The e-commerce industry has been on the rise for the past few years, and with the COVID-19 pandemic, the industry has seen unprecedented growth. As a result, E-Commerce platforms have been in high demand, with businesses seeking reliable and feature-rich solutions to help them grow their online presence. Shopware, the popular E-Commerce platform, has just released its newest major version, Shopware 6.5. This release comes with a host of new features and improvements that are sure to make the platform even more powerful and user-friendly. In this blog post, we’ll take a closer look at the changes and what they mean for online retailers.
Performance Boost
One of the most significant improvements in Shopware 6.5 is the massive performance boost it offers. The platform is now up to 5x faster when it comes to order performance, with a 4.5x better median response time across all pages and 3x higher request throughput uncached. This is possible due to several changes, such as outsourcing tasks from the database to Redis, reducing the load, removing database locks, and improving caching strategy. In addition to these changes, the administration panel is now 200% faster thanks to a 600% reduction in file size and the implementation of lazy loading. These improvements will make it easier for retailers to manage their stores and provide a better experience for customers.
Optimize Your Images
Images are an essential element of any E-Commerce website. They help showcase your products and services and provide a better user experience for your customers. However, if your images are too large, they can significantly impact your website’s loading speed. Optimize your images by compressing them, reducing their size, and using image formats that are suitable for the web, such as JPEG, PNG, and GIF.
Improvements in Core and Admin
Shopware 6.5 also brings some significant changes to the core and admin of the platform. One of the most notable additions is the integration of Open Search, which provides an alternative to Elastic Search for those who prefer it. The Symfony update also brings additional features and a new message queue, while a new updater helps to ensure better compatibility between plugin-system-based apps. Other improvements include dependency cleanup and an optimized design.
Improvements in Storefront
The storefront of Shopware 6.5 has also undergone some significant changes. For example, the platform has updated from Bootstrap 4 to Bootstrap 5 and removed jQuery, which will make it easier for retailers to develop responsive and fast websites. The design has also been optimized, ensuring that the storefront is both attractive and user-friendly.
Rule Builder
Another significant addition to Shopware 6.5 is the Rule Builder, which empowers businesses to create custom rules based on conditions. Whether you’re looking to set up promotions or calculate shipping costs, there are numerous possible conditions and use cases. The Rule Builder brings more clarity when creating rules, making it easier for businesses to set up and manage their online store.
Delivery Notice
Shopware 6.5 comes with several new features that are sure to excite retailers. One of the most notable is the ability to display notices when delivery to a particular country is not possible. This will help to prevent customers from making purchases that cannot be fulfilled, reducing the likelihood of negative reviews and returns.
Improved Usability
Shopware 6.5 also provides improved usability when it comes to order management. Retailers can now easily create, maintain, and manage orders, ensuring that they can keep up with demand. This feature will be particularly useful for businesses that receive a high volume of orders and need to manage them efficiently.
External tax services
For businesses dealing with complex tax regulations, Shopware 6.5 now allows them to simply add external tax services, making it easier to comply with tax laws and regulations
Customer-Centricity
Finally, Shopware 6.5 places a greater emphasis on customer-centricity. The new conditions for the Shopware Rule Builder and Flow Builder make it easier to create personalized experiences for customers. Retailers can tailor the platform to meet specific customer needs, improving customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Conclusion
Shopware 6.5 is an exciting release for online retailers. The massive performance boost, improvements to the core and admin, and updates to the storefront all make it easier to manage and customize E-Commerce stores. The new features, improved usability, and focus on customer-centricity are sure to make a significant difference to both retailers and customers. If you’re looking for a powerful and user-friendly E-Commerce platform, Shopware 6.5 is definitely worth considering.
