Sylius: An in-depth look at the flexible e-commerce solution

Let’s embark on a journey into the world of e-commerce, where businesses strive to establish their online presence. Imagine you’re a merchant seeking the perfect tool to set up your online store, much like an artist searching for the ideal canvas. In the vast landscape of e-commerce solutions, where choices abound like stars in the night sky, finding the right one for your business can be quite a journey. Today, we’re going to talk about one of those solutions – Sylius.

Sylius isn’t your run-of-the-mill e-commerce platform. Additionally, it’s more like a set of building blocks that you can arrange to create a store that’s as distinct as your business.

In this article, we’ll take you behind the scenes of Sylius, uncovering its features, pros, and cons, and explore why it’s gaining ground in the fiercely competitive world of online commerce.

So, get ready for an exciting exploration of this flexible solution, and discover how this platform can transform your e-commerce dreams into reality.

Sylius – A symphony of possibilities based on Symfony

Sylius stands out by focusing primarily on the backend, offering users the ability to create highly personalized and scalable e-commerce websites. Its flexible and modular architecture sets it apart from monolithic solutions, providing developers with the freedom to craft tailor-made solutions that precisely align with their business goals. What makes it even more intriguing is that it’s built on the Symfony framework, a popular choice in the PHP community, making it easily accessible for developers familiar with Symfony.

Sylius under the hood

Sylius boasts a robust set of technical features that prove its effectiveness as an e-commerce solution:

• Fullstack Symfony
  Sylius is built entirely on the Symfony framework, offering a standardized and efficient development experience. Consequently, Symfony’s generic reusable bundles save developers time and ensure a structured, maintainable, and updatable final application.
• Doctrine
  Leveraging Doctrine, a PHP library for database storage and object mapping, it provides efficient data management. Developers can craft database queries using the Doctrine Query Language (DQL), enhancing flexibility in data retrieval and manipulation.
• API Platform 

What’s more, Sylius integrates with API Platform, a modern solution for developing robust APIs. API Platform leverages Symfony components, enhancing Sylius’s capabilities for seamless integration with other services and systems.

• Third-party libraries
  Sylius leverages various third-party libraries to streamline various tasks. These include Payum for payments, KnpMenu for shop and admin menus, Gaufrette for filesystem abstraction, Imagine for image processing, Pagerfanta for pagination, and Winzou State Machine for managing processes and automation.

What sets Sylius apart

Instead of presenting a rigid, one-size-fits-all solution, it offers a dynamic framework that allows you to pick and choose the features you need. It’s akin to having a menu where you can select the ingredients to create your perfect dish. This means you won’t be burdened by unnecessary functionalities that don’t align with your business model. So, you receive the core features and expand upon them as your business evolves.

It stands out in the crowded e-commerce space for several reasons:

Versatility tailored to your business model

One of Sylius’s standout features is its adaptability to various business models. Whether you operate in the B2B or B2C sector or plan to establish a multi-vendor marketplace, Sylius offers the flexibility you require. Moreover, you can extend its capabilities to create video-on-demand platforms, ticket and reservation systems, or e-learning platforms, opening up a world of possibilities.

Seamless integrations

Sylius’s headless approach simplifies integration with other systems such as ERPs, CRMs, or CMSs. It acts as the vital link between your e-commerce operations and other essential tools, streamlining your workflow and enhancing efficiency. This means you can seamlessly integrate Sylius into your existing IT infrastructure without the complexities of intricate integration processes.

Rigorous testing for reliability

Sylius adopts a Behavior-Driven Development (BDD) approach, ensuring a focus on delivering tangible business value rather than just lines of code. This rigorous testing process helps identify and rectify issues before they become apparent to your customers, enhancing the reliability of Sylius projects.

Scalability and hosting freedom

Sylius’s allure lies in its adaptability to changing business needs. You can implement it on popular hosting platforms like Google Cloud or AWS, providing your developers with the freedom to select the tools that best serve your project’s requirements. Sylius ensures that your hosting and infrastructure never become limiting factors in your business’s growth.

Agile and sustainable approach

Sylius follows the principle of “evolution, not revolution.” It’s designed to grow alongside your business, eliminating the need for disruptive platform overhauls every few years. This approach ensures that your e-commerce solution remains technologically up-to-date and avoids the technical debt that can plague other platforms.

Headless and PWA

Sylius embraces the headless architecture, offering the potential to create a Progressive Web App (PWA) standard platform. This means you can provide a modern, responsive shopping experience for your customers.

Effortless Plugin Management

Sylius offers a wide selection of plugins available on GitHub and within the Sylius Marketplace. These plugins empower you to customize your store by adding various features, and the installation process is thoroughly documented for each one.

Community support and collaboration

Sylius’s community is rapidly expanding, thanks to the growing recognition of this innovative solution. Valuable resources, expert insights, and collaboration opportunities can be found on platforms such as GitHub, the Sylius Forum, and Sylius Slack.

Exploring available editions

Sylius comes in two distinct editions:

• Sylius (Community Edition):
  This serves as the free, open-source version of the software, offering 80% of the most common online store functionalities, including order management, product handling, promotional tools, payment processing, logistics management, multi-language support, multi-channel configuration, and tax management.
• Sylius Plus:
  This represents the commercial extension of the standard version, providing advanced features such as multi-store management, returns processing, multi-source inventory control, advanced user permissions, admin roles tailored to specific channels, loyalty systems, SLA technical support, and a dedicated customer manager.
  Pricing for Sylius Plus is based on Gross Merchandise Value (GMV).

When Sylius aligns with your vision

Sylius excels in scenarios where:

• Tailor-made solutions are essential
  If you envision a highly customized online store that grows with your business, it is the ideal choice. It accommodates the unique requirements of small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) seeking personalization and enterprises and startups aiming for long-term growth.
• Varied business models are in play
  Whether you operate in the B2B or B2C e-commerce space or manage a multi-vendor marketplace, this solution adapts to your diverse business models.
• Code quality and best practices matter
  Sylius prioritizes top-tier code quality and embraces best practices. If you value a Business Development Driven (BDD) approach and seek a solution aligned with modern coding standards, Sylius emerges as a compelling choice.
• You have a dedicated IT team/you want to rely on an external development agency
  If you have an in-house IT team with programming expertise or plan to collaborate with external development agencies, it can be a strategic choice. Its Symfony foundation ensures compatibility with a broad talent pool, making it easier to find experienced developers. This flexibility empowers you to assemble your applications in a manner that suits your unique business needs.

When Sylius might not be the best fit:

While Sylius shines in various scenarios, there are situations where it might not be the optimal choice:

• Simplicity:
  If you’re looking for a straightforward, out-of-the-box e-commerce solution that you can set up quickly, Sylius may not be the best fit. Working with Sylius can be more challenging if you lack a programming background or don’t plan to collaborate with software development professionals.
• Minimalist approach:
  If your business requires only basic e-commerce functionalities without the need for extensive customization or unique features, Sylius might feel like overkill. It’s best suited for businesses with complex or non-standard workflows.
• User Experience:
  Sylius, while powerful, may not be as user-friendly as some other e-commerce platforms, particularly in comparison to solutions like Shopware.
• Starting from scratch
  In some cases, you might find that you need to build certain features or components from the ground up with Sylius (or use a dedicated plugin). If you prefer a solution that offers a more complete package right from the start, you may want to explore alternatives.

However, these considerations don’t diminish the value of Sylius; they simply highlight that it excels in particular scenarios and may require a more specific set of needs to fully leverage its capabilities.

Summary

Sylius is a versatile e-commerce solution that allows you to create a highly customized online store, making it an excellent choice for businesses with advanced, diverse needs. It emphasizes top-notch code quality and offers scalability. However, if you’re looking for a quick and simple e-commerce solution without much customization, Sylius might not be the best fit. It excels in specific scenarios, so consider your unique business requirements before embarking on your e-commerce journey.