A 12-point Cheat Sheet to Hire a Magento Developer

The Magento eCommerce platform is prominent for businesses and developers because of its flexibility, scalability, development architecture, and security features. However, it takes an expert to build an effective online store by embracing the latest techniques. The complex tools offered by the platform demands in-depth knowledge and technical skills.

An experienced Magento developer can help you build a website that promises good customer engagement and seamless user experience (UX) – the critical aspects of a successful digital business. But how to hire a Magento developer who does justice to your time, money, and effort?

Hire a Magento developer by analyzing these key factors

Here’s a list of the points to consider before hiring Magento specialists:

1. A clear set of requirements

Before inquiring about a Magento eCommerce development company, you must clarify your project and development process. It would ensure you don’t make a wrong decision while choosing a development partner.

Begin with listing down your requirements for your Magento store. To do this effectively, you should study all Magento features to understand their suitability for your business model. The best way is to speak with development companies and discuss your requirements with Magento experts. They can help define your category. It would be best if you also got fair clarity on the following:

• Level of customization needed for your project
• The stages in a Magento eCommerce development project
• How competitors’ websites are using the platform
• The budget for your project

2. Certifications

When hiring a certified Magento developer to build your eCommerce solution, remember they should know more than just coding – they should be well experienced in designing and building the best eCommerce website development practices to save on costs and time. Many developers often specialize in a particular category and exhibit specific skills and insights that help them better solve problems related to it.

Learn about the various certifications that the Magento developer holds from the many that Magento offers, such as certified front-end developer, associate developer, javascript developer, and cloud developer. These certifications will help build a better product and bring proficiency to the process.

3. Experience

Your development partner’s experience plays a crucial role. The most fundamental factors that ensure competence and efficiency from the hired Magento development company are experience and knowledge. A skilled and experienced Magento developer or company can handle issues and technical challenges that developers or clients face during the development process.

An experienced developer will thoroughly understand your needs and complete them in a given timeframe without any delay. Their capability and expertise will also help you shift your focus on other aspects related to the business, such as marketing and branding.

4. Development partner’s portfolio

Analyze the portfolio of the Magento development company that you want to hire. Portfolios speak volumes about development companies. By looking at their work and portfolio, one can get a clear picture of their skills, tasks, project deliveries, and methods or processes to develop a website. Doing so showcases a software development company’s true merit and commitment to its clients and work.

A portfolio will also give you a fair sense of how well the company can successfully fulfill your business needs and thus help you decide whether the company is fit to be your partner for the project.

5. Online ratings and reviews

Several review websites make it easier to assess the quality of work of the many Magento eCommerce developers in the market. Widespread and trusted platforms, such as G2 and Clutch, continuously audit companies. You can read genuine client reviews and ratings from those who partnered with the companies and developed their website on them. When you decide to shortlist companies based on their reviews, look for answers to the following questions about their past customers for better judgment:

• How complex or streamlined was the development process?
• How regularly did they get in touch with the client, and how effective was it?
• Did they deliver the project within the deadline and budget?
• What were the steps taken to manage the project effectively?
• Did they live up to the expectations and deliver what was needed?

6. Easy access to trained resources

When selecting the best Magento eCommerce services, the development company should have a solid team to ensure that highly trained resources are building your project. The developers should be aware of the latest tools and technologies to take a shot at the up-to-date Magento versions easily.

7. Development partner’s mode of communication

While you focus on a Magento developer based on their portfolio or experience, another important aspect that needs consideration is the mode of communication. Client feedback is a must for making changes and updates to a project. A developer should communicate well and coordinate with clients by understanding their business requirements. There should be an easy flow of communication between the developer and the client at all times.

Transparency between you and your developer is necessary before starting the development process. Your developer should also be quick in executing inputs for the project and responding to clients via email, phone, live chats, and any other means of communication. They should use efficient tools of communication to stay in touch. Ease of communication ensures that you and the Magento development company are in touch throughout every project stage.

8. Product quality is always more significant than the cost

When hiring a Magento development company, apart from the budget, the quality of work is of high priority. A quality check is essential to build an effective Magento eCommerce store. Guaranteeing a consistent quality of work and picking the most cost-effective one can take time and effort.

Here are factors to look at:

• Does this task require a proficient developer? If not, is it sufficient to offer it to somebody less experienced?
• What’s their pricing structure? Do they charge hourly, daily, or weekly?
• What situations can lead to incurring additional charges?
• The Magento development company you pick should give you a transparent pricing policy to avoid misunderstanding.

9. On-time project delivery

Since a web development project relies on achieving milestones and following strict timelines, it’s essential to know how much time your Magento web developer will take to develop the website. How will they handle the situation if there are setbacks? Will they be able to adjust it in their timeline or ask for more time? Make sure that your developer respects timelines and delivers the project on time.

An experienced Magento developer will always let you know how much time they need to complete the project because they understand your expectations and requirements. They will be strictly following the timeline to ensure their clients are happy. Hire Magento experts who can assure you of timely project completion.

10. Quality checks and testing

Testing is crucial in the development process, whether for an eCommerce platform or any other project. Make sure your development company has efficient QA specialists to test the code. It is essential to understand their function and how they fit into your specific business needs. Ask about their QA team and processes because even the best development can hit a roadblock with inadequate testing.

11. Post-development support

Building an online business store in Magento continues even after you finish developing it. You must frequently check and occasionally update it to ensure it’s working. Hence, when hiring a certified Magento developer, you should ensure that the development company signs an agreement with you before starting the development process, which mentions that they will provide post-development support.

Post-development support guarantees that bugs and other related glitches are solved before your eCommerce platform goes live. A few of the common reasons why post-development support is required are:

• Better execution of the online store
• Addition of the latest features with evolving needs
• Customization and integration of third-party tools
• Efficiency and accessibility in operations

12. Safety & security

In eCommerce businesses, cybercriminals often engage in stealing data. They are always looking for loopholes in code to attack that particular website. So, while hiring a Magento eCommerce developer, ensure the company prioritizes your website’s security. As Magento continues to update its security, make sure the developer implements those latest updates or versions, sets a custom path for the admin panel, uses secure FTP, and deploys an SQL injection firewall to develop a secure eCommerce store.

To enhance your site’s security, ensure your developer executes all safety measures with the help of 2-factor authentication, using strong passwords, changing the URL of your admin to a unique one, and executing HTTPS. Extensions are the weakest part of Magento sites. Therefore, asking the developers how they work with security is good. Check which vulnerability scanner they use to monitor your site’s security to avoid threats.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How much does it cost to hire Magento Developers?

Depending on experience, location, and level of expertise, the cost to hire Magento developers may vary from $50 and $250 per hour.

2. What must-have skills are needed in a Magento developer?

An ideal Magento developer must have the following:

• In-depth knowledge of object-oriented programming.
• Strong hold on PHP language.
• Extensive LESS & CSS knowledge.
• JavaScript is also a must for front-end development.
• Magento certifications are a plus point.

3. Is Magento good for big businesses?

Whether you have a small startup or a large enterprise, Magento can add value to your business. With its high-quality customization options, you can own visually appealing and fully-functional websites that lead to high conversion rates. Also, Magento websites are scalable, and you can quickly scale them up or down as your business grows.

4. How many products can Magento handle?

While Magento 1 has its limitations, and you may experience lag or performance issues after some time, Magento 2 can easily handle 1 million products on it.