Imagine what website development and maintenance would be like if CMS didn’t exist. Not only would it be much more difficult and expensive to create a website, but you would also need a programmer to make even the smallest changes to the content. It would be impossible to organise processes in online stores and corporate portals, where everything changes constantly.
The most popular CMS platforms in Russia are WordPress (44% market share) and 1C-Bitrix (13.4%). WordPress comes first, mainly because it’s free. However, when it comes to paid CMS platforms, 1C-Bitrix is the undisputed leader with a whopping 52% market share. But is its popularity justified? Let’s find out!
Bitrix at a glance
Before we figure out whether you should build a website on Bitrix let’s take a quick look at the system itself.
“1C-Bitrix: Site Management” (not to be confused with CRM Bitrix24 and 1C accounting software) is designed primarily for the development of complex and high-load projects: online stores, corporate portals, social networks, and all kinds of accounting systems. For example, the stock management system that we developed for a large tailoring group was built with 1C-Bitrix.
Bitrix is made up of modules that are used to manage different website elements, such as business processes, analytics, sales catalogue, personal account, document flow, ads, mailings, etc. If needed, you can also purchase additional modules on the Bitrix marketplace.
“1C-Bitrix: Site Management” offers five licences: Start, Standard, Small Business, Business, and Enterprise, each with their own set of features. For example, with Start you can create simple websites; Small Business allows you to set up an online store; and Enterprise enables integration of online sales into all of your company’s channels and infrastructure.
Advantages
There’s a reason why 1C-Bitrix has leapfrogged other CMS platforms, like Joomla, NetCat, OpenCart. It has a number of advantages that you won’t find in other content management systems, including the market leader WordPress. Let’s look at some of the key ones.
- Mark of quality. The CMS that you use is an indicator of sorts; WordPress, for example, may indicate that a company is scrimping on its IT budget (and perhaps other things as well). If the website is developed on Bitrix, it is likely that the business intends to scale up, improve functionality, and make further investments.
- Security. Bitrix’s creators have included many tools for protecting your website from cyberattacks, viruses and data losses, which is something you won’t find on free CMS platforms. This is particularly important for companies dealing with personal data and online transactions. Alas, no system can guarantee 100% protection, and Bitrix is no exception.
- Out-of-the-box solution. Unlike many other platforms, Bitrix offers a turnkey solution that already includes the necessary features for most business needs. As a result, the user can manage the website without the need to develop additional elements and constantly involve IT specialists.
- Cutting integration expenses. 1C-Bitrix contains the basic tools for integrating with the most popular platforms: payment systems, delivery services, marketplaces, social networks, and accounting programs. So while at first glance it may seem cheaper to use a free CMS than to develop a site on Bitrix, you’ll actually save money on standard commercial integrations because you won’t have to write new APIs for each external service
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Infoblocks. Information Blocks is a Bitrix module for managing content elements of the same structure: news, catalogue or product cards, articles, etc. This is a sizeable advantage that enables you to add new elements to a website with little effort.
Each infoblock is similar to an Excel table, where the first column contains the parameters (for a product card, this would be its name, description, price and images), and the cells contain the necessary data. In other words, to add a new product, all you need to do is fill in the required fields on the card. - Popularity. This is yet another reason to develop a website on 1C-Bitrix. Since this CMS is very popular, the market is full of people who know how to work with it. As a result, you won’t have much trouble finding employees or contractors.
Disadvantages
Naturally, 1C-Bitrix has its share of drawbacks and limitations, so in some situations you may want to opt for other CMS platforms.
- Licence cost. The cost of Bitrix licences is actually quite reasonable: Start is ₽6,200, Standard is ₽17,900, Small Business is ₽40,900 and Business is ₽83,900. The cost of the Enterprise package depends on the exact configuration of services. However, whereas previously you only had to pay 25% of the licence cost each year to renew it, from March 2022 you have to pay the full amount. So a company with a small budget and no serious requirements for the website’s functionality should probably choose one of the free CMS instead.
- Geographical restrictions. This one is easy: Bitrix is a Russian system and its integration tools are designed for Russian platforms. If your business is aimed at foreign markets, it would make more sense to opt for an international CMS.
- Limited functionality. Out-of-the-box solutions have downsides too. The main one is that it is difficult to implement website features that are not already provided by the system. For example, in Bitrix you can’t add two filters to an order list page – one with a drop-down list, and one with order statuses – as column names in a table. To do that, you would need to significantly expand the website’s functionality.
These technical limitations make Bitrix a rare choice for custom solutions. If you want something completely non-standard, you may want to consider frameworks like Laravel or Symfony.
But for most conventional projects – online stores, corporate portals, account systems and other types of websites – we recommend (and practice) development on Bitrix.