1C-Bitrix is ​​the brainchild of 1C and the Bitrix company. The purpose of creating a joint venture is to develop web areas and develop innovative Internet solutions. Professional content management systems from 1C-Bitrix are in demand among a wide variety of audiences. All offered products are regularly developed and modernized, becoming more advanced and meeting the growing requirements of users.

Technologies do not stand still; they are constantly moving forward. In the IT field, developers pay special attention to creating products with great functionality and the simplest possible interface. “1C-Bitrix: Site Management” is a system that is widely used for managing web projects of absolutely any subject and focus:

Bright features of 1C-Bitrix

The functionality of this control system is truly enormous. In order for specialists and ordinary people who plan to work with CMS to be better oriented, the development company offers special training programs. We will not dwell on the standard functions of 1C-Bitrix, but will focus only on those that appeared relatively recently, but have already won fans.

Composite site is a technology for which a patent has been received. With its help, the site's response speed increases hundreds of times! The declared capabilities were confirmed during an independent test. As you know, the response speed of a website is one of the most significant characteristics of its operation, which also affects the perception of a web resource by search robots. This indicator is also important in promotion. A slow website can make the visitor irritable, and he will leave it without waiting for it to load. Composite site technology is the link through which a modern dynamic site with program code can function as quickly as a static HTML page. Instant loading is achieved by displaying cached copies of web resource pages. In places where any changes have occurred, updated data appears.

Managing the load on servers - your online store can withstand any flow of customers. Given the growth of the online trading market, it is logical that competition will also increase. Quality service to your customers will help you take a leading position in your industry. People who purchase goods in online stores, as a rule, simply do not have extra time to make purchases offline, so it is easier for them to go online and add the selected items to the cart. An influx of visitors can lead to server failures. Such a malfunction entails very unpleasant consequences: firstly, you will lose those potential clients who were on the site at that moment, and secondly, they may give negative feedback about your web project. The module developed by 1C-Bitrik specialists makes working with servers easier. With its help, you can, even without special technological skills, assess the load on the server, identify the cause of low performance, connect new servers or intelligently distribute the load between existing ones.

Online store order management is another service created specifically for those involved in online sales. The module will facilitate the order management process, increase the efficiency of the back office, significantly reduce the volume of routine processes, and improve the quality of customer service. Expanding the list of available functions makes the process more logical and efficient, working with customer requests is more flexible, and routine difficulties in taking into account orders disappear.

Present and future

Today, 1C-Bitrix software products can be called the optimal solution for small and medium-sized businesses. Without investing significant funds, companies get the opportunity to operate high-tech Internet projects. They become part of the corporate culture. Special software products help optimize the company’s work and establish business processes. In this case we are talking about Bitrix24.

Maximum attention is also paid to “1C-Bitrix: Site Management” - a product that helps to comprehensively and effectively solve problems of managing web projects of any complexity. In its work, 1C-Bitrix is ​​guided by the following principles:

• Reasonability of expenses and efforts
• Costs = results
• Safety
• Manufacturability
• Reliability
• Possibility of website development with low maintenance costs

In the coming years, the Bitrix team plans to focus on three key areas:

1. Development of the software product “1C-Bitrix: Site Management”.
2. Launching scientific research to develop completely new technologies that increase the profitability of web projects.
3. Providing professional services in the field of design and programming of Internet systems.

Websites that were developed using 1C-Bitrix: Site Management (http://Host_Name/technologies/bitrix.html) are characterized by high performance. Their owners do not need to invest significant funds in supporting the project and its development. If necessary, the functionality can be expanded by connecting additional modules.

Stanislav Shashalevich

The time has come when business owners don’t have to explain why they need a website or online store. Now they absorb it on their own at the stage of business formation. The time has come to explain to the client: what kind of CMS Is the platform better suited for his business? And it’s much more difficult to explain this, when the client already has a project on his platform, then convincing him of the need to switch to another platform is a very difficult task. But, in our opinion, with the platform 1C-Bitrix this problem is solved much easier than with others e-commerce platforms.

Therefore, we invite you to consider 10 reasons why it is necessary to switch to 1C-Bitrix.

1. 1C integration

This is one of the most pleasant “buns” of the 1C-Bitrix platform. In 2007 "Bitrix" created a joint venture with the company "1C" – "1C-Bitrix". In our opinion, it is this fact that has given active development to this platform. A new era has come when 1C integration has turned from a complex task into a clear scheme of simple actions.

On the Internet you can find “horror stories” in which integration into Bitrix is ​​presented as something complicated and expensive. In fact, such “horror stories” are invented by those who do not know very well all the nuances of integration and 1C itself. Integration problems can only arise in the following cases:

• Website template designed without understanding the features 1C integration
• 1C itself is already well sawed
• Low qualification of developers

If we have a standard website from 1C-Bitrix and standard 1C, then there simply shouldn’t be any problems with integration. The uniqueness and complexity of your internal business processes add complexity to 1C integration. But it's not my fault Bitrix- these are the features of your company.

And to prove that we are right, we provide a video tutorial in which our experts show how to make integration with1COnly for30 minutes. And no tricks. Just the facts!

2. CRM integration

If 1C integration no longer surprise anyone and this is a mandatory functionality of any e-commerce systems, then CRM integration is just gaining momentum. But even here Bitrix tries to be ahead of everyone.

In the box 1C-Bitrix standard functionality for synchronizing data with CRM Bitrix24. This allows the sales team to more effectively manage leads, deals, and new contacts. Right out of the box you get a ready-made sales tool.

A very topical topic at the moment, which, moreover, is the main argument for transferring the project to Bitrix already this year 2017.

WITH February 1, 2017 year, cash register equipment must send electronic versions of checks to the fiscal data operator - new rules are established in 54-FZ art. 2 clause 2.

The law will come into full force from July 1, 2017. Each online store must have a cash register (CRE) connected to the Internet and connected to a fiscal data operator (FDO).

What does this mean? In simple words, then with July 1, 2017 year for each order paid online (not by invoice) through your online store, you need to knock out KKM check, enter it into the website database, send it electronically to the buyer, and also immediately provide a lot of data to the tax office. And all this is allotted 5 minutes, otherwise you will face a fine.

How do you like this problem? In our opinion, it is very non-trivial. What we like about Bitrix, is that it quickly responds to all market changes. He doesn’t get hung up on idealizing his product, but simply measures the pulse of all components e-commerce and reacts instantly.

Here and here 1C-Bitrix responded promptly and immediately implemented functionality that satisfied all requirements 54-FZ. As far as we know, Bitrix is ​​currently testing the combination on its own site: online store - cash register - tax authorities. Therefore to July 1 we will be fully armed with Bitrix.

We believe that this is a very powerful argument for transferring the project to the platform 1C-Bitrix exactly at 2017– full compliance 54-FZ. We think that many paid companies will have problems in this regard. e-commerce platforms, not to mention free ones. The business owner will simply need to pay attention to 1C-Bitrix to reliably close the issue with 54-FZ.

4. Marketing tools

We've all heard about marketing skills. 1C-Bitrix. Someone, quietly envious, says that this is the main component of the success of this company. But let's not be jealous, let's just learn from experience Bitrix. Fortunately, the company itself 1C-Bitrix is happy to share all of its tools directly on the platform itself.

Now we will tell you about the most interesting, in our opinion, marketing tools that will add points in favor of making a decision to transfer the project to Bitrix:

• Email marketing. They will allow you to work with customers automatically through mailing lists. Already prepared scripts for trigger email chains motivate the client to return to the site and place new orders.
• Product marketing. Motivating customers with promotions and discounts has always had a positive effect. And Bitrix offers flexible configuration options to be able to influence each group of users.

But marketing from Bitrix– these are not just tools sewn into a box. This is a set of materials aimed at improving the client’s education in online sales. This is a set of systematic actions that will help your store gain momentum.

5. SEO tools

SEO– was, is and will be an important tool for attracting traffic to the site. We, as developers of our own SEO solutions, we pay special attention to this.

Unfortunately, until 2013 SEO platform component 1C-Bitrix was very poorly developed. It was impossible to flexibly generate regular meta tags, let alone more complex tasks. But from version 14 Bitrix everything has changed. Now SEO platform tools include:

• Meta tag template engines
• Smart sitemap generation
• Generating robots.txt
• Sending unique text to Yandex
• And much more

Now we can say with confidence that the platform 1C-Bitrix will be a great helper for SEO specialist.

BigData– this is now not only fashionable, but also necessary. The buyer will no longer appreciate just an offer to purchase goods in an online store. The buyer will appreciate it if the store offers exactly what he needs. This is what such services are designed for.

Company Bitrix and responded promptly in this direction and launched its cloud service "1C-Bitrix BigData". This allows you to make personal offers to the client, that is, by analyzing his behavioral actions using certain algorithms, offer the product he needs. The display of personal products can occur both in the public part of the site and in mailings.

Please note that such a service from Bitrix will not just increase your sales, but will also have a positive impact on increasing loyalty to your online store.

7. Affiliate network

The affiliate network is what makes you grow 1C-Bitrix. There are now more than 13,000 partners in the network. And every day there are more and more of them.

What does such an extensive network give to a business?

Firstly, you get the opportunity to select a developer based on the following parameters:

• Project budget
• Developer qualifications and expertise
• Regionality

Secondly, there is no longer any connection to a specific developer, who, due to the proprietary system, allows him to dictate his terms to you. The affiliate network removes such restrictions and makes your project alienable, that is, virtually any partner can accept it 1C-Bitrix.

As for choosing a direct partner, in our opinion, this is the most important and responsible stage. It depends on him how your project will turn out. Bitrix, of course, tries to somehow filter and select suitable developers for you, but, as we think, this does not always work well. Same status "Golden Partner" does not provide any guarantees for your project. After all, we believe that the entry threshold to obtain this status is too low and it would be worth raising it.

Although this is not the topic of the current article, still, based on the above, we can give you a couple of recommendations:

• Partner cases. Carefully familiarize yourself with the projects that the developer has already implemented, similar in theme to yours. Ask clarifying questions about cases. Do not be shy.
• Expertise. It is imperative to check the qualifications of your partner. The test starts with the first touch. With competent clarifying questions, your partner will reveal your project, and with his convincing answers to questions, he will dispel all your doubts.

We will try to cover this topic in more detail in the following articles. The problem is very important. After all, often because of unscrupulous partners, all the negativity spills out to the side Bitrix. In order to somehow justify themselves, they come up with supposed shortcomings and omissions of the platform itself. The whole community suffers from such partners 1C-Bitrix. It is after such developers that online store owners do not want to work with Bitrix at all.

8. E-commerce platform No. 1

Paradoxical as it may seem, this is the simplest and most important argument in favor of switching to Bitrix.

Based on the graph, it is clear that about 60% of the market commercial CMS the company is currently occupying 1C-Bitrix. And 6 out of 10 are unlikely to be wrong. They made their choice by carefully analyzing all the pros and cons of the product. It is now much easier for you to make the right decision by following their example.

I would like to wish Bitrix, so that he does not stop there and tries not only to maintain the current market share, but also to increase it. And there is room to grow: 40% of the commercial CMS market + free systems. 1C-Bitrix I simply have to create conditions and a platform that people just want to switch to.

9. 1C-Bitrix.Marketplace

We decided to leave the most delicious things for later. Creating your own sales platform Marketplace in 2011 opened before 1C-Bitrix new opportunities. Indeed, thanks to this step, the popularization Bitrix has increased both among developers and among direct participants in online sales. And there are several reasons for this:

• Standard solutions – Quick start of sales. After launch 1 WITH-Bitrix.Marketplace there was a big boom in standard template solutions. Thanks to this, clients actually launched online stores in a few days to weeks, instead of months-long and expensive projects from scratch. This allowed them to quickly gain experience in online sales and be more conscious and professional about the development of their project.
• Increased functionality of 1C-Bitrix. Now what you can’t do yourself Bitrix, his partners do. This expands the capabilities of the platform and makes them almost limitless.
• Improving the qualifications of developers.The platform has opened up new opportunities directly for performers. Thus, it contributed to the growth of the qualifications of technical specialists in developing solutions for 1C-Bitrix.

Now Marketplace everything is also replete with ready-made solutions and modules. True, the quality of many of them leaves much to be desired. Therefore, we can give you one useful piece of advice for free: before purchasing a solution, be sure to test its operation on your project. Be sure to make sure that the module has demo mode. If there is no such mode, then ask the developer for the opportunity to test his solution. Personally, we don't even consider products that don't have demo mode. We advise all our clients the same. There is no desire to buy a “pig in a poke”. The owner of an online store needs to: ignite, interest and convince. A demo mode– just the tool that can do this.

10. Constant development and updates

As mentioned above, 1C-Bitrix carefully monitors all trends and changes e-commerce market. You get not just a product that is relevant only for today, as is the case with self-written CMS– you get a constantly evolving platform.

You get a year of free updates. This means that during this time your project will always be up to date. And if you purchase 1C-Bitrix products through us, then you also receive bonuses in the amount of 20% of the order amount, which you can spend on purchasing our modules.

I would like to note that Bitrix there is a certain rule that has not been broken for a long time: two global update releases per year. This means that specific dates and deadlines for the implementation of these updates are already set in advance. The release is presented on the appointed dates, and immediately after that its systematic implementation is carried out. This working model is very effective. It motivates the development department to get rid of code idealization and helps to quickly deliver results directly to the owner of the online store.

Here, it seems, we can stop. Total 10 reasons but every reason Bitrix"suffered." Each reason has stood the test of time, failed experiments, failed hypotheses. We hope that 1C-Bitrix will give us new reasons to work on this platform.

When choosing a version, it is necessary to clearly formulate the objectives.

First of all, you need to decide which system is suitable for further work.

The administrator can always expand the functionality of the basic packages by connecting additional versions and expanding.

No special effort is required to switch to a new plan.

You can select and download various editions on the official Bitrix portal. It is better to avoid dubious intermediaries and resources so that the selected version actually meets the stated capabilities and expectations.

Website management – ​​First website using Bitrix

“First Site” is a product for small companies just getting started in the Internet market. The minimum functionality is enough to create a simple business card with a low load on hosting.

In the product four basic modules and a media player with a library. The Hermitage technology used for control combines an intuitive interface with useful recommendations for developers.

Along with the license, the administrator receives:

• License to create one website;
• Support and updates throughout the year;
• Source codes;
• MySQL database support.

Site Management – ​​Start

“Start” is a package for creating a more complex company representative office or transferring a website to a new CMS. To use the system, you do not need complex programming skills or knowledge of web technologies.

The product includes thirteen basic modules, a media player, a library and a CRM. Among them are performance monitoring, cloud and social services, an SEO module, tools for scaling a project, built-in search and a translator. The main difference from the previous version is the license, which covers the creation of two sites.

Site Management – ​​Standard

“Standard” is one of the most popular versions of the product, including the necessary tools for full management of a multifunctional and interactive project.

The editorial team includes twenty-one modules, professional active protection, a mobile platform, support for blogs and forums, creation of surveys, newsletters, subscriptions and other useful web forms.

As in the previous version, the license applies to the creation of two sites.

Website Management – ​​Expert

“Expert” is a multifunctional framework for developing portals with internal communities or a social network. The version is also suitable for moving a finished site to another CMS.

It consists of thirty-eight modules. Among them are the management of business processes, analytics, social services, advertising campaigns, currency transactions and electronic marketing. The kit also includes a calendar, knowledge base, forums, messenger and the “I have an idea” service.

For ease of use of tools and modules, Push&Pull technology is provided. To learn the features of the system, training opportunities and stable technical support are provided.

Website Management – ​​Small Business

“Small Business” is an edition for small and medium-sized companies interested in implementing an online store and supporting the interaction of dealer networks.

It contains thirty-one functional modules, including tools for store management. This edition has limited functionality.

Website Management – ​​Business

The Business edition uses advanced features for a store with a complex structure.

There are forty-nine modules with tools for managing the store, catalog, payments and e-commerce. Services for document management, analytics, reporting and business process creation allow you to achieve maximum functionality.

Site Management – ​​Enterprise

"Enterprise" is a separate platform for support large Internet projects, making the most of e-commerce opportunities.

Characteristic features are flexibility, adaptability, scalability, reliability, fault tolerance and stability.

The package allows you to create:

• Multi-detail stores;
• Electronic trading systems;
• Catalogs for the sale of media content;
• Social media;
• Tour operator servers and other complex, multifunctional resources.

conclusions

The platform has several editions with their own nuances and features.

To make a choice, the developer must clearly understand the purpose, scope and development prospects of the project being worked on.

Posted by: Ivankin Evgeniy
in technology

12 myths about “1C-Bitrix: Site Management”

For almost 5 years of developing websites on the 1C-Bitrix platform, I have often encountered various kinds of prejudices, and sometimes even absurd misconceptions about this CMS. In this article I will try to dispel these speculations and myths.

CMS(from the English Content Management System, content management system) is software that allows users to post or change information already posted on the site without involving site developers. This means that the user does not need to have programming skills in order, for example, to publish news, an article, or add an image on his website.

I have been working with the CMS 1C-Bitrix for almost 5 years, as they say: I made websites on Bitrix when it was not yet mainstream and I can confidently say that this system now suits me completely and covers almost all possible tasks that come to us. client. I have worked with many popular CMS and some frameworks, and in 95% of projects I will choose 1C-Bitrix as a tool for implementation. This is not to say that this system is ideal, it also has its disadvantages, which are absent in a number of free site management systems, but all its advantages more than cover the small number of disadvantages, which are becoming fewer and fewer every year, and the system is becoming more universal and flexible .

“1C-Bitrix: Site Management” is a flexible and multifunctional system that is suitable for creating most projects from small to large and highly loaded portals and online stores.

Back in 2010, 1C-Bitrix had many shortcomings for which it could be criticized for a whole day in a row by two teams, perhaps it was from those times that most of the clichés regarding this system began. Despite the problems that took place 5 years ago and are no longer relevant now, I still sometimes hear the opinion that 1C-Bitrix is ​​a shitty bad site management system. To my question: “why do you think so?”, most often the interlocutor cannot clearly answer or begins to give the only and most important argument, in his opinion, is that 1C-Bitrix is ​​a paid system. That is, it turns out that we know that 1C-Bitrix is ​​a shitty CMS, but we no longer remember why.

I have selected the most common misconceptions and questions from clients and fellow developers and will try to answer them.

1. We are a small company and have a small budget. We heard that 1C-Bitrix products are only suitable for large web projects.

“1C-Bitrix: Site Management” is suitable for almost any project, and the cost of editions depends on the needs of each individual website. The total cost of the project often does not depend on which CMS is used. Sometimes it turns out exactly the opposite: when using the CMS “1C-Bitrix: Site Management” you avoid the costs of developing many components and functions of the site, since they are already included in the edition, and all that remains is to configure them correctly while reducing development time.

2. Why should we buy “1C-Bitrix: Website Management” if we can order a website on a free CMS?

The main advantage that you should first pay attention to if you are creating a website for your business is the guarantees that the commercial system gives you. This is characterized by technical support for your project, regular updates, including security updates, and assistance in resolving any non-standard issues.

If you choose a free CMS, you will be entirely dependent on the company that develops the site for you; the concept of alienability here in most cases is not applicable. It is also important that developers of free systems, as a rule, do not pay enough attention to security. As a result, many vulnerabilities of such systems are known and remain unfixed for a long time, and this is a huge risk for business. Have you often heard about Bitrix vulnerabilities found? I haven’t heard about them since 2010, but consistently several times a year I hear about new critical vulnerabilities in free CMSs such as WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, which allow you to gain either full or partial access to a site.

3. I heard that 1C-Bitrix is ​​crookedly written and resource-demanding, so it will require very expensive hosting?

Expensive hosting is required for projects with high traffic, complex structure and dynamic content. In such situations, there is practically no difference whether a website is made on 1C-Bitrix or on another CMS, since free analogues do not have much better resource requirements. It also happens the other way around: for sites developed by the Start editorial team, which are simple sites with low traffic, cheap virtual hosting for 1,500 - 2,000 rubles is sufficient. Also, the 1C-Bitrix platform includes unique technological tools that, when used professionally, allow you to increase the performance of a website tenfold; other CMSs currently have no full-fledged analogues.

4. I am a programmer, I want to make websites on a world-recognized CMS with a large community of developers, a bunch of ready-made modules and open source code.

1C-Bitrix is ​​the most popular commercial CMS in the RuNet, which in its share surpasses almost all free systems. 1C-Bitrix is ​​popular not only in Russia and has been translated into many languages. Since 2010, the source codes of 1C-Bitrix have been open. The community of Bitrix programmers is now very large and getting qualified help on any issue is not difficult, especially if there is Russian-language documentation for the product. By default, 1C-Bitrix already includes a large number of modules that depend on the edition, which allow you to implement most basic tasks; there is also the 1C-Bitrix Marketplace with a large number of ready-made modules, components and standard sites, both paid, and free ones. And unlike most free platforms, 1C-Bitrix is ​​regularly updated and at least 2 times a year they present a major release update with new system functionality.

5. Only amateurs make websites on 1C-Bitrix. I will make a site on the trendiest frame because I'm cool.

This is a big misconception. Using 1C-Bitrix it is not difficult to create standard websites using ready-made solutions. To make a good non-standard website you need to have good website development skills in PHP and Bitrix-framework. By making a website on any free framework, you take on many standard tasks that are available in Bitrix out of the box and are well thought out, both from a functional and security perspective. The customer can spend a lot of time and money before seeing a finished site on the framework, which in many respects will be inferior to the site on Bitrix. The framework makes sense to use for very simple sites that do not require any admin, or for very complex and loaded projects for which it simply does not make sense to use 1C-Bitrix, such a project could be a small social network or some large portal with a specific functionality, but as a rule, a large team of professionals works on such projects and does it on their own framework.

6. I heard that sites on 1C-Bitrix work slowly.

Lies and provocation. With proper use of special technologies such as caching, CDN, composite, etc. and proper configuration of the system, 1C-Bitrix can work faster than its competitors. Today, the CMS from 1C-Bitrix is ​​more demanding of resources, unlike its competitors, but this difference is not great, especially these days when server capacity is increasing every day, and the cost of hosting services is decreasing. Yes, it’s unlikely that Bitrix can be paired with hosting for 500 rubles a year, but it’s worth thinking about, if you don’t have several thousand for hosting, is it worth starting a business on the Internet?

A striking example of the fact that 1C-Bitrix can be used on large projects are the sites of such well-known brands as Eldorado, SportMaster, Euroset, Svyaznoy.

7. Promotion and further development of a website on 1C-Bitrix is ​​more difficult and more expensive than on other CMSs

This is completely misleading. 1C-Bitrix does not limit the site in any way for search engine optimization. Moreover, the SEO optimization module included in all editions of the product helps make the work of promotion specialists more comfortable and efficient, facilitating many routine operations. Also, the system does not limit the possibilities for further refinement and improvement of the project.

8. Is the 1C-Bitrix license purchased for only 1 year? And then buy again? Why should I update if my site is already working?

"1C-Bitrix: Site Management" is purchased for an unlimited amount of time. In the first year of using 1C-Bitrix: Site Management, clients have the right to receive all product updates and technical support with a commercial SLA. Subsequently, technical support and updates can be extended for 22% of the cost of your edition.

It is not necessary to renew the license; the site will work without an active license. But we recommend that all our clients renew in order to receive system updates, partner support and take advantage of some other nice features of the system that only work with an active license.

9. I need a website with an admin panel and functionality customized for my tasks - it’s easier for me to pay a programmer and he will write a CMS from scratch for me.

Today, only a tiny percentage of websites created have unique functionality that cannot be implemented in 1C-Bitrix. Basically, sites solve similar problems, which are typified and the corresponding modules are already included in the CMS system. Developing this functionality from scratch today makes no sense, and will most likely lead to huge time and financial costs and ultimately to the collapse of the project. In addition, you will always be tied to the system developer, but even so, it is not always possible to obtain high-quality technical support after launch. You can also be confident in the security of your project - 1C-Bitrix products are tested and certified by leading companies in the field of IT security.

10. Will we be able to edit information on the site ourselves?

One of the important features of the 1C-Bitrix CMS is that with proper implementation of the project, the system allows a person without basic knowledge of layout and programming to be able to independently edit most of the information (adding news, updating prices, changing the number of products on a catalog page, etc.) .

11. “1C-Bitrix: Site Management” is a finished product, why do you need a developer?

“1C-Bitrix: Site Management” is not a ready-made site, it is a platform for building and managing a site. It happens that customers take a demo version, make minimal changes to the site header, fill it with their information and launch the project.

In general, creating a website is a technical task that usually requires specialists. Even if the solution to a problem seems simple at first glance, a specialist can, based on experience, avoid difficulties and pitfalls, offer the best solution and complete the task faster than an untrained person after reading technical documentation.

12. We don’t need a connection between 1C-Enterprise and a website and we don’t use 1C at all, so it makes no sense for us to buy “1C-Bitrix: Site Management”.

These are two completely different products, and the presence or absence of one of them does not in any way affect the operation of the other. A website based on “1C-Bitrix: Site Management” is a tool for working with clients via the Internet, whether informing and collecting information, or selling services and goods via the Internet.

And what else?

This list can be increased several times; I tried to collect the main questions and misconceptions about the product.

Instead of continuing this list, I’ll write a couple of lines about what I value most in 1C-Bitrix. What we like more, as a company specializing in website development, is that 1C-Bitrix always listens to its partners, clients and developers, because together we can make the product even better, many functionality is implemented in new versions, precisely at the request of clients and developers, this does not always happen quickly, but if the functionality is really interesting, then it will definitely be implemented at the first opportunity. Also, 1C-Bitrix always shares its plans and course of CMS development, which rarely happens with its competitors, who roll out their updates slowly and silently.

From all of the above it follows that you should not be afraid of the 1C-Bitrix platform, tell us your tasks and we will tell you whether this platform is suitable for you and in almost 100% of cases we will confidently say that it will suit you. I tried to review popular misconceptions about this wonderful platform, which originate from cliches from the past and simply human laziness, which does not allow a person to fully understand the system and appreciate all its wonderful capabilities.

Hi all. This is my first post on Habré. So I’ll introduce myself formally. Web developer. Experience 3.5 years. At the moment, he is an accomplished Bitrixoid. I do everything - supporting large projects, in-house development, consulting on marketing issues, reviewing the capabilities of new versions, nuances of website integration with 1C on the other side, writing modules for the marketplace, implementing business processes in the “Corporate Portal”. And many others. Within a separate CMS. Whether fortunately or unfortunately (this article will discuss this) - it is impossible to remain without work. The market is more than half filled with products from 1C-Bitrix.

The article will discuss the pros and cons of this monopoly. I personally have no doubt that there are trends for this monopoly.

I deliberately did not start my post with the phrase “this is not another post about the advantages and disadvantages.” Let this be another post. I'm not good at bike building. So the post will use ready-made ideas and ready-made solutions. Everything is like in Bitrix.

So why don’t people like Bitrix? And who doesn't love him?

As I see it, there are two main groups.

1. Managers and customers who are far from the development itself, but have already gained a lot of knowledge in website development. And having their own opinion.
2. Developers are supporters of “kosher” and “ideal” development. On frameworks or written by yourself.

First group. Managers and customers.

I quite often work with people who order Bitrix because it has a huge number of advantages in website management. These people understand what they pay money for and why they buy Bitrix, and not use a free CMS or one that is cheaper. So I don’t need to give arguments, make a list of advantages and disadvantages. They know everything themselves.

Unfortunately, this group also includes many people who do not like to read. That is, you need to make a website. Ok, we'll do it now. And what will we use to do it? Let's look at the market. Bitrix is ​​bought - ok, we take it, we’ll figure it out further. Well, or we’ll hire a specialist who will sort it out for our money.

The approach may be correct. At least the Bitrix developer in this case is always in the black and, as written above, will not be left without work. But - here you need to understand that the popularity of the system always implies a large number of people for whom the site is a design + engine. And who don’t care or care about anything other than this. These are sales managers who act as acting managers in many mid-level studios. project managers, and in some places technical directors. Unfortunately, in practice there have been such cases.

I’m not saying that a competent person won’t order Bitrix. But I’m saying that the target sales audience is those who understand website development in about the same way as graduates of the “PHP in 24 hours” courses. This is a sad fact, but as for me, this is an elementary price to pay for popularity. Not directly related to the system itself.

A huge number of failures in my practice are based on the following stereotypes:

1. Integration with 1C is free and standard

. On this topic, you can read at least this article, which describes the risks very well. The article describes the problems of an already experienced studio. And there’s no need to talk about studios where development is just taking its first steps.

As a result, what we have in practice is a store design of 20-30 pages. With sophisticated filters, beautiful sections that drop out of the menu, everything switches, squeezes and jumps out. The client says “I want”, a contract is drawn up, the matter is transferred to the development department.

And then the manager’s epic phrase sounds:
“There is an order here, but the client also has a database in 1C for 100,500 products, but in Bitrix this is standard, right? It just won’t accept the site without integration. And you said that this is standard...”

Ok, let's look at the base. You haven't done the design yet, have you?
- We have already approved it, the layout designer is working now
- Okay, what is the state of the base, does the structure match?
- We don’t know, the 1C programmer is on vacation now... But what difference does it make, then if anything happens, we’ll fix it. The main thing for us is to integrate.

“Okay, integrating like this is really difficult for me, especially since it’s standard,” I scoff to myself, and not expecting anything good, I begin an endless correspondence with the 1C proger. Anyone who has ever dealt with the issues of integrating something with 1C should understand me. In 90% of cases there is no need to talk about any structure. The properties of the products are entered into text fields, often with errors, the nesting of products is zero, and so on, and so on... But we have the site design approved, with usability and a clause on 1C included in the technical specifications. And this is also good if 1C-nick is interested in delivering the site as much as we are. And if this is just a person on a bet, then all these non-standard tasks of ours will be like a stop signal for a hare... He will answer, “Guys, you just don’t have experience in integrating with 1C, what are we talking about? What improvements?”, as in the case of the 1C programmer from the above article.

For those who are already planning to offer solutions and possible ways out of the situation, I will say - relax. The failure has already taken place. Further development turns into an endless series of crutches. Nothing good will ever come of it. Either a beautiful design will go to waste, or there will be no standard integration and someone will have to manually fill in the missing properties, and manually translate the structure into a form that is understandable for the site. Or there will be integration through some CSV files. And in this case, the developer has only one concern - to deliver the site faster than the jambs with the base can get on it.

What is the problem? In incompetence. And in the absence of the habit of thinking. We need to make websites, not think. So we do as we know: Usability - Design - Layout - Development. What could be simpler? Alas, there are nuances and they need to be understood.

When a failure occurs, the disappointment in Bitrix is ​​quite strong. “We were thinking, but then they slipped it to us.” Everyone gives a damn - from the customer to the developer (yes, there were cases when I myself thought that it would be easier to manually write all these non-standard integrations with these non-standard sites than to stuff my art into Bitrix).

This is the first (and IMHO the main) disadvantage of Bitrix. Pop and popularity, keeping pace with philistinism. Even in studios that have a full set of certificates and gold status, there will always be a manager who “sold the site for a lot of money” and considered his work done. And to rejoice, he let further development take its course, saying that it’s my job to keep track of the deadlines, and then you’ll figure it out for yourself, I voiced the tasks.

2. Other standard features

In the article, I specifically paid a lot of attention to the most popular failure when working with Bitrix - its insufficiently transparently described connection with 1C. It is clear to the developer that not everything is so simple. The manager and the customer will most often consider that communication is simple, free and does not take time. And it turns out that explaining all the complexity to them is not always easy. Due to the fact that they simply do not need to know too much.

But from the same series there is a problem with standard capabilities, of which the system actually has very, very many. Standard modules, components rich in functionality... After all, all this is also most often covered with one stroke of usability. We drew the ordering process in one step in a pop-up and with additional options. fields - the client approved. The first question is why did you draw in one step, if in the standard Bitrix component placing an order takes three steps? Is this so important for the site? I don’t understand - will the client’s business go downhill if we save 10 hours of development and reduce risks by using standard functionality?

This again comes to the question of approach. Bitrix is ​​not for customization. It itself is very custom, but this does not mean that you can assemble anything you want on it and assemble it quickly. It’s just that sometimes an idea that has arisen needs to be compared with existing functionality - and think, how important is it to do it this way and not that way? Most often, in standard features, the idea that arose in the minds of managers and usability specialists is implemented more thoughtfully and deeply. There are extremely rare cases when something epoch-making is invented for a store, without which it simply cannot exist and which must be completed manually. Even relatively expensive stores can be implemented using standard functionality, if you simply wisely look for compromises between unique ideas and existing capabilities. This is my conviction. But few people think about this at the stages of drawing up usability layouts.

And this is a consequence of the first disadvantage of Bitrix. Incompetence and lack of understanding of how to work with the system.

Standard Bitrix components are not intended for modification. And everyone who has at least once had to get into the code of a standard Bitrix component understands this. Bitrix ideologically is a set of components. A set of ready-made ideas from which you can assemble a finished website. And my conviction is that in 90% of cases these ideas will satisfy the client. They will satisfy him even more than a well-designed usability layout with a large sum for the work of a specialist.

Even if you create a large website with several dozen standard pages, everything revolves around the same components: catalog, news.list, iblock.element.add.form. As a last resort, you need to modify the catalog filters a little. But again - no more than 10% deviation from the standard functionality. When all development comes down to finishing only the template.php and result_modifier.php files. IMHO, if you really want to, you can teach this even to a layout designer who can only use two PHP constructs: foreach And if

3. Creating websites on Bitrix is ​​easy (it’s difficult)

I specially combined two problems into one, because my legs continue to grow from the same first problem - misunderstanding. Bitrix is ​​not a miracle with eight heads. This is also a system for website development. And the complexity of development on it does not exceed or exceed the complexity of development on any other suitable CMS. Only knowledge and consideration of the nuances of the system, and not the system itself, can reduce development costs. Both knowledge and consideration of nuances must be maintained by the entire team. Starting from the manager first.

Alas, in my practice, only a small part of managers bothered to read at least the Content Manager course. Although it is, of course, not enough. But in my practice there were a sufficient number of people who, every time before creating a completely typical online store, asked “is it possible to implement THIS on Bitrix?” I think to myself, “Well, if THIS could not be implemented on Bitrix, then why would you even want to order development on it? Based on what considerations?” The thought, alas, is most often one: “Yes, we looked at what CMS are now popular and decided to order a website on it.”

Guys, you will save yourself a lot of nerves and money if you just read the description of the capabilities of standard components and try to work with them in visual editing mode. Maybe even by creating a small website in this way without layout. This really doesn’t require much effort, and will be more than useful in the future when ordering websites. The documentation on the system is very good.

4. The site is very slow

A Bitrix website can be slow for many reasons. AND in none Of these cases, the system itself is not to blame. The fault may be in incorrectly selected hosting, in the developer who wrote his own components and did not bother to enable caching, or in an overly loaded layout. But the system itself is not to blame for the fact that the main page of your site takes 5 seconds to load. This is again a stereotype that managers and people who are far from development like to repeat. That Bitrix is ​​hard and slow. Believe me, if everything is done correctly, the site on Bitrix will fly. The only question is to do everything correctly and understand what is right and what is wrong.

Second group. Developers

The author of the article (that is, me) is the developer himself. I didn’t start with the “php in 24 hours” courses. For example, at some level I know assembler. There are a couple of commercial projects in Delphi, and I started learning the web from the very basics - Koterov’s textbook, articles on programming patterns in English. Wrote in Zend Framework, Yii. There is a framework that I wrote from scratch. Which also has projects that actually work. Sometimes in my free time I write small programs in PHP for my own needs, starting with creating an index.php file in an empty folder. Just so you don't forget the basics.

But - I never had the desire to say that development on Bitrix is ​​WORSE or development on Bitrix is ​​BETTER than development on anything else. People from the first group can afford this. But when developers say such nonsense...

As for me, such stereotypes among professionals are based on the eternal scourge of any developer - the desire for ideal. Any programmer is a complete perfectionist at heart and knows exactly what “ideal development” is. And everyone cherishes the dream of creating a framework on which you can write any website quickly and without a single problem. And everything that is not written by his beloved is, by definition, “shit code”, “nothing is undocumented”, “not structured”, “global variables throughout the code - what can we talk about at all?” and so on.

Although in general, I sometimes agree with them when an order is received to finalize a project on Bitrix. This is how it happens, you open some template for displaying a product card, and there the breadcrumbs are displayed using five (!) sql queries to the database (direct, without any API), then of course you sigh heavily. You tell the client or manager - sorry, but improvements to your website will cost you more. The client will sigh, “Oh, this Bitrix...”

But what does he have to do with it? Both the client and Bitrix itself. It’s just that the developer, most likely, was from that same group - idealistic perfectionists, but did not want to study the system itself (or maybe he just didn’t have time) - so he wrote his own crutches. At the same time, most likely, cursing to himself at the system itself, at his unsuccessful career, that he should be designing hadron colliders, but here he is making improvements on shitty engines.

To be fair, I note that I myself look at the code of standard components with caution. There are a lot of interesting things to see there. But still, the standard components were written by programmers of a good level (at least higher than the one who output crumbs of sql queries). And - as I wrote above - well, ideologically, the standard component is a black box. He just has to do his job. It's not for modifications. This is the fault of the designer who creates the layouts for Bitrix. First of all, he must understand that modifying standard Bitrix components is a difficult task and fraught with risks. I want customization for the simplest task - sit down, draw what you want on a piece of paper. And then compare them with what you already have by playing with the components in the visual editor.

If the project deviates too much from the functionality of Bitrix itself, then sit down and think, is it really important for business to use this particular system, isn’t it more logical to order another? However, in both cases, we are not talking about development, we are talking about those people who sell/order websites.

And the developer, I repeat, does not need to turn up his nose and strive for perfection. It is enough to study the documentation and basic techniques. If a person is a pro, then he will simply accept the features of the structure, master the ideology and write good websites. If you are lazy, then there is nothing you can do to help.

You can get used to Bitrix just like any other system. This is my complete belief. And enjoying collecting sites on it is also not so difficult.

As an epilogue, I want to say that in any business, a competent approach and study of the subject is important. Simply grabbing a fashionable item without studying what it is for and how to use it, in the hope that it will immediately bring mountains of gold, will not work. Any project is work. And choosing a tool is just one of the stages of work. And far from the most important. What is more important is the ability to use this tool. I called the article “CMS from marketers. Advantages and disadvantages". I hope the article was able to roughly outline what I was talking about.