Guest Ryan Szrama, co-founder of Centarro and commerce expert, talks about Commerce Kickstart, the state of headless commerce in Drupal, and what's new at Centarro. They also discuss the Navigation module and its proposed overhaul to Drupal's administration menu.
Commerce Kickstart is a flexible starting point for Drupal Commerce projects, providing default configurations and modules.
Developers can contribute new conditions to Commerce Core by writing generic and reusable code.
Drupal Commerce offers customization and flexibility, making it a favorable option for larger organizations compared to platforms like Shopify.
Deep dives
Commerce Kickstart: A Fast Way to Start Building on Drupal Commerce
Commerce Kickstart is an installation profile that serves as a starting point for Drupal Commerce projects. It includes default configuration templates and modules that simplify the process of creating an online store with Drupal Commerce. The project aims to provide an easy-to-use solution for developers and site builders, while still allowing flexibility to customize the site according to specific needs. Commerce Kickstart also offers a full demo store that showcases the capabilities of Drupal Commerce. Developers can choose to install the full demo store or select specific modules and configurations from the installation profile. As a Drupal Commerce project, Commerce Kickstart can incorporate new features and improvements through contributions from the community. Users can submit feature requests or patches in the Drupal Commerce issue queue or seek feedback and support in the Drupal Slack channel.
Adding New Conditions to Commerce Core
Commerce Core integrates new conditions when there is a demand for them from clients or the community. Developers can contribute new conditions by writing generic and reusable code that meets the needs of a wider audience. These contributions can be submitted as patches in the Drupal Commerce issue queue. The Commerce team is open to reviewing and integrating new conditions, especially those that serve common use cases and have proper test coverage. In addition to submitting patches, developers can reach out to the Commerce team through the Drupal Slack channel for discussions and assistance in getting their contributions included in Commerce Core.
Evaluating ECA and Custom Pricing Solutions
The Commerce team recognizes the power and complexity of modules like ECA (Event, Condition, Action) and the Priceless module. While ECA can provide advanced rule-based processing for events, conditions, and actions, it may be less suited for end-users and site builders who may find the user interface overwhelming. Instead, developers often prefer to write custom code using event subscribers, custom price resolvers, or custom order processors to meet specific requirements. Additionally, Commerce Core offers features like promotions module and the Priceless module to handle role-based pricing and configurable discounts. The team acknowledges that making these features more discoverable and accessible to users within the Drupal interface could be an opportunity for improvement.
Commerce Kickstart is a versatile tool for agencies and freelancers
Commerce Kickstart is a starter kit that many agencies and freelancers use on their Drupal projects. It provides a standard way of starting new projects and includes a range of features and functionalities. It is particularly useful for basic catalog sites and physical product sales. Commerce Kickstart offers a robust product management system and integrates well with payment gateways. It allows for customization of data objects and provides a reliable and secure e-commerce solution.
Drupal Commerce and Commerce Kickstart offer unique advantages over Shopify
In comparison to platforms like Shopify, Drupal Commerce and Commerce Kickstart offer distinct advantages. While Shopify may be suitable for small brick and mortar stores, larger organizations looking for e-commerce solutions can find value in Drupal-based platforms. The qualitative differences lie in areas such as data ownership, customization, and the avoidance of promoting competitors' products. Drupal Commerce allows for customizing every data object and architecture behind the commerce API, making it an attractive option for those who prioritize control and flexibility.
Today we are talking about Commerce Kickstart, Commerce in General, and What’s new at Centarro with guest Ryan Szrama. We’ll also cover Navigation as our module of the week.
Would you like to try out and give feedback on a proposed overhaul to how Drupal’s administration menu works? There’s a module for that.
Brief history
How old: project created in 2004, but the namespace was taken over earlier this year as a place to work on the proposed new navigation in the contrib space
Versions available: No releases yet, so you need to clone the repo into your custom modules
Maintainership
Very active development, commits in the past day
Number of open issues:
46, 14 of which are bugs
Usage stats:
Officially 1 site is using it, but not recommended for production anyway
Maintainer(s):
Include Christina Chumillas, Sascha Eggenberger, Lauri Eskola, Mike Herschel, and more
Module features and usage
At this point, really a prototype, trying to define what the user experience should be
Worth noting that the latest release for the Gin admin theme also includes this new updated navigation as an experimental feature that can be updated, but still best to leave feedback on the Navigation project
The main idea is that instead of having dropdowns that fly out for deeper level menu items, the navigation is in a sidebar, with menu items that expand to reveal child items when clicked
It’s worth noting that dropdown menus with multiple levels handled in flyouts are a known usability pain point, and are often cited by industry experts like Jakob Neilsen as something to avoid
There are still some usability issues to be thought through with this approach, for example there is no longer a way to reach the top page of a section or subsection, because clicking on the link shows or hides the child items instead
This was a subject of some very active discussions at DrupalCon Europe last week, so I thought it would be good to cover this week, so our listeners can add their voices
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