Choosing The Best Agency To Develop Your Magento Store

Author: Amanda Murphy

So, you've decided that you want to expand your business and you've come to the conclusion that the best way to do this, is to put it online where the whole world can see it. You've also decided that using Magento, the world's leading eCommerce platform, is the way to go. Now all that's left for you to decide on, is which agency to choose to build your online store. Well, we can help you out on that front by telling you about all you should be considering before making this very important decision.

Let's get started:

1. Take a deep look into the agency's track record

Certifications, experience, reliability, reputation, reviews, references, etcetera etc, are all the things that you should consider when picking out the perfect agency for your Magento store.

Certifications: - Is this agency Magento certified? Is it an honorary member of the exclusive Magento Solutions Program? Magento has this membership program thing that independent developers and agencies can sign up for in order to get certified. Only top-notch agencies and developers can qualify for this. Agencies have to have completed a certain number of Magento projects and also have to have some certified developers. Every year, these developershave to take an exam to help them keep up with the ever-changing world of eCommerce.

Experience: - There's no denying the importance of experience, especially in this field of e-commerce. How long has it been operating? How many jobs has it done? Don't be shy to ask about all of the agency's previous projects for reference and so you can know exactly what to expect out of your working with them. Another thing is, experience almost always means better quality work. So, you can trust that going with a company that has had a respectful number of years behind the wheel of Magento web development, will benefit you greatly.

Reputation :- This one is very important because if you happened to pick an agency notorious for its bad reviews, chances are that your experience with them won't be much different. But then again, if you take the time to ask round and see how other clients of the agency feel about the quality of the services it provides, then you'll surely have a better experience. Another important aspect of looking into the reputation of an agency is security. When you hire the services of a certain agency, you shouldn't have to worry about them misusing your shared data or even stealing it outright.

2. Communication

Teamwork is the key to achieving great things! It may sound silly, yes, but thing is it's true. Now, relating it to our discussion, you'll have to find an agency that you'll be able to work hand in hand with during your project. Generally, Magento development companies are categorized into 5; the Global Elite, Enterprise, Professional, Business-Class and Technology Partners. Now, each of these has its own vantages and downsides but what we're focusing on is how communication between the merchant and the agency is affected in each case.

  • Global Elite

The Global Elite are basically high-end companies that mainly deal with helping out most of the more well-known brands worldwide. They are highly recommended but the downside is that these kinds of agencies are usually so big that they don't have the time to be consulting with their clients.

  • Enterprise

These types of agencies are also relatively big and also come highly recommended. It's also very much appreciated that they enable for easy communication between the developers and the clients. You can have all of this but at a relatively high price.

  • Professional

As for these types of agencies, they are relatively smaller, which in its own right is an advantage. How? Well, being smaller means that the relationship between a merchant and the agency is more intimate. You can have your own personal team of developers who will work with you to help achieve exactly what you want. Another added bonus is that working with these types of agencies is more wallet-friendly. This is because most independent agencies fall under this category, so their prices are aimed at being competitive.

  • Business-Class

These agencies are more interested in working with already-existing Magento clients.

  • Technology Partners

These types of agencies are basically just one independent developer who'll work for you for relatively, really low prices. One advantage is that you get to have a one on one relationship with this person which can help when you want to make sure that what you get in the end, is exactly what you had envisioned. The downside though, is that if this person isn't capable of giving life to your vision, then really there's nothing you can do in terms of getting him to get it right. Basically, he's all you have.

3. Consider the overall budget

Finally, we have the issue that is your budget. You have to know what kind of services you can afford. If you have a bigger budget, you shouldn't afraid to pay for the best working experience your money will allow to get. We've already mentioned the different kinds of Magneto development companies and what each of them offers and for what price. All that's left for you to do, is to just figure out where your budget puts you.