Most eCommerce business managers know the advantages of using Ruby on Rails for eCommerce. This full-stack framework is one of the best solutions for web-based eCommerce stores looking to scale their online presence. Still, there are different platforms to choose from within Ruby on Rails. The common dilemma is Solidus vs Spree - two very similar open-source eCommerce platforms.
At Resolve Digital, we have clients who prefer to work with both of these platforms. Thanks to years of experience, our team knows the ins and outs of Spree eCommerce and the newer Solidus framework. To help you decide which one is best suited for your company’s online retail needs, we have put together a comparative article explaining the differences between them. At the end of your read, you’ll be able to make an informed decision about Solidus vs Spree for eCommerce and choose which platform to use to update your store for 2022.
Spree is an open-source eCommerce platform that allows you to create a marketplace or online store through Ruby on Rails. It launched in 2007 and established a tremendous presence in the industry from the beginning. This headless eCommerce platform is free to download and lets businesses scale their online stores with comprehensive software solutions. Since it’s a free collection of code, many eCommerce retailers prefer it over other SaaS solutions that charge a hefty monthly or annual fee just for the framework.
Spree is the base framework for Solidus, which is a newer branch of the original headless and open-source code. When Spree ended its support for bugs or malfunctions within the platform back in 2015, a group of developers decided to develop a new framework: Solidus. By 2022, Solidus will continue to be an upgraded version of Spree eCommerce. This Ruby On Rails platform makes software updates easier, allowing developers to operate on the latest version available and keep up with the key eCommerce trends for 2022.
Solidus eCommerce is a forked version of Spree 2.4, created by a group of developers from Bonobos and Stembolt. Even though Solidus inherited Spree’s codebase, it is an entirely separate open-source development project. Those who developed it focused on fixing Spree’s bugs and improving the overall quality of the code. The result is a free, open-source platform that serves as an efficient eCommerce framework for digitally-native businesses. Both platforms will still be actively developed during 2022, but one of them is the most convenient to update your site for the upcoming eCommerce trends.
When comparing Solidus vs Spree, it’s best to keep in mind the reasons why the Solidus framework was forked from Spree eCommerce in the first place. One of them was the sudden lack of user support on Spree 2.4. That’s why Solidus keeps leading the way in terms of user support and communication with the platform. There’s a Slack channel where Solidus users can go through all answered questions and ask new ones if they need to. On the other hand, Spree has documentation about every possible issue with their code on the official website, still not allowing for real-time support.
Solidus has better user support than the Spree framework, allowing users to ask questions and access a community of developers.
Since Spree is a headless open-source eCommerce framework, its BSD license is not at all restrictive. Users always work with the same software, so there are no enterprise editions of Spree eCommerce. No matter how big or small your company is, you can still use Spree through Ruby on Rails for eCommerce without paying any licensing fees. The same goes for Solidus, as it only requires eCommerce users to have a Spree license - which is 100% free.
In terms of licenses, the Solidus vs Spree battle is 100% even. You can use both open-source eCommerce platforms for free with no limitations.
Both Spree and Solidus are used through Ruby and Rails for eCommerce. This is a heavily used framework that’s seen on multiple stores and applications. Its eCommerce framework uses convention over configuration (CoC) to lessen the number of decisions developers have to make when using these platforms.
Ruby on Rails for eCommerce provides a seamless experience both for Spree and Solidus.
Though both open-source eCommerce platforms offer the same core features, such as shopping carts, search engines, and favorite buttons, there is still a difference between these two frameworks. Spree has a wider array of existing components that developers can quickly use when building an eCommerce site. But these components haven’t been updated or in years, leading to potential problems when updating the code to scale your online store once your traffic begins to grow. Solidus offers greater flexibility to keep your site optimized and appealing for customers.
Solidus has the upper hand when it comes to payment integrations. The Solidus framework has a seamless implementation of services such as PayPal, AfterPay, and Braintree.
Neither of these open-source eCommerce platforms has built-in analytics trackers. Though this isn’t something that should trouble you since it won’t affect the marketing or business growth of your company. There are plenty of third-party analytics tools that can be integrated into the back-end code of your stores, such as Google Analytics or Segment. Once the integration is ready, you’ll be able to see your store’s traffic, rankings, and other analytics relevant for digital marketing and business escalation.
Both Spree eCommerce and the Solidus framework support analytics integrations for marketing purposes. There aren’t any built-in tools, but the wide offer of third-party extensions makes up for it.
It’s no secret that 2022 will be an incredible year in terms of eCommerce innovation. Some of the top 2022 trends for eCommerce are projected to be Live Shopping, Augmented Reality, and hyper-personalization. Now, since Solidus is forked from Spree eCommerce and both are used through Ruby On Rails for eCommerce, the two frameworks offer the same design possibilities.
There are several different themes developers can choose from when designing your storefront. These themes can be altered, allowing for maximum creativity when creating your store’s aesthetic and business functionalities. Both Spree and Solidus offer amazing themes, but only one of these platforms allows for seamless and easy-to-perform updates to your site. Solidus makes updating your site for the eCommerce trends of 2022 easier, thanks to its lack of bugs and newer components.
The two platforms offer a plethora of beautiful themes to design the front-end of your store. In terms of design possibilities, the Solidus vs Spree debate almost ends in a draw. Still, as far as 2022 eCommerce trends go, Solidus is the winner. This platform allows for the most upgrades of your eCommerce store, keeping your site up to date with the latest innovations.
No theme is perfect unless it’s 100% custom-built, so it’s normal for store owners and business managers to want to change things as their company grows. There’s always something to tweak, upgrade, or change from the original theme or version of a store. Both Spree and Solidus offer extensions with ready-to-use components. Still, as it happens with most of its functionalities, Spree’s framework is clearly dated. The components often have bugs to fix or are hard to code into the store. In comparison, Solidus has a smaller library of components for extensions, but these are higher quality than those of Spree eCommerce.
The Solidus framework offers higher quality extensions with minimal issues and efficient ready-to-use components.
Spree was originally designed with scalability in mind, as a headless open-source platform. This allows your store to grow alongside your traffic without any complications. Since the Solidus framework inherited all the base code from Spree eCommerce, it has the same inclination towards scalability. Furthermore, Solidus has improved code and components, which will let developers scale your business faster than with the older Spree framework. This helps you cut down hardware and development costs, making scalability a matter that requires minimal effort and resources.
Both Spree and Solidus were developed with scalability in mind. However, Solidus features a cleaner, newer code that allows store owners to seamlessly scale their businesses.
As you’ve read in this article, Solidus and Spree offer similar functionalities. Both are open-source frameworks that can be used through Ruby On Rails, one of the best platforms for eCommerce businesses. Still, there aren’t many reasons to favor Spree eCommerce over the Solidus framework in 2022. This is due to the minimal support Spree has seen since 2015 and the number of improvements and bug fixes that Solidus received instead. Spree is still a functional platform and has seen recent active development, but Solidus will continue to lead the way in the future.
Despite their similarities, Solidus is the best choice if you’re serious about scaling your company’s online store and gaining more traffic in the future. For the same price (0 USD) and functionalities, Solidus is the clear winner of the Solidus vs Spree debate. We recommend you build your eCommerce store with Solidus or migrate to this framework if you’re currently using Spree and want to update your store for the 2022 eCommerce trends. Still, it’s also perfectly fine to stick to Spree eCommerce, especially if your store won’t undergo too many upgrades for the foreseeable future.
At Resolve Digital, we take care of every single one of our client’s technical eCommerce needs. We specialize in custom Ruby on Rails eCommerce applications, including both Spree eCommerce and the Solidus framework. Migrations between these platforms are a regular occurrence. Therefore, our team is well familiar with the process of migrating from Spree to Solidus and vice-versa. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you scale your eCommerce store!
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