Sylius review - Setting up shop 2024

AGATA MISTELSKA l E-COMMERCE l 09.07.2024 l 5 MIN

Before you decide on a Sylius-based shop, it is worth carefully weighing up its advantages and disadvantages. We will provide a comprehensive analysis of this technology so that you can make an informed investment decision.

What is Sylius?

Sylius is an e-commerce platform created for medium-sized online shops, offering customised solutions. It allows shop owners to use pre-built functionality or integrate with external CRM and marketing automation systems. Sylius provides two types of engines: open source and e-commerce (Sylius Plus). The platform provides a simple and flexible interface, ideal for small and medium-sized online shops. The ability to use independent components means that the platform can be customised to meet specific needs.

Basic information

Software type	Open-Source
Country of origin	Poland
Year of issue	2011
Access to source code	Yes

Review of key data - advantages and disadvantages

Price	✅ (the platform is available in free and paid versions)
Safety certificates	✅
Integration with accounting systems	✅
Implementation of change	✅ (possibility to make changes yourself)
Integration with payment systems	✅
Implementation of promotions and discounts	✅
Integration with Allegro	✅
Implementation of the blog	✅
Shipping cost calculator	✅
Basket recovery	✅
Differentiation of product variants	✅
Search and filtering	✅
Returns management	✅
Technical support	❌(paid version)
SSL certificate	✅
Automatic sitemap	✅
Mobile friendly	✅
Making advanced technical changes	✅❌(specialist knowledge required)

The pros and cons of having a shop on Sylius from an angle:

SEO: The Sylius platform has limited SEO management capabilities. In both the Standard and Plus versions, we do not have full SEO management capabilities. Dedicated extensions are required to increase the shop's visibility in search results. Sylius Plus offers features such as the creation of email campaigns, content management, reviews and content on the shop's sub-pages. 

Maintenance costs: Sylius Standard is the basic version of the open source e-commerce platform, offering order, payment, shipping and theme management functions. Sylius Plus is an advanced version, retaining the open source structure, additionally offering technical support, a dedicated tutor and access to new features. The cost of Sylius Plus is individually tailored to the customer's needs, taking into account the selected modules and sales value, with an annual subscription.

Business scalability: With its flexible architecture and modular design, Sylius makes it easy to add new features and integrations to create a personalised shop. However, there are some limitations that can hinder business development. Using Sylius requires advanced programming knowledge, which can lead to the need to hire specialists. According to users, the relatively high cost of implementing personalised and customised solutions can also be considered a disadvantage of the Sylius system. They emphasise that these activities are not only costly, but often also time-consuming.

Who is Sylius for?

Shop up to 1000 products	❌
Shop up to 10 000 products	✅
Shop up to 100,000 products	❌
Shop 100,000 products and more	❌

The Sylius platform is dedicated to medium-sized online shops.

What makes Sylius stand out from the rest?

• Multi-source Inventory

It is a functionality that allows the tracking of product availability in different warehouse locations and the partial fulfilment of orders in case of shortages in one of the warehouses. With MSI, shops can effectively manage their assortment, minimising the risk of shortages and increasing product availability for customers.

• OnePageCheckout

OnePageCheckout is a module that increases sales by allowing customers to place an order on one page. It makes all relevant elements, such as shipping options, payment information, billing and shipping address, available on one screen. This way of placing an order is more intuitive and convenient for users, which can have a positive impact on sales conversion.

• The Facebook Pixel

It is possible to add a Facebook pixel to the shop's administration panel in order to track user activity. This allows you to collect data on their behaviour, which is key to better targeting of advertisements and optimisation of marketing campaigns.

Examples of shops built on Sylius

Before making a decision, it is worth reviewing sample shops built on the Sylius platform to see how the look and functionality of the shop can be customised.

Mofakult shop

Shop planetahuerto.es

Shop MT distribuzione

Read more at: sylius.com/case-studies

Is it worth choosing Sylius: Our opinion

Sylius is an open source e-commerce platform offering two main versions: Standard and Plus. The Standard version provides basic order, payment, shipping and theme management functions, while the advanced Plus version additionally offers technical support, a dedicated account manager and instant access to new features and updates. Sylius features a flexible architecture and modular design, which allows new features and integrations to be easily added, allowing you to create a personalised shop. 

The main disadvantage of Sylius is the limited SEO functionality in both versions. The need to use external SEO extensions can lead to additional costs and implementation complexity. Additionally, Sylius requires programming expertise, which can lead to high costs for hiring specialists and long implementation times for customised solutions. Advanced features available in Sylius Plus are chargeable, which can be a limitation for companies with smaller budgets.

The decision to choose Sylius should depend on your specific needs and business strategy. It is a good solution for companies looking for full control over shop functionality and ready to invest in technological development. On the other hand, companies looking for comprehensive SEO tools and simpler implementation can consider other e-commerce platforms available on the market.

If you want to compare Sylius with other platforms, you can also read our other articles:

Read the article: Review of Selly - Creating a 2024 shop

Read the article: Review of RedCart - Creating a 2024 shop

Read the article: Sky-Shop review - Creating a shop 2024