Online shop creation is not an easy task. Indeed, there are some tools as Shopify which can fulfill small and medium-sized enterprises' needs. However, along with business growth, the expectations change. As a result, more efficient and scalable solutions are desired. One of them is Drupal Commerce. Check, what makes Drupal Commerce 2 a suitable system for your business.
What is Drupal Commerce?
Drupal Commerce is an Open Source software, which is a supplement for the Drupal CMS. Such a solution enables e.g.
- products list creation,
- bills and invoices tracking,
- orders and payment realization,
- delivery process facilitation.
Drupal Commerce can be used either as a basis for a new online shop or an amendment to the already existing site which wants to expand the offer by adding the online sales option.
Drupal Commerce 2 is the newest software version fully- adjusted to Drupal 8. It is equipped with numerous enhancements concerning, e.g., administration or integration issues. Moreover, there are various free-of-charge modules available for Drupal Commerce 2, which can boost system functionalities. However, even the basic version possesses a lot of useful tools and functions. Let us take a closer look at them.
1. Products variations management
At first, Drupal Commerce was using the Inline Entity Form module, which enables the management of multiple product variations from the single product page level. This module was particularly popular in Drupal 7, and at the beginning, it was transferred to Drupal Commerce 2. However, after some time, a more efficient solution was introduced in Commerce 2.
Since Drupal Commerce 2.10, product variations are managed from the dedicated tab of the product page. Such a solution makes the product management process more intuitive and straightforward. Thanks to that, changes for the specific groups of products can be executed. It covers, e.g., price reduction/increase, product image replacement, or creation of full variations sets.
Moreover, Drupal took care of products with just a single variation. In essence, in each product's settings, there is a possibility to turn on or turn off the ,,Allow each product to have multiple variations’’ option. If the option is switched off, the user return to the inline editing mode.
At this moment, it is worth to mention the main difference between Drupal Commerce 1 and Drupal Commerce 2. In Drupal Commerce 2, ,,Product’’ replaces ,,product display’’ and ,,ProductVariation’’ substitutes ,,Commerce Product’’. Thanks to that, it is possible to create different product variations for the same entity. For instance, ,,shorts’’ can have many variations e.g. numerous sizes or colors. Size and color are the product’s attributes.
2. Multiple shop versions
One of the most splendid Drupal Commerce 2 function is the possibility to use multiple versions of the online shop, instead of having just one e-commerce. Each of them can have their types of products, currencies, taxes, basket, or payment methods.
3. Support for different currencies
Drupal 8 enables adding various currencies from the existing list or implementation of non-standardized currencies by typing their unique codes. It is a clear proof of Drupal friendliness toward multiple language online shops. Moreover, Drupal Commerce 2 takes into account all currencies' names in different languages, their formatting, and other essential details.
4. Tax management
While working on Drupal Commerce 2, you don’t have to worry about the product price adjustment to the different tax types. Drupal can calculate them automatically. Not only the platform possess predefined taxes for numerous countries, but it also enables any user to suit it to his needs. Drupal Commerce 2 system knows the tax specifics e.g., the difference in VAT calculation for physical and digital products in the European Union.
Different orders types
Your Drupal 8 based online shop can have more than one order type that possesses its unique procedure. Such a solution enables the creation of precise orders schemes for different kinds of products. For instance, ticket sales may vary from clothes sales. What is more, it is possible to configure e-mails with the order confirmation.
Summary
In comparison to Commerce 1, Drupal Commerce 2 is working more efficiently and possesses more extended and regularly updated functionalities. It is worth taking a closer look at this system, and as a result, make your Drupal 8 based online shop work better.
