To overhaul the Orakel webshop and website, we used Drupal and Symfony, two open-source software solutions. To integrate the webshop and website, we opted for a headless CMS. This allowed us to centralise content management of the webshop and website and improve the performance of the Orakel platform.
Qualitative product management
To enable qualitative and centralised product management in the webshop, we built a custom PIM (Product Information Management) system in Symfony. This PIM system contains all product data and is linked to Orakel's SAP system.
The link between the PIM and SAP system is a queue in which the PIM system puts the necessary items and info for Orakel’s SAP partner to pick up. Conversely, Orakel's SAP partner can use certain endpoints in the PIM system to modify and create product data itself.
Easy website management
To completely mould the (headless) CMS to Orakel's needs, we used a JSON API with a custom module. In addition, we also linked the CMS to the PIM system, allowing Orakel's webmaster to easily build product overview pages based on the right product data.
SEO-advantages of SSR in the front-end
Since we opted for a headless CMS, we still had to develop the front-end for the Orakel platform separately. To do this, we used Nuxt.js, a framework based on Javascript.
One of the main reasons we chose Nuxt.js was the added value of SSR (server-side rendering). This ensures that the pages of the Orakel webshop and website are rendered on the server and best presented to visitors and search engines. Furthermore, SSR also increases the chances of optimal indexation of pages in search engines.
Integrated product configurator
Last but not least, we built a separate product configurator for the Orakel webshop, which allows customers to personalise the printing on their chosen products. The configurator is neatly integrated into both the front-end and the management module of the PIM.
