A short history of Drupal Commerce

Drupal Commerce is an open-source e-commerce modulethat enables the creation of flexible e-commerce websites. Development of Drupal Commerce began in 2008. It was first launched in 2011 and has evolved considerably since then.

How Drupal Commerce became a popular solution

Drupal Commerce was created to facilitate the development of e-commerce sites. Unlike Shopify or other solutions, it allows you to manage an editorial website and an e-commerce site on the same technical platform. It is used by numerous reference sites such as SNCF and Tesla.

Introduction to the Drupal Commerce module

The Drupal Commerce module is easy to use. Here's what you need to know to install and use it.

Why use Drupal Commerce for your e-commerce site?

As we saw earlier, Drupal Commerce is a simple, flexible and robust solution. It uses the Drupal framework to manage basic functionality, while the Commerce module adds specific features such as order management, payments, taxes, promotions and shipping costs.

Alternatives to Drupal Commerce

There are several alternatives you can consider:

• WooCommerce, an open source e-commerce solution based on WordPress that offers basic functionality. It's relatively easy to use and install, and has a large community of developers. If you use Wordpress, it may be worth making this choice.
• Shopify is another all-in-one solution that offers online sales, payment, shipping and marketing functionality. It's also fairly easy to use and has a wide choice of themes and plugins that allow you to customize the site.
• Magento (which can be combined with Drupal Commerce, as we'll see) or Prestashop... are also among the alternatives available. These are all effective solutions, nevertheless it's important to note that only Drupal Commerce is compatible with the Drupal CMS.

What basic configuration for Drupal Commerce

Drupal Commerce 2.x requires a minimum of Drupal 8.5.0 or higher. Generally, each minor version is necessary, as it contains improvements that reduce the code base. You'll also need Composer. Finally, PHP requires the "bcmath" extension to be installed.

How to install Drupal Commerce?

Here are the steps to follow (nothing rocket science!):

1. First, make sure your site is correctly installed and configured with the prerequisites for Drupal Commerce.
2. Download and install the Drupal Commerce module from Drupal.org or via the console Drush using the following command: "drush dl commerce".
3. Then activate the Drupal Commerce module in the "Modules" section.
4. Finally, configure the basic Drupal Commerce settings, such as currency, tax amounts, different payment and shipping methods, etc.

How to configure products and categories?

Once the module has been installed, you can start configuring product sheets and categories. To do this, you need to create product types and define attributes, variants and options. Types determine the characteristics of each one, while attributes and options allow you to customize each one according to your customers' needs.

For example, for an online clothing sales site, the types might be "Shirts", "Trousers" and "Shoes", while the attributes might be color, size and material. You can also create variants to offer additional options such as sizes.

How to configure the shopping cart and checkout process?

Here are the steps for configuring the shopping cart and checkout process in Drupal Commerce. Start by customizing cart fields, adding promotion rules and configuring shipping charges.

Next, to configure the shopping cart, go to "Administration > Content structure > Types and click on "Add a content type". Select "Cart" from the list and define the fields you wish to add to your cart. Easy!"

Then, to configure payment methods (credit card, bank transfers, PayPal...) go to "Administration > Commerce > Configuration > Payment" and select the method you wish to configure. Enter the information required for each method, such as account details and API keys, and configure the validation and notification settings.

How to customize and enhance the user experience on Drupal Commerce

Drupal offers numerous customization possibilities to suit your needs but above all those of your customers.

What advanced features are available for your e-commerce site

In addition to the basic ones offered by e-commerce sites, you'll find advanced features:

1. Commerce Stock and Commerce Inventory are modules that facilitate inventory management. Product availability, backorders, customer notifications... Your various stock checking and management needs will be covered by these modules.
2. Thanks to Paypal Commerce, Commerce Stripe or Payment... Amazon Pay, Stripe, Paypal and many other solutions can be integrated on Drupal Commerce. You also have the option of offering payment in cash or in installments.
3. Delivery management: the Commerce Shipping module lets you manage different billing and delivery addresses. You can optimize the price evaluation system for each order. It also allows you to calculate shipping costs according to the shipping services selected. Numerous shipping modules are available (Commerce Kiala, Commerce Collissimo, Commerce Fedex...).
4. International management: Drupal Commerce can be created in multiple languages (front and back offices). It can also juggle multiple currencies. These features are not to be overlooked, especially when you consider that most of today's e-tailers offer international delivery.

How to optimize the user experience on your Drupal Commerce site

Here are a few tips for offering an optimum shopping experience. First, use high-quality images. It's a sure-fire way to sell online.

It's images that enable visitors to better visualize their future purchase and understand its features. A blurry or not-so-pretty image doesn't appeal (think of the success of Instagram or Pinterest!)

Other tips:

• the checkout process should be easy and quick. Limit the number of form fieldsand use clear buttons for important actions.
• Allow multiple methods for checkout to give visitors more choice.
• Finally, consider optimizing the experience for smartphones. It may seem obvious, but there are still plenty of degraded experiences on mobile. It's a shame, because nowadays (and particularly under the influence of social networks like Tik Tok) it's on smartphones that we do our shopping!

How can you customize the look and feel of your Drupal Commerce site?

Once you've chosen a theme you like, you can customize it: colors, fonts, button styles and background images... will give your site a unique look.

You can also make use of blocks. Blocks are elements that can be placed on every page of your site. They can be used to present important information (promotions, most popular sales...).

Think too, about modules that allow more or less the same type of action. For example, you can use the Views module to create custom displays, or the Display Suite module to customize page displays.

Combined use of Magento, APIs and Drupal Commerce modules

Integrating Magento and Drupal Commerce: the best of both worlds

Benefit from the advantages of both platforms by integrating them. In particular, this can enable you to use Magento's features for managing your products and Drupal Commerce for customizing your site.

The most popular Drupal Commerce modules

Here are some of the most commonly used modules to give you some ideas:

• Commerce Product which lets you create custom products and manage inventory and variations.
• Commerce Cart which allows customers to view and modify their shopping cart in real time.
• Commerce Checkout manages the checkout process by allowing customers to enter their delivery address and payment information.
• Commerce Payment supports various payment methods for orders, such as PayPal, Stripe and others.
• Commerce Shipping which manages shipping options and shipping charges for orders.

Security and weaknesses of Drupal Commerce

Drawbacks of Drupal Commerce

The comprehensive and versatile aspect of Drupal Commerce has undeniable consequences. In fact, getting to grips with the tool can take some time due to its complexity. If you're not familiar with HTML and CSS Internet languages, it can be laborious to create your online store on your own.

Moreover, setting up Drupal Commerce requires additional extensions that you need to know about beforehand. This makes the whole package less accessible to the uninitiated.

4 tips to guarantee the security of your Drupal Commerce site

Security is a major concern (or should be) especially for online commerce that deals with sensitive information. Here are a few tips to ensure your site's security:

1. Always use the latest versions of Drupal and each of its modules. Updates often correct security flaws.
2. Use security modules such as Security Kit. This module can improve your site's security by restricting access to sensitive URLs and protecting it against SQL injection attacks.
3. Configure access permissions to site files and directories correctly. Restrict access to sensitive files using appropriate permissions.
4. Use security vulnerability detection tools such as Drupal's security scanner to identify security vulnerabilities.

A flexible, secure and robust solution

The benefits of Drupal Commerce for your e-commerce site

The Drupal Commerce extension does indeed offer many advantages. You'll have the opportunity to create your store from A to Z, selecting the design of your choice or integrating your graphic charter.

Most modules are free of charge, so there's no need to pay extra for a high-quality e-commerce site! Your needs evolve as your business or your desires change.

That's good news, because Drupal Commerce is highly scalable and will have no trouble adapting to your growth. And don't forget: the community is particularly dynamic and frequently contributes to enriching the tool.

Summing up, how can Drupal Commerce help you succeed online?

Drupal Commerce has a lot going for it if you want to get started in e-commerce, whatever the scale of your project. It lets you customize your customers' experience as well as your site's functionality.

It's very easy to use (although it does require developers to set it up) and offers you a variety of advanced options such as inventory management, discounts and promotions, staggered payments and much more.

Besides, one of the great advantages of Drupal Commerce is its extensibility: you can add third-party applications, complement its services with Magento, add analytics tools to manage and improve your site's performance.

Have an e-commerce project in mind? We'd be delighted to discuss it with you!