A fundamental question when it comes to setting up an online store is: Should I set up a separate store, or should I integrate the online store into my website? Both options have their pros and cons. Here, we’d like to introduce you to an open-source solution that lets you integrate a powerful online store into your TYPO3-based website: Aimeos. However, based on our experience, there are also a few drawbacks that we’d like to share with you. But first, here are a few insights on the topic of standalone online stores versus CMS-integrated online stores.
A separate online store or TYPO3 integration?
Of course, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer to this question; it depends on the specific situation. However, the decision should be carefully considered. Generally speaking, a standalone online store always makes sense if your website is primarily an online store. If the store is only part of your offering, integrating it into a CMS—in this case, TYPO3—often makes sense.
Based on our experience, there are several pros and cons to consider:
Separate Online Store
+ Closed system and therefore potentially easier to maintain
+ Software independent of the CMS (TYPO3), making it less prone to errors during updates
- Communication between the store and the CMS may be problematic
- Two different login systems/user management systems (TYPO3 and the store)
- Two separate environments that editors must learn to navigate
Online Store Integrated into CMS
+ Single sign-on for editors
+ Seamless integration of the corporate website and online store, making it more user-friendly
+ Search across both online store and website content
+ Many customers don’t want their online store to be located somewhere completely separate (all-in-one solution)
- When updating TYPO3, you must verify that everything still works and, if necessary, update the extension as well (dependencies)
- Modular system consisting of various plugins, so it may be more prone to errors
How Aimeos Works with TYPO3
Okay, so you want to integrate your online store with Aimeos in TYPO3. How does it all work?
Aimeos is an extension for TYPO3 that you first need to install (see also the Aimeos page on typo3.org). This creates the Backend. Then you log in to TYPO3 as usual and have access to all configuration options.
Content and products are displayed via a plugin. The advantage of this is that you can display data, products, and more from the online store virtually anywhere on the TYPO3 website. This is very helpful for marketing and boosting sales.
Another advantage of the TYPO3 integration is that Aimeos can leverage the existing TYPO3 infrastructure—for example, for generating emails, caching, or logging.
The basic installation should generally work on a “plug-and-play” basis. It’s best to use the Composer package manager for this, as it greatly simplifies the installation and management of dependencies.
Graphic Design of the Aimeos Web Store
We really liked the design options in Aimeos—after all, appearance matters. The default look and feel is already very well done, so minor adjustments should often be sufficient.
However, more complex layouts can also be created using Fluid, TYPO3’s scripting language. Developers with experience using it in the TYPO3 world will therefore feel right at home.
Clear separation between the CMS and the online store
As great as the integration of Aimeos into TYPO3—and thus the bundling of the online store and CMS—is, it does come with some drawbacks, as we’ve already seen. One advantage of Aimeos, however, is that the store can access a separate database. The extension has its own tables, which can be written either to the TYPO3 database or to a separate one. In general, Aimeos recommends keeping the databases separate. This also means you gain a certain degree of flexibility and minimize risks.
The system is independent of TYPO3 and thus offers a large and well-organized community that can quickly provide assistance.
However, the fundamental drawback remains: such an integrated solution can require more maintenance, and when performing updates, you must always ensure that both systems are updated in a way that keeps them compatible.
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Aimeos—Everything great, everything okay?
As we all know, there’s no such thing as a perfect solution. And so Aimeos also has a few drawbacks.
First of all, while the web shop solution is extremely powerful and suitable even for complex projects, this also makes it somewhat complicated to use. The Backend alone has countless tabs with extensive configuration options! So if you just want to set up a manageable “standard online store,” you should look into simpler alternatives. For very simple applications, for example, there’s the TYPO3 extension Cart.
Then there’s the vexing issue of search. For our client nph Kinderhilfe —a charitable organization that handles its donations through Aimeos—we needed a more sophisticated search function that went beyond the built-in Aimeos search. For example, search results from both TYPO3 and the shop needed to be displayed. We solved this with a TYPO3 extension that accesses an Apache SolR server. However, this didn’t work “out of the box” because the Aimeos tables aren’t 100% compatible with the SolR tables.
All in all, we’ve had a very positive experience with TYPO3 and Aimeos. Whether Aimeos is the right TYPO3 extension for you depends heavily on the project’s requirements.
