully customizable and adaptable to each country.
Being consistent with the open source world, we always try to give back to the Drupal community. As an example of contribution, with our client Grupo Éxito, we have made improvements to the Pay U Latam payment integration module for Drupal 8. Many companies around the world do the same: they contribute code, making Drupal Commerce increasingly more robust.
If you want more information on how to have an online store using Drupal, we will gladly present you with a proposal tailored to the needs of your organization, regardless of the size or number of expected transactions. We can also present you with a functional demo where you can experience the main advantages of Drupal as a shopping cart manager, the fulfillment process and all the other features.
Contact us: https://www.seedem.co/en/contact-us
SeeD EM is an agency of expert Drupal developers in Bogotá, Colombia.
