Why Bitrix?
whatAsoft possess a large number of technologies (Our competence can be seen in profile). But in most cases we prefer to use Bitrix to develop web projects. In the article, we'll give the grounds for our choice.
If you’ll search on the Internet pros and cons of CMS, you find a huge number of articles. Testimonial (written by the marketing department, or evangelists) and crushing (often written by programmers who’s had to make one or two projects in unfamiliar system). 90% of these articles are about development on one platform or another. But just a few of them have taken into account what is really important — the usability of the site in terms of the administration and from the point of view of the user. We decided to write an unbiased article about cms.
And we start with a review of the advantages of Bitrix from administrator’s perspective. If the site is made on Bitrix and designed according to the specifications (whatAsoft — a certified partner of the Bitrix), the intervention of programmers is not needed in the future. Everything is simple: the product features are being inserted through the administrative section, email templates are being edited visually, fields in forms are easy to add remove (you need to do just five mouse clicks).
These are the opportunities provided by Bitrix:
- Module "Products" (goods, trade offers, the features of different types, which quantity is not limited) — You can add any product you can wish for.
- Automated and customized delivery service — forget about the issues of logistics, everything is taken.
- Various payment methods — PayPal, account aggregators, cash.
- Flexible discounts — encourage those clients who made a certain purchase sum creating and offer coupons and discounts.
- User profiles — identify clients who have already bought from you.
- Smart Filter — all the product features can be filtered. Smart Filter is really smart, it won’t filter cell phones on the field "size", and pipes on the field "screen resolution", even if they selling on the same website.
- “Abandoned basket” — find users added a product to a cart, but hesitated to get the job done.
- Reports, analytics, affiliates and more dozens of little things that have already been implemented.
- Personal account, accounts, currency exchange rates, analogs of products, sets, ratings, integration with 1C and then some that may be necessary (or not) in the store.
Take a look at different sites on Bitrix:
- Svyaznoi — Biggest online store.
- kovalboxer.com — Promo Page of the boxing champion.
But we are not Bitrix marketers or evangelists, so can give chapter and verse about its disadvantages
- The largest number of negative reviews were written by programmers working on other cms, who had to face with Bitrix for the first time. They got a negative experience in the development because they avoided studying of documents and didn’t understand the Bitrix ideology. The main thing to consider is that most Bitrix modules and components require configuration to the requirements of a particular business. This is typical of absolutely any cms, but, for some reason, that it Bitrix that reproaches for it.
- Another Bitrix’s minus is the level of settings transparency for the administrator. Admin panel contains a large number of settings, which users like to "play" with. We know how to solve this problem. We just add user "editor". And then hide all unnecessary function from him.
- Another problem is its speed. You can often find the opinion that Bitrix is "slow". It all depends on one thing: how the site is written. Correct setting of caching, using "composite" technology (learn more about it from our article http://whatasoft.net/blog/the-composite-site-technology-and-the-experience-of-its-implementation/ ) right media data processing and then some.
We have compiled a comparison table Bitrix and other popular cms on key parameters:
| Parameters of comparison | Bitrix | Wordpress | Joomla | HostCMS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barriers to entry | The developer must go through certification. | Easy for beginners. Developer’s level is determined only by this portfolio. | Easy for beginners. Developer’s level is determined only by this portfolio. | Rather difficult for beginners. Developer’s level is determined only by this portfolio. |
| Quality monitoring | Projects shall be put through tests. It confirms the accuracy and quality of development | No | No | No |
| The cost of the box | Paid | Free. Paid off-the-shelf and frameworks. | Free. Paid off-the-shelf and frameworks. | Paid |
| The cost of the development | Above the average price for work made by certified developers, an inexpensive price for work made by beginners. | Inexpensive | Does somebody use it? | Above the average |
| Understandability | Good | Good | Terrible | Not half bad |
| Exterior solutions | Centralized store with good moderation. | Centralized store with good moderation, a great number of sources. | A great number of sources. | A limited number of contractors. |
| The speed of development of unique solutions | Average | High | High | Average |
| The speed of development of non-unique solutions | Average | Average | Slow | Slow |
| Frequency of resourcing to the developer working with the existing functionality | Seldom | Seldom | Often | Often |
| SEO background | Excellent | Excellent | Depends on installed modules | Average |
| Import of exterior data | Simple | Simple | Difficult | Difficult |
Conclusion: Bitrix provides sufficient tools for projects of any level. But it’s not only a tool but also the one who uses it plays a big role.
whatAsoft — we know how.
Valentin Potapov
CIO, whatAsoft