Hiring a Magento Developer in 2021 – How Can You Get Your Choice Spot On

If you are deciding to launch your online store or plan to upgrade your existing store to meet new challenges you may have zeroed on Magento as your choice of platform. Magento is without any doubt the most popular eCommerce development platform. Its ease of use, scalability, and modular architecture makes it the right platform to develop and run an eCommerce store.

The possibilities with Magento are immense but the success of your project rests on the skills, expertise, and approach of the Magento software development company you hire. Below experts from jatapp.com break down the most essential steps to get your choice spot on when hiring a magento developer.

Define Your Requirements

• What kind of eCommerce store are you planning to build?
• What is your modest?
• What features and functionalities do you want in your store?
• You must define the scope of your project before you start looking for a Magento development services provider.

A store selling a handful of niche products is very different from an eCommerce marketplace that has hundreds of product categories. Defining your needs clearly helps you choose the right service provider.

Certified Magento Developers vs Self-Taught Developers

You’ll have to make a choice between self-taught Magento developers and Certified Magento developers. While there is no rule that says self-taught developers lack the skills, knowledge, or expertise in Magento development, there are several benefits of hiring certified developers.

The latter category earns their certification from Magento after successfully completing tests that validate their knowledge and expertise in areas such as Front-End Development, UI Modification, and Database Changes, etc.

Experience of Magento Development Company

There are hundreds of Magento development companies, and one of the best ways to separate the good from the ordinary is to look at their experience.

You know that, right? What you probably don’t know is how to measure this experience. It isn’t always a function of years the company has been in this trade. Rather it is the experience and expertise the Magento development team brings to the table. A new company with seasoned professionals would be a better choice than a decade-old company full of rookies.

Know What They Have Done So Far

Which mountain peaks have they scaled and which oceans they have sailed through? You need to know about the kind of projects the company has executed in the past. A professional company will always showcase the projects it has been a part of in its portfolio.

Browse through the stores listed on their website and you shall have a fair idea about their achievements so far and see if they fit into your requirements.

Never Ignore Online Reviews

• What do their past clients say about them?
• Does their name figure on Ripoff Report?
• What kind of reviews and ratings have they received on various platforms?
• You may be hiring a development company in another half of the world and this is where you need to take online reviews seriously.

There are several platforms where clients and customers submit their reviews, complaints, and feedback about services providers and this serves as an ideal place to run a thorough background check on the service provider.

Check Out Their Resource Pool

The Company offering Magento development services should have a large pool of seasoned Magento developers.

The impressive and courteous salesperson you talk to isn’t the person who would work on your project. 

Hence you need to get access to the Magento developers who would work on your project. Interview them and discuss the scope of the project at length and hire them as per your need. Make sure they are aware of the latest eCommerce development trends in the market and have expertise in using the latest tools.

Figure out Their Communication Channel

A good eCommerce store would take days and weeks to get developed. During this period the client needs to constantly offer feedback and inputs to the development team.

The store should be tailor-made for your goals, audience and have all the features and functionalities to take on your competition.

Hence you must have a point of contact in the Magento Development Company you choose and the person concerned should be able to coordinate between you and the team. Based on your preferences you can choose a mode of communication such as Skype, Google Duo, Basecamp, WhatsApp, Email, Call, etc. Poor communication or the lack of it can derail a project completely.

Don’t Be a Bargain Hunter

Good Magento development companies would charge you higher than freelancers and fly-by-night developers and this is for a good reason. Thus you shouldn’t jump into a contract with a company or freelancer who promises you the lowest price.

You may have to pay a great price to save a few hundred dollars in terms of QUALITY. This also doesn’t mean you hire a company that quotes the highest dollar. Beware of companies that are secretive about their pricing and leave scope for ambiguity.

You can get out of this Catch 22 situation by asking yourself these questions –

• Do the developers have sufficient skills and experience?
• Do they have an impressive project portfolio?
• Are they willing to offer you an upfront all-inclusive quote?
• Do they have flexible hiring plans such as dedicated resources and hourly hiring?
• How would they charge for additional work?

Discuss Deadlines & Timelines

Your eCommerce store going live a few days late can cost you thousands of dollars in terms of sales and profits. You may have set a launch-by date or wish to target an upcoming sale season. Thus you need to discuss the deadline for a fully working eCommerce store with the developer. Make sure there are penalty clauses in the contract as companies that can meet deadlines are the only ones who would agree to penalty clauses.

Focus on the Security of Your Store

Cybercriminals target websites on a regular basis and hence the security of any website is non-negotiable. This becomes even more crucial for online stores where payment transactions take place. Your customers would trust you with their confidential data both personal and financial and hence you can’t afford to drop your guard.

While Magento has constantly been upgrading its security apparatus you need to make sure the development company you hire is well-versed in implementing the latest security protocols.

Make Sure They Have Quality Analysts

Once the store has been developed it has to undergo thorough testing to spot the bugs and fix them. This is where the role of seasoned Quality Analysts is important. Good companies have specialists for this job when in the case of small agencies developers often double up in the QA role and this should be avoided.

Keep in Mind On-going Support

Ecommerce development is a continuous process where your store would regularly need to be updated for security challenges and the bugs you encounter.

The full-service digital marketing agency that offers Magento development services must provide you ongoing support for bug fixes, integrating third-party plugins and improving the UX and UI of your store.

To sum up, you need to keep these things in mind when it comes to choosing a Magento development company. This will help you hire the best in business and take you a step closer to finding your mojo in the competitive world of eCommerce.