A fundamental question when setting up an online store is: do I set up a separate store or integrate the online store into my website? Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Here we would like to introduce you to an open source solution with which you can integrate a powerful webshop into your TYPO3-based website: Aimeos. However, in our experience, there are also a few disadvantages that we don't want to withhold from you. But first a few experiences on the topic of stand-alone webshop vs. CMS-integrated webshop.
Separate webshop or TYPO3 integration?
Of course, there is no general answer to this question and it depends on the specific case. However, the decision needs to be carefully considered. Basically, an independent web store always makes sense if your website is primarily a web store. If the store is only part of your offer, integration into a CMS - in this case TYPO3 - often makes sense.
In our experience, there are some advantages and disadvantages that should be considered:
Separate webshop
+ Closed system and therefore possibly easier to maintain
+ Software independent of the CMS (TYPO3) and therefore less prone to errors during updates
- Communication between store and CMS may be problematic
- Two different logins/user administrations (TYPO3 and store)
- Two separate environments that editors have to get to grips with
Webshop integrated into CMS
+ Only one login for editors
+ Seamless integration of corporate website and store and therefore more user-friendly
+ Search across store and website content
+ Many customers do not want to have their webshop somewhere else (complete solution)
- When TYPO3 is updated, it must be checked whether everything still works and the extension must also be updated if necessary (dependencies)
- Modular system consisting of different plugins, therefore more prone to errors
How Aimeos works with TYPO3
Okay, so you want to integrate your webshop with Aimeos in TYPO3. How does it work?
Aimeos is an extension for TYPO3 that you have to install first (see also the Aimeos page on typo3.org). This forms the backend. Then you log in to TYPO3 as usual and have access to all configuration options.
The content and products are displayed via a plugin. This has the advantage that you can display data, products etc. from the store anywhere on the TYPO3 website. This is very helpful for marketing and increasing sales.
Another advantage of TYPO3 integration is that Aimeos can use the existing TYPO3 infrastructure, for example to generate emails, for caching or for logging.
The basic installation should generally work "plug and play". The best way to do this is to use the Composer package manager, which makes installation and dependency management much easier.
Graphic design of the Aimeos webshop
We liked the design options at Aimeos - after all, you buy with your eyes. The standard look & feel is already very successful, so that small adjustments should often be sufficient.
However, more complex layouts can also be created using the TYPO3 scripting language Fluid. Developers who have experience with this from the TYPO3 world will therefore feel at home.
Clean separation between CMS and web store
As nice as the integration of Aimeos into TYPO3 and thus the bundling of webshop and CMS is, there are some disadvantages, as we have already seen. The good thing about Aimeos, however, is that the store can access a separate database. The extension has its own tables, which can either be written to the TYPO3 database or to a separate one. Aimeos generally recommends separating the databases. This also means that a certain flexibility is gained and risks are minimized.
The system is independent of TYPO3 and therefore offers a large and well-organized community that can help you quickly.
However, the fundamental disadvantage remains that such an integrated solution can mean more maintenance work and you always have to make sure to update both systems so that they remain compatible.
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Aimeos - everything great, everything good?
As we all know, there is no such thing as the perfect solution. And so Aimeos also has some disadvantages.
First of all, the webshop solution is extremely powerful and also suitable for complex projects. However, this also makes it somewhat complicated to use. In the backend alone, there are countless tabs with extensive configuration options! So if you only want to set up a manageable "standard webshop", you should look at simpler alternatives. For very simple applications, for example, there is the TYPO3 extension Cart.
Then there is the tiresome topic of search. For our customer nph Kinderhilfe - a charitable organization that uses Aimeos to process donations - we needed a more complex search function that went beyond the integrated Aimeos search. For example, search results from TYPO3 as well as from the store were to be displayed. We solved the whole thing with a TYPO3 extension that accesses an Apache SolR server. But this did not work "out of the box", as the Aimeos tables are not 100% compatible with the SolR tables.
All in all, we have had very good experiences with TYPO3 and Aimeos. Whether Aimeos is the right TYPO3 extension for you depends very much on the requirements of the project.
