August 3rd, 2019
DC is an open-source eCommerce platform (free to download) that is designed to provide the means to develop your online store. Its integral eCommerce functions are shopping cart, checkout, product management, and order fulfillment. Some of the world’s biggest brands, like Pinterest and NASA.gov, utilize DC.
Bear in mind; DC is not something a typical end-user can install and set up. While being powerful eCommerce software, you will need a developer to set this up if you do not have programming knowledge. Drupal Commerce is designed as more of a framework than an application, creating an eCommerce store, and more than likely, you will require dedicated development resources to build and manage your site.
Drupal Commerce requires using Composer with Drupal. Composer is a tool for managing dependencies on the project level, a project being your site or web application. Composer allows PHP developers to quickly build standalone distributable libraries that can be shared and integrated by others. This is possible in part by the PHP Framework Interoperability Group (FIG) and PSR-4 for auto-loading of class files. DC utilizes various libraries and dependencies. Without Composer and the generated class auto-loader, you cannot use DC. The libraries we depend on will not be available, even if manually installed. Composer also enables version constraints and prevents dependency conflicts. Without Composer, there is no way to inform users of DC to “make sure you also update this dependency as well.”
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Online Store DC gives you the ability to design and develop your online store. You can choose from free or premium mobile-responsive themes. You can adjust the design layout to customize your online store fully. You can expand functionality by downloading and adding pre-built Drupal modules, which can be customized to fit your specific needs. |
Multi-Linguistic DC has multilingual functionalities built-in for your worldwide customer base. DC allows you to set up your own pricing rules, including additions for discounts, coupons, and multi-currency adjustments. You can also manage your orders by setting rules and developing a customized and automated order and fulfillment workflow. |
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High Traffic Capability DC has the scalability to accommodate high traffic and transaction volumes. |
Product/Order Management DC Allows you to create your products, customize the type, attributes, and display, and develop a product catalog. |
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Shopping Cart DC has full shopping cart functionality with the ability to change the specific statuses of the shopping cart, as well as use modules to add statues, like for shipping or customer profiles. |
Customer Checkout DC allows you to customize your checkout form. You can display what you need for your customers to fill out during the checkout process. DC supports single and multi-page checkout, offering pricing and tax calculations as well as VAT support for international commerce. |
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Payments DC offers free downloadable modules for some of the top payment processors that will allow you to integrate their service with your eCommerce site. |
Third-Party Tools DC integrates with third-party tools, through their contributed modules that will extend your site’s features, designed specifically for Drupal. |
Customer Support
Drupal Commerce offers documentation guides for merchants, developers, and site builders. The Drupal Commerce website also provides a user Q&A forum, as well as a video library. For professional support, Commerce Guys, the creators of Drupal Commerce, provide application support plans at a monthly cost.
Conclusion
While being the number one eCommerce software that is trusted by some of the largest and well-known brands, Drupal Commerce also requires a developer to set up and maintain. If you have the resources to do all this, then DC will be a powerful tool for your eCommerce solution.