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How to Choose and Hire The Right Shopify Developer
Shopify is a great eCommerce platform to build your online store on. From the dashboard to the themes, it's one of the best eCommerce platforms available. You'll also benefit from having access to advanced functions and add-ons.
If you are starting a business and have decided to go with Shopify for your eCommerce website, you will find out pretty quickly that setting up the website is only a small part of the process. You need to make sure your website works for you and that can come from hiring a Shopify Developer. You also want to be sure that you’re hiring the right person for your needs.
Do you really need to hire a Shopify Developer? Is it worth the money? These are all questions you may have. In today’s post, We’re going to go through some reasons why you might need to hire a Shopify Developer and provide some helpful tips on how to select them.
What is a Shopify Developer?
A Shopify Developer is someone who builds Shopify stores for their clients. It's their job to transform the clients' vision into reality and make sure that everything works seamlessly as it should be. The only difference between a Shopify Developer and any other type of developer is that they specialize in building eCommerce websites with Shopify software platform specifically designed for this purpose (and Magento, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, etc.).
Why do you need a Shopify developer?
Hiring a developer will enable you to spend more time building other parts of your business.
A big part of becoming a successful eCommerce entrepreneur is understanding when to outsource and delegate tasks that you can’t do yourself.
The most important reason why you should hire a developer with Shopify experience is that they will know how to get the most out of the platform.
Shopify has all the features that are needed to create a professional-looking store that can convert visitors into customers and grow your brand.
However, sometimes, it takes having someone with experience to know how to get the best results from these features.
Another reason why you should hire a Shopify developer is that they can help you set up any additional extensions or apps that aren’t included in a basic installation of Shopify. That’s where a developer comes in. They can help you customize your site to fit your needs perfectly.
How to hire a Shopify developer
As the Shopify platform has grown, it’s attracted more and more developers. And as a result, you have a lot of choices when it comes to choosing a Shopify developer. If you’re like most merchants, you’re not sure where to start.
Should you look for a developer who specializes in the Shopify platform? Should you hire someone who runs their own agency? Or should you hire a freelancer?
The answers to these questions depend on your project, your budget and your timeline. So you will need to assess your own needs first. Here are a few things to consider:
Determine the Needs of Your Project
Making a complete list of your requirements will help give you and your prospect developers the whole picture. It doesn’t just help you but also helps the developers you talk to understand the gravity of your project. Make sure to include all the necessary information and steps they might need to follow.
Set Achievable Goals
Doing so will help you stay focused on what needs to be done. Make sure that you communicate these goals to your team, especially your developer. Communicating this to your Shopify developer allows both of you to stay on track. Make sure to stick to these goals and don’t change them in the middle of a project!
Determine Your Budget
Hiring outside help would undoubtedly take up a significant portion of your budget so make sure that this is an investment you can take on.
Partnership Models & Pricing
Shopify development agencies use various partnership models and pricing to provide you with the best Shopify development services according to your specific needs. Most development agencies tailor these to These types of interaction methods are tailored to your needs. To accommodate the varying demands of their clients, they provide a fixed pricing model, a dedicated model, and a time & material model.
Set a Timeline for the Project
A timetable, in addition to the budget, is essential when negotiating with your Shopify developer. You should inform your development team of your needed timetable. If your and their estimates are comparable, you can give your developer the opportunity to collaborate with you.
Check Reporting Tools
When you choose a top Shopify development company, you will receive reports and analytics that will provide you with the necessary numbers about your customers, sales, and traffic. Make sure to check if these reports provide what you need and how you can use them.
Payment Schedule
The payment schedule for each brand, on the other hand, differs according to their requirements. So, when you choose a Shopify development business, make sure you talk about the payment plan with them. You may avoid such miscommunications by clarifying your corporate policies.
How do I hire the right person or team?
It depends on what your store needs. Some developers specialize in certain areas, so it’s important to know what kind of help you need before you start looking for an expert. We recommend that you ask developers about their past experience and expertise so that you can hire someone who is well-suited for your project.
If you have a Shopify app or website development project that you need to outsource, we strongly recommend against looking at the Shopify app stores for a developer. Instead, we suggest contacting an established company with a track record of success and expertise in the field.
Shopify has two separate app stores: one for the main Shopify platform, and the second one is a fairly new addition called Shopify Plus. The latter is used by Shopify's enterprise clients. Both app stores allow developers to showcase their apps and provide merchants with information on how well they work and what other merchants think about them.
The main problem with these marketplaces is that they are filled with low-quality developers who are not able to meet the demands of enterprise clients and don't really understand the ins and outs of working with merchants. It is also very easy for developers to sign up for these platforms, so there are many inexperienced companies trying to sell their services without the necessary skills or expertise.
Another problem are the reviews and star ratings on these platforms because they are not truly informative when it comes to judging a developer's abilities. Developers can pay for fake reviews and ratings that have no merit or value at all, so this is something you need to keep in mind when looking at them.
Shopify's app stores (one for the US and one for Canada) are filled with developer listings, but there are a number of issues with this approach:
It is difficult to differentiate between available developers based on reviews and star ratings. There is no way to assess how a developer actually works, if they're easy to deal with if they're responsive etc. You cannot know in advance if you will be happy working with a particular developer based on their Shopify app store listing.
The only way to truly understand if you are comfortable working with a developer is by talking directly to them and asking questions. The best way to find out if a developer can help you solve your problem is by telling them what your problem is and asking them how they would solve it.
We have seen customers waste thousands of dollars working with other Shopify developers because they didn't realize that the app was not going to do what they wanted, or that the developer had no idea how to actually build something custom.
The right Shopify developer will align with your vision.
For eCommerce business owners who aren't well versed in website development and programming, you might not be able to tell the difference between developers if they all talk in their own lingo. But the best way to gauge if this is the right team or developer for you is to talk to them. See how they respond to you and if they are able to understand your vision and goals. Of course, the other factors matter as well but most important is how they will be able to answer your needs.
One way to ensure that the person you hire is qualified for the job is by asking how long they have been doing it. Most reputable developers will be happy to answer this question honestly because they want their clients to be happy with their work too! If someone has only been working on Shopify stores for a few years then chances are good that they might not know what goes into making one truly successful yet. However, if someone has been working full-time since 2008 or earlier then chances are very high that they know exactly what needs to be done!
You're looking for a Shopify developer to help build, design, or set up your store. Maybe you're thinking of migrating your entire existing website to Shopify and need someone with the right experience. With Webinopoly's team of expert developers, designers, and marketers, we can help you get everything sorted out.
At Webinopoly, we have been helping over 150+ clients create amazing Shopify websites since 2012. We offer premium custom Shopify development services for all types of businesses.
Whether you need help with building your store from scratch or just need help with some minor tweaks and improvements on your existing site, Webinopoly is here to help.
Our Shopify experts can help you with:
- Designing and building your new Shopify store
- Set up or customize your theme or pages
- Migration of your current website to Shopify
- Improve conversions on your Shopify pages
If you’d like to learn more about what we can do or view our portfolio, please click on the links below: