Crucial Steps to Take Before Buying Magento Extensions

Nearly quarter million ecommerce websites rely upon Magento for selling their merchandise online. With so many extensions being introduced on the Magento Connect platform, the online business owners have the benefit of adding any features and functionalities to their ecommerce store. However, there are several confusions amongst ecommerce store owners as to what kind of add-ons to choose for one’s business. This is because any extension can make a lot of impact on the website it is integrated with.

If you are a business owner looking forward to buy Magento 1 extensions for your ecommerce store, we have put together some guidelines for you. Take a look at them before making your purchase.

1. Check compatibility

Not every extension is compatible with your store. So before purchasing, you must check the edition or version of the add-on. If you are not careful enough you may end up buying Magento 2 extensions even though your store is built on Magento 1. You can also check out the themes, banners and categories being offered by the extension and find out whether they will work with your store. Check the versions of extensions you have used before and know their types before integrating a new one. This is because if it is not compatible, you might not be able to integrate it well with your store. Moreover, your website may break down.

2. Confirm developer authenticity

Developing Magento Extensions is not a child’s play. While the extension is being developed, it goes through many stages including analysis, design, testing and implementation. If you go through the website of the extension developer, it will give you a fair idea about the quality of the extension. You can also write to developers about the qualms and queries you have so that you can get satisfied with the answers before buying.

3. Go through reviews & testimonials

Reading reviews of buyers who have already bought the product helps a lot. It gives you an idea as to whether you should invest in the extension or not. If you have decided to buy from a particular firm, you can also ask for list of clientele and speak to them personally about their experiences of using the product. You can also read the testimonials on the Magento Connect marketplace as the reviews given there are mostly genuine. Additionally, checking out the popularity score helps you to know the number of people that invested in the extension.

4. Customer support

There are times when the extension you bought doesn’t work as it should due to a bug. This can affect your sales to a great extent. During such times, what you need the most is fast and reliable support. So make sure you buy extension from a vendor who provides quick and reliable support.

5. Return on investment

As the name extension suggests, it must extend the functionality of your store. It should also benefit you and your customers. If you are investing in a particular extension, ask yourself questions like "Will the extension feature benefit my business?" "Will I be able to boost sales using these products?" If the answers to these questions make you happy, you can go for buying it. If not, you might need to conduct proper research on the extension and its functionalities.

Apart from the above steps, check out the live demo of the product (if there is any) as it will help you know what exactly you are investing into. You definitely would not want to be taken for a surprise at a later stage. Choose your extension wisely!

Mr. Maulik Shah is the founder & CEO of AppJetty, a digital software products store specializing in extensions, plugins and apps for host of software platforms like Magento, WordPress, SugarCRM, SuiteCRM, Odoo, Dynamics CRM, etc.