Let’s say you’ve discovered that when you turn your bathrobe inside out, it turns into a pretty neat blanket.
You decide to develop the product that you cleverly named “The Snuglet”… or something like that, and after many days and nights of work, you are ready to take your product to the first and last frontier: The Internet.
Once the research dust has settled, you realize that Magento is the shiniest, sexiest, and easiest to use eCommerce CMS platform out there. (We would agree with you). And your Snuglet is destined for Magento glory.
But who is going to develop your Magento site? When you do a google search for “magento developer” you get (gasp!) 6 million views! Do you just pick the first tech company on the list? Do you get quotes from all of them and choose the cheapest one? Do you call the one with the most friends on Facebook? Your dad is good with computers. Maybe he could do it….
Choosing a Magento developer can be scarier than a Spanish cucumber, so we’ve put together some tips for choosing a team to make your eCommerce site really sing and put your Snuglet, or whatever your product is, on the map. Internet.
1.) Find a Magento Partner
A good place to start your search should be the Magento Commerce website. They have a huge database of companies that are Silver and Gold level partners, which means they have access to really smart Magento support, services, extensions, forums and other people who can help your project run smoothly. Search Human Element’s profile to see our official status as one of the cool guys.
We also have that sweet little logo at the bottom of every page on our site that just screams to you that we’re more than just competent nerds, and we’ve got some pretty sweet nerdy connections. Make sure you see that somewhere on your developer site as well.
Consider the scope of your project when choosing a developer. If you have a small business trying to market a Snuglet using the free community version of Magento, you may not need a Gold level partner. There is no need to kill a rabbit with a bazooka. However, if you have a large catalog, complex business rules, or some integration with your back-end systems and plan to use Magento Professional or Enterprise, you will most likely want a Silver or Gold level Magento Partner with the big guns needed to knock down. your project.
What is the difference between Silver and Gold partners? In general, it is the size of the organization and the offer of services provided. If you have a 5K budget, you probably don’t want to call a Gold partner. However, some companies will accept small projects if you are willing to buy a bucket of hours for development or maintenance.
2.) Take a look at your developer’s Magento portfolio
Once you’ve found a handful of Magento developers you’re willing to work with, check out their portfolio. Some companies, like us, call it “Work”, some companies call it “Featured Websites”, some companies may call it “Our Clients”. The point is that a great Magento developer will be proud of the things he has done and make it easy for you to find him.
Browse through some of the companies you find on Google and use their portfolio. Be sure to find examples of work that you would like for your own company.
3.) If possible, look them in the face
Working over the Internet is great because you can get things done without having to meet in person. Efficient, yes, but not always the best way to do business. So do your best to personally meet with your developers and learn about their background and what they recommend for your project. You’ll get a better idea of how comfortable they are with the platform, how long they’ve been working with it, and what they know about Magento’s strengths and weaknesses.
Sitting down with your developers also gives you a better idea of whether they really I like it your development team, which is more important than you think. You will spend quality time with these people during the development process. If your account manager is a bit iffy or your designer is neurotic, you can turn that process into a nightmare in a hurry. But when you work with good people that you like, you’ll have a much better development experience and probably end up with a better product.
4.) Ask for references
So now that you’ve narrowed it down to a couple of companies, ask for references from the company’s Magento customers. You probably wouldn’t hire an employee based solely on the resume you submitted. Even Sarah Palin could apply for a job as a rocket scientist… Or president, for that matter. That doesn’t mean NASA should hire her to run mission control.
Companies understand this and should have no problem providing you with references. The last thing you want is to be the test project for a company that has no idea how Magento works or how to handle the intricacies of the program. We have helped several clients who unfortunately have had this experience with another developer and it can get ugly. You want a company that has extensive experience developing Magento sites, and they aren’t afraid to share those references with you.
5.) Be sure to explain your product and current business practices
Whether you’re a new business or rebuilding an existing eCommerce site with Magento, make sure your developer knows what you need and, more importantly, has confirmed that they can do what you want. Do you need to integrate with an ERP system? Do you need search engine optimization services? Do you need custom extensions outside the scope of regular old Magento?
Chances are, even if you’re just selling a bathrobe that you’ve cleverly disguised as a blanket, there are probably some unique features you want on your site. Custom checkout features, changing product images, fancy color swatches…whatever it is, just make sure your developer knows what you have in mind and can deliver those elements you can’t do without. Explaining how your business works on a day-to-day basis will help your developer come up with a plan and give you some confidence that you’ve chosen the right technicians.
6.) Evaluate the developer’s website
You probably don’t want to choose a company whose website looks like it was created in 1997. Although those were legendary times in e-commerce history, you want a company that has a modern outlook and keeps up with current trends. If the developer site hasn’t been updated since Limp Bizkit was great, you should definitely notice the red flag.
7.) Price Vs. Quality
When choosing your Magento developer, keep in mind: You get what you pay for. We know it’s a cliché, but we’ve seen it many times. Human<>Element has had several clients come to us with half-finished projects from other developers that just got out of control because their previous developer didn’t understand what they were doing with Magento, underbid the project, and couldn’t complete it. . Keep in mind that the cheapest developer is rarely the best, and sometimes you’ll end up spending a lot more to fix something than to build it properly in the first place for a little more.
That doesn’t mean you should go to the most expensive developer to get a working Magento site, but it does mean you should look carefully at what each company is proposing in their quote. Make sure all the features you want are included in that proposal and that you’ve spelled out the features that are essential to your business.
Whoever you choose, rest assured that your developer has the skills to meet your business needs, or you could end up with a bigger internet mess than Snooki.