Drupal E-Commerce Websites Challenges And Benefits

Today, having an e-commerce website is indispensable for making your business move in an upward spiral of growth. Drupal Commerce, a powerful e-commerce framework built on Drupal, is undoubtedly the most preferred content management system (CMS) across the globe. Online shopping has become so prevalent that if you stick only to your brick-and-mortar store, you are going to miss out on something that can fast-track your business’s growth. According to research, 67% of Millennials and 56% of Gen Xers prefer to shop online rather than buy from traditional stores. Given that, having a captivating e-commerce website is a must for all businesses aspiring for enduring success. When it comes to building an e-commerce site, Drupal is undoubtedly the most preferred content management system (CMS) across the globe.

You might wonder what makes Drupal outperform all other CMS. The answer lies in its incredible scalability, security features, multilingual compatibility, cost-effectiveness, and much more. Additionally, Drupal commerce has worked on the roots of all issues that have been bothering online stores for ages. Consequently, it has validated itself as an all-in-one solution for developing and running a thriving e-commerce store. Tesla, NASA, Nokia, McDonald’s Australia, and Nasdaq Corporate Solutions are some eminent websites that use Drupal commerce. This itself bespeaks the stature Drupal enjoys as a content management system.

If you are also planning to support your e-commerce site with this cutting-edge CMS, getting acquainted with its benefits and challenges can help you make an informed decision.

The Enchanting Benefits of Drupal Commerce

Multitudinous payment gateways

If you have an inner hunger for spreading your website’s wingspan globally, Drupal commerce is unarguably the choice you need to make. With its multitudinous payment gateways, Drupal enables customers throughout the world to make purchases and pay you in a hassle-free manner. Cross-border payments are usually slow and inefficient, but when Drupal commerce is with you, that’s not true.

By now, there are 139 contributed Drupal payment gateways that exist. Amazon Pay, PayPal, Bitpayir, Coinpayments, iDEAL, Paylands, and QualPay are some of them. These payment gateways make online shopping quick and convenient for your customers. Besides, if you cannot find the payment provider you prefer, you can implement your own payment gateways. This way, Drupal has slewed any payment difficulties you or your customers might encounter.

Scalability

The amount of traffic your website can handle effortlessly is a function of the degree of scalability offered by your e-commerce platform. Drupal understands how devastating it can be if your website cannot accommodate increasing visitors and crashes during peak load hours. Hence, this CMS renders unmatchable scalability which not only takes care of your site’s present but also secures its future.

It is capable of catering to millions of users at a time without a single glitch. Besides, there is a plethora of modules available for you to switch to as your e-commerce website expands and begins to attract increasing visitors. You can select any module depending upon your needs and give a whole new dimension to your site. This way, using Drupal for commerce ensures that nothing can stunt your website’s flourishment. Have you already been captivated by this incredible CMS?

Multilingual platform

The ultimate goal of every online store is to expand worldwide. A multilingual e-commerce platform is the stepping stone through which you can accomplish it effortlessly. When your site interacts with people in their native language, it charges the air with emotion. It is as though your website directly speaks to the hearts of the visitors, which acts as a gravity pull for them to stay for longer durations of time. This significantly enhances their chances of making a purchase.

With its inexhaustible support for multilingual websites, Drupal is the ultimate CMS when it comes to building an e-commerce site that supports multiple languages. It extends you the freedom to choose more than 100 languages depending upon your target geographical regions. This implies that no matter in which corner of the world your target audience resides, you can effortlessly establish a connection with them through Drupal commerce.

Seamless mobile compatibility

According to research, 59.9% of all global e-commerce sales happen through mobile phones. In simple terms, smartphones are ruling the world of online shopping. This is obvious as more people own a smartphone than any other digital device. Keeping in mind the current state of the world, the usage of smartphones will only increase in the times to come.

Given that, you cannot overlook the need for building a mobile-compatible website if you aspire to enjoy enduring success in the world of online business. Drupal deeply understands this. Hence, it possesses all the features required to develop an ingenious e-commerce site with seamless mobile compatibility. Responsive web design, multitudinous mobile-friendly modules, flawless integration with SMS, and compatibility with all types of smartphones are some of them.

Unparalleled security features

In this internet-driven world, people share a lot of their personal information including bank details, credit card details, and other credentials online. This has led to a significant increase in instances of cybercrime. No doubt, today, consumers follow the best online safety practices to protect themselves from cyber fraud and data breaches, but they also expect top-notch security from the websites they trust.

Hence, it becomes imperative for e-commerce website owners to focus on ingenious cybersecurity practices. After all, cyber attacks can make their business submerge into the sea of doom. Once they lose the trust of their customers, no matter what they try, they won’t be able to gain it back.

Drupal is one of the most secure e-commerce platforms to ever exist in the history of the world. It offers unparalleled security features that slew any potential cyber attacks and safeguard customer data. Regular security updates, two-factor authentication, user access control, and database encryption are some of the unmatchable security features offered by Drupal.

Ingenious SEO tools

The overall search engine ranking of your website is a function of how effective your SEO practices are. This implies that if SEO is taken care of, your website has the potential to land on the first page of search engines. Consequently, it will experience an exponential increase in the number of visitors and sales. Realizing the importance of SEO, a majority of CMS have started rendering its users multiple SEO tools with a promise of higher site ranking. But, in most cases, the promises are empty and meant only to disillusion you.

However, Drupal is different. With its effective SEO tools, it has the potential to actually enhance the overall ranking of your e-commerce site. Keyword research, keyword management, content auto-linking, keyword extraction, and link management are some remarkable SEO features offered by it. If your SEO team requires a beacon that can lead them on a progressive path, using Drupal for commerce is the right choice for you.

Marketing optimization

Marketing optimization is another Drupal feature that makes it the apple of everyone’s eye. It enables you to seamlessly tackle personalized promotions for your customers that appear to them as they surf online, and captivate their attention. Today, consumers want nothing but personalized product recommendations, and buying suggestions. They expect you to leverage the power of artificial intelligence and machine learning to conceive suggestions catered to their needs. By meeting this demand with Drupal marketing optimization, you can enhance your website’s overall customer appeal tremendously.

The Challenges Associated with Drupal Commerce and their Solutions

Bothersome Drupal migrations till Drupal 8

In order to offer top-notch security and other features to its users, Drupal developers introduce improved versions every few months. That’s excellent news but it comes with a price. The price you have to pay is to undertake the painful and bothersome process of Drupal migration. Due to the lack of architectural compatibility between the new and previous versions of Drupal, the migration process involves remodeling architecture, rebuilding custom modules, rewriting themes, and a lot more. The process requires time and diligent efforts, which often gives birth to despair.

However, being a customer-centric CMS, Drupal has finally overcome this enormous challenge. Once you upgrade to Drupal 8, you no longer have to suffer the old pangs of Drupal migration. The architectural compatibility between Drupal 8, D9, and the further versions enables you to seamlessly upgrade your software. So, why wait? Just upgrade to Drupal 8 and bid adieu to the old, exhausting process of Drupal migration.

Advanced interface which requires time to master

As Drupal is an advanced CMS, learning it isn’t a piece of cake. There are no shortcuts or quick-fix approaches to master it. Only persistent and conscientious efforts are the key to Drupal mastery. But, remember, the efforts expended bear tremendous fruits. Once you become a pro at Drupal, there is no looking back. You can do anything on the CMS with a click of a mouse without devoting much time to thinking.

Besides, you can make the learning process seamless for you and your team by conducting proper Drupal training sessions. These training sessions take the entire burden off your shoulders. All you have to do is listen to Drupal experts, implement, and learn.

Prolific security updates

Cybersecurity is an aspect Drupal lays a massive focus on. New security updates are released every now and then. Prolific security upgrades can unarguably safeguard your website against phishing attacks, malware, and data breaches, but the concern of compromising your site might make you feel baffled.

However, it is imperative to note that rarely do these security upgrades impact the overall functioning of your e-commerce site. Even if they do, you can always conduct monthly checks to keep an eye on any security updates. This will help you track issues beforehand, and keep your website running flawlessly.

Let’s Wrap Up

Drupal commerce is unarguably the most potent e-commerce platform to thrive in the world of online business with ever-increasing competition. The CMS offers benefits galore that captivate your heart and take your e-commerce site to a whole new dimension of success. Multitudinous payment gateways, flawless mobile compatibility, cutting-edge security features, and multi-language support are some Drupal features you cannot overlook. And with the expert assistance of LN Webworks, a leading Drupal web development company, you can ensure that your Drupal Commerce site is optimized for peak performance and maximum profitability.

Of course, like any platform, Drupal Commerce does have its challenges - from painful migrations to an advanced interface that demands time for hands-on mastery to frequent security updates. But the benefits far outweigh the challenges, and with the right development partner by your side, you can navigate these obstacles with ease. So why wait? Make the switch to Drupal Commerce today and watch your website's overall appeal, traffic, effectiveness, and functioning skyrocket, with LN Webworks as your trusted guide.