Magento is one of the most popular e-commerce platforms in the so naturally, it has a huge community and a great number of developers who work with it.
Seems like finding a good Magento developer is a piece of the pie, isn’t it?
Unfortunately, it’s not that easy. You need to approach the searching wisely or you may end up spending too much time and money on poor quality and prolonged deadlines.
Ready to find your perfect Magento developer? Let’s get started!
Step 1. Set your goals
You need developers to help you resolve certain issues. So before approaching them, clearly define what exactly you need. Is it migration to Magento 2, performance optimization, or the introduction of a new theme?
The scope of work matters too. For a small task, it would make sense to hire a freelancer but if you want something complex, it would be better to address an agency.
Another important thing to do is to outline your budget and project timelines. It will give developers a better view of the scope of work and will allow prioritizing the tasks in the most efficient manner.
It’s a good idea to get familiar with Magento on the beginner’s level. This way, you better understand the developers’ suggestions and will show that you know what you talk about.
Step 2. Identify who you need
Once you set the goals, you need to identify what kind of developers you need, based on these goals.
Here are the three options.
In-house developers
This is a good choice for those companies that focus on software development. In-house development means the development takes place on site aka in the company.
This method has its advantages: developers are always available and communication goes in an easier manner. However, due to the high cost, in-house development is good only in case of long-term projects.
Freelancers
Perfect if you have a small issue and need to resolve it fast.
Freelancers usually have a certain set of skills and thus are suitable for narrow-focused tasks. The only problem is that they may not be available 24/7 (until you negotiate so).
Development agency
This option is preferred by the majority of the clients.
Agencies are usually comprised of Magento developers with different skills, designers, analysts, and QA engineers and offer a 360-degree service. The cost of the agency’s service is usually lower than of the in-house development team but results tend to be better due to flexibility and innovative approach.
Also, do not hesitate to look for an outsourced development agency. They tend to charge less but provide the same quality of work as locals do.
After you decided the best option for your specific task, time to get down to the most interesting part – looking for Magento developers!
Step 3. Go and talk to people
The most complex and difficult part of hiring developers for Magento is finding one. Here are the possible ways to do so.
Browse LinkedIn
LinkedIn offers search by different criteria, from location to skill. This is really handy as it narrows down your search and lets you see specific people whom you want on your team.
As well, LinkedIn is great for finding people who can simply give you advice or recommendations on where to find Magento developers.
Use Magento’s “Developers for Hire” site
Magento cares about its clients so they have a “Developers for Hire” site.
You will have to answer some questions about your budget, project estimates, and desired level of developer’s skills. After that, you will get a list of the sites where you can most probably find the needed professional.
Of course, you can do the same thing independently in Google, but it may still save you some time.
Go to conferences and hackathons
The best way to find people is to go to the places where they hang out. In the case of Magento, that would be conferences and hackathons.
Conferences are intended to unite Magento professionals and offer them an opportunity to negotiate and share skills and knowledge. Plus, it’s always better to talk to someone in person and see whether you’d be comfortable working with them in the future.
Ask your peers
As a business person, you should know a few people who faced the same issues that you have. Ask them about the developers they worked with and learn about all the pros and cons.
In the world of software development, word of mouth plays a big role so do not underestimate it.
Visit forums
This one is a bit similar to recommendations from friends. The only difference is that you will be asking unknown people. However, chances are high that the forum will be the place that will eventually help you find your dream developer.
Step 4. Evaluate the skills
Once you found developers who seem reliable and professional, you need to evaluate their skills to see if they are a good match for your project.
Check for certifications
As said above, Magento cares about its clients. This is the reason it offers developers certifications which are intended to check whether the level of skill and knowledge correspond to Magento quality requirements.
There are different certificates depending on one’s skills. You can check the list here. And if you find a certified developer, you can be sure about the quality of delivered work.
Request to see the portfolio
This is one of the best ways to understand if a developer or an agency is a good fit for you.
Ask about the role on the project and responsibilities and also see whether the developer resolved any issues that are similar to yours. And don’t hesitate to ask for the references: if the developer is really as good as he claims, then you will simply get an additional proof of their work quality.
Do an interview
An interview can help you assess one’s skills and also see how comfortable it would be for you to work with this person.
For a technical interview, you can invite a tech-savvy person to help you identify the level of a developer’s expertise. But it’s always a good idea to understand what the person talks about so do some research on Magento development and check out the most common developers’ pitfalls yourself to keep the interview process under control.
Step 5. Negotiate on the work process
The hardest part is over – you found the one! Now, little things are left.
Before getting down to work, you need to negotiate a few things to make the work process as smooth as possible.
Agree on communication
Effective communication is one of the keys to project success. Here is what you need to do:
- Set regular meetings via preferred communication method,
- Agree on updates frequency,
- Assign a project manager (if you work with a big team),
- Write User Stories for better task understanding.
Miscommunication will inevitably lead to missed deadlines, a mismatch between expectations and reality, and wasted time and money.
Choose the pricing model
Of course, some developers, especially the freelancers, have fixed rates per hour. But still, you need to know about all available pricing methods, just in case.
First, there is a fixed price. Fixed price is exactly what the name implies: there is a fixed price for your project after estimating it.
The advantage of a fixed price is that you can easier plan your budget and expect no surprises during the development process. This is a good option for short-term projects with clear tasks and goals.
However, fixed price model does not allow flexibility and any changes will be charged additionally.
Then comes Time & Material which is preferred by more and more companies these days. This model charges the client per amount of time and material spent on work. So if you want to change something on the go, you just pay for it and immediately implement the change in the process.
This model is perfect for long-term projects with complex functionality.
Summary
Choosing a savvy Magento developer is not easy. However, if you choose the right one, you can be sure about the quality of the project and the profit it will bring to your business.
So dedicate some time and effort for finding a perfect match – and you will be rewarded with an almost instant boost of your store performance and conversions.